through.”
Kayla shifted her feet to the side, making room for her friends. Her ankle bumped the hardback copy of Go Get It, knocking the book to the ground. Sighing, she picked it up. “It wasn’t me. It was this.”
Her friends exchanged a look.
“I don’t think so.” Willa took the book from her hands and began thumbing through it. “I mean, yeah, maybe some of the ideas resonated, but you’re the one who introduced him to it.”
Kayla glanced at the pages as Willa flipped through. There was the grease smudge from when Tony dropped half an Oreo frosting-side down on the page. And there was the chapter with the mirror affirmation, which made her flush with the memory.
“I guess I learned a few things,” she said, struggling to find the bright side. “If the point of all this was to work on myself so I’d be in a better place to find a relationship, I definitely did the work.”
Only right now, the one person she could imagine a relationship with was Tony. How messed up was that?
“We’ve got you.” Willa put her wineglass down and pulled Kayla in for a hug. “No matter what happens, we love you and support you. How’s that?”
“Perfect.” Kayla squeezed her friend, grateful for the unconditional love. “Thanks for being here.”
“No problem.” Willa drew back, and Aislin moved over to Kayla’s other side, plopping herself up against the sofa arm. Fireball growled and scooched aside.
“We love you, sweetie.” Aislin squeezed her tight. “Want to talk about it more, or are you ready for a break?”
“Break, please.” Kayla stroked her dog’s ears as he settled on her lap. “Did I tell you I’ve got almost half the photos edited?”
“No kidding?” Willa broke into a round of mock applause. “Wait, does that mean you stayed up all night?”
Kayla sighed and blew a lock of hair off her forehead. “Maybe?”
Aislin frowned, but Willa’s expression filled with sympathy. “The sleepless part of heartache is the worst.”
“It’s not so bad,” she said. “At least I’ve been productive.”
She’d had to be, to keep her mind off the fact that she hadn’t heard from Tony at all. She’d texted to let him know she made it home safely. Just one message, three words long.
I made it.
His reply?
A heart emoji.
Well, three of them, whatever the hell that meant. She’d given up trying to interpret it. If she could just keep herself busy, maybe her real heart wouldn’t hurt so much.
Her phone buzzed on the table, and Kayla felt hope surge into her throat. She glanced at the screen and cursed her own disappointment.
“It’s my mom.” Kayla disentangled herself from her friends and reached for the phone. “You guys mind if I grab this? I’ve been trying to catch her since I got home.”
“No problem.” Aislin stood up to let her out, earning another grumble from Fireball. “I’ll go put the snacks in bowls.”
“And I’ll refill the wine.” Willa stood up, too, and headed for the kitchen.
“Deal.” Kayla scooped up the phone and beelined to her office. She pulled the door halfway closed, then hit the button to answer. “Hey, Mom.”
“Are you home, sweetheart?”
“Yeah. Drove straight through. Just a little over seven hours.”
Her mother huffed. “I still can’t believe that awful boy would leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere.”
“He gave me his Jeep,” Kayla pointed out. “I was hardly stranded.”
“Still.” Her mother made another indignant sound. “Any word on how his mother is doing?”
“Not a peep.” Kayla had tried calling the hospital, eager to learn something new. But privacy laws prevented her from learning much. “I texted with one of the nurses who took care of her. Nyla couldn’t tell me much but did say she’d seen Tony.”
“And how is he?” Her mom’s frosty tone indicated she’d be happy if the answer was “unconscious.”
“Fine.” Kayla settled into her desk chair, bumping the mouse. Her screen flickered to life, revealing one of her images from the trip. Tony, silhouetted against the backdrop of the sunrise, his dark hair curling around his ears as he bent to pet Fireball.
“He’s staying with his friend, Leo,” she said. “I don’t know when he’s coming back.”
On the other end of the line, her mother sighed. “Can I give you a little advice?”
Kayla pinched the bridge of her nose. “If I say no, will it make a difference?”
“Probably not.” Her mother took a breath. “Sweetheart, you’re beautiful. And smart. And kind, and clever, and funny.”
“This isn’t sounding like advice, but I appreciate it.” The praise made her insides feel