Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 103030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Nah,” I say, taking a waist apron off a shelf. “It’ll be fine.”
I tie the apron around my middle and ignore Nate’s piercing gaze. He doesn’t say a word but he doesn’t have to. I know what he’s thinking.
Nate’s irritation over my refusal to accept help from anyone is no secret. His heart is as big as his shoulders and rebuffing his attempts to help never goes over smoothly. But I love that about him.
“Hey, I have some good news for you.” I fiddle with the ties at the small of my back. “Your girl here has a job interview tomorrow. And that’s a damn good thing because the temp job the staffing company told me they had for me—the one at the Creamery? They made a mistake.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah. But the good news part of this is that one of the resumes I sent out over the past couple of weeks panned out and I have an interview in the morning.”
Nate smiles. “That is good news as long as that means I won’t lose you around here.”
“I’m not going anywhere. This is the only night job I’ll ever have.”
“Good.”
I laugh as my hands fall to my sides. “Trust me when I tell you that working two jobs—three if I can find a third that can coordinate with the other two—is not where I wanted to be at thirty years old. I’ll require this second job for the foreseeable future.”
He takes a deep breath almost as if he already regrets what he’s about to say and Nate Hughes regrets very little of what comes out of his mouth.
My nerves fizzle back to life as I open my locker. I don’t need more lip gloss but I also don’t need to stand in front of him like a target waiting to be shot.
Just as I put the cap back on the tube, he sighs.
“Dominic told you that Camilla could help you,” he says warily.
I fire a glare over my shoulder. “Stop.”
“Come on, Shaye. Think about it.”
I slam my locker again. It causes the y magnet to fall to the floor.
I level my gaze with my boss. My friend. I know he means well. His heart is as big as his shoulders. But I just wish he’d stop.
Nate’s features soften as he marches over my line in the sand. I’ve drawn it more than once. My problems are my problems—whether they actually are or not. Tangling money with friendships is never, ever a good idea.
Not ever. In the history of evers.
“Dom’s girlfriend is loaded,” he says. “And Camilla has this intense need to help people—which I don’t understand. If I had her money, I’d just live on an island by my damn self and roll around in it.”
“Oh right. Sure.”
“I would.”
I press my lips together. “Nate, you aren’t loaded and you give free ham sandwiches out like you own a pig farm. Don’t try to sell me that I’d just live on an island by my damn self bullshit. We both know that isn’t true.”
He tries to stay stone-faced but it doesn’t last. Finally, he cracks. “Fine. But this isn’t about me or ham sandwiches. It’s about you and the way you refuse to let someone give you a loan that will never miss the money.”
I turn on my heel and start picking up the mess scattered across the floor.
“Will you at least think about it?” he asks, coming up beside me and picking up a box. “You work yourself to the bone. You live in a neighborhood that’s getting shittier by the day—no offense.”
“None taken.”
He puts the box on a shelf before leaning against it. “And you are paying a debt that’s not even yours.”
I grind my teeth together and stare at him.
I can’t be mad at him for speaking the truth. But I can be pissed at the way hearing it out loud makes me feel.
My blood runs hot with anger but my chest squeezes in pain. It’s the worst kind of pain too. It’s the kind of hurt that comes from so many places that you know you’ll never be able to fix it. There’s no antidote for it.
Nate takes a step toward me. “No one deserves to be saddled with a one-hundred-thousand-dollar bill that they didn’t run up.”
I reach for another box. “I went along with it, so it’s mine. Plain and simple.”
“It’s not that plain or simple.”
“Okay, true. But no one else needs to have the burden thrust on them. I’m not making this someone else’s problem.”
“Luca sure as hell made it fucking yours.”
I tuck the box at my side and face him head-on. The bridge of my nose tickles like it does just before my eyes start to water. I pinch it with two fingers.
Of all the friends to find at the end of a shitty day, I’m thankful that I found Nate. But he doesn’t always get that when you’re used to doing life on your own, it’s hard to rely on others—even kind souls that chose you as family.