Love to Hate You (Hope Valley #9) - Jessica Prince Page 0,60

no wrong in that little girl’s eyes. She sees your strength and resilience, and she’s wild and crazy and jumps head first into every single day because she knows without a shadow of a doubt, that her mom’ll be right there to catch her if needed.”

Leaning forward, she placed her hand on top of mine and gave it a squeeze. “I know you got knocked down in a really big way, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay down. And if you’re waiting for the ‘right time’ to put yourself out there, I’m telling you now, there’s no such thing. So if Micah makes you feel good, I say go for it.”

Flipping my hand over, I wrapped my fingers around hers and held tight. “You’re really smart. You know that?”

She shrugged, the apples of her cheeks growing pink at my compliment. “I’ve been where you are. I’d been knocked down so much I did like you and pushed a good man away when all he was trying to do was help me get back up again.”

My heart clenched at the thought of this magnificent woman hurting in any way. “So what did you do?”

“Well, it took me a while, but I finally pulled my head out of my ass and saw what was standing right in front of me.” She smiled so big and bright it lit up her entire face. “Then I dragged him down the aisle and made that shit official so he could never get away.”

At that, I threw my head back on a deep laugh. I’d seen her with Bruce on multiple occasions now, and every single time, he looked at his wife like she was the very thing that gave him a reason to get out of bed each day and keep breathing. She didn’t need to drag him anywhere. He probably charged down that aisle himself, body-checking anything that stood in his way.

“You know, I didn’t know what it meant to have real girlfriends until I met you guys,” I informed her once my laughter had tapered off. “I’m so glad I met you, Mac.”

She fell into me, wrapping her arms and my shoulders and giving me a big hug. “Feeling’s mutual, babe.”

“But I’m still not sure I’m willing to attempt a second pole lesson.”

Chapter Nineteen

Hayden

I pulled into the driveway and came to a stop, tipping my head to the side in confusion. For some reason, Micah’s truck was backed into my drive instead of parked in his.

It was the Thursday after the cookout, and with Micah working odd hours because of a case he was on and me having Ivy and working at the shop, it had been two days since we’d seen each other, and before that, it had only been in passing. There were a lot of texts, and some pretty hot late-night phone calls, but the relief I’d gotten the weekend before was starting to wear off. Tension had returned to my limbs, and the more time that passed without us physically connecting, the more agitated I became.

Killing the ignition, I climbed out of my car and started toward the front door. “I’m home,” I called as I stepped inside. I hung my purse on one of the hooks on the wall by the front door and unwound the thin scarf from around my neck before doing the same with it.

I expected Ivy to come barreling out from wherever she was to give me one of her signature big, body-rocking hug, but I got nothing. “Hello? Where is everybody?”

Sylvia’s head popped out of the kitchen. “Hey, lovely. Good day?”

I’d run the shop by myself because Ivy’s daycare was closed for the day, so my aunt had offered to stay home to watch her for me, claiming I needed to get used to running things without her there. I knew my aunt, and she had no intention of stepping away from Divine Flora, at least not fully. She was too active, and a full retirement would have driven her insane, but it was her attempt at giving me something of my own, and I appreciated the gesture enough not to call her out on it.

“It was good,” I answered as I entered the kitchen. “Busy, but good. People are starting to decorate for fall, so we sold out of all the themed arrangements.”

Sylvia was standing at the stove, browning meat in a skillet, as she said, “That’s great, dearie. Now’s about the time to make the shift fully into the