her with a wave of powerful connection. But she’d never built her life around any hopes for Fitz, so nothing important had changed now that he’d made it clear nothing else would ever happen.
She was still the same person with the same hopes and potential and expectations. Fitz hadn’t changed that. In fact, his rejection had only confirmed what she’d already understood about herself.
She had family and friends and community. Good ones. Real ones.
But in some ways she’d always be alone.
January was usually cool and gray in this part of Virginia, and this year wasn’t any different. She did her work and saw her friends and visited with her new baby nephew and helped with a community food drive, and she was convinced no one in town had any clue what had happened to her and Fitz on Christmas.
But she was kind of down about it just the same.
Maybe it would have helped if Charles had shown more interest. She ran into him a few times, and he texted a few times a week. They had lunch together once. But he wasn’t making any real moves, so she had to assume he wasn’t all that interested in her.
She wasn’t going to hold out hope for him. And the truth was she wasn’t all that disappointed.
Stupidly, she was a lot more upset about Fitz than she was about Charles.
On a Thursday afternoon, she was working in her office since she’d just finished an appointment with a client. It would be another month or so before she got really busy with taxes, but she had a few folks who liked to get an early start.
She tried to concentrate on what she was doing, but she was tired and restless and couldn’t seem to get rid of a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach. Finally she gave up, deciding she’d take a little walk and maybe stop by and see Ria.
She wasn’t a deeply social person, but sometimes it took interaction with other people to drag her out of the doldrums.
She walked down a few blocks to the park and then crossed the street and walked back to the downtown strip where Second Chance Flower Shop was located. Her sister might or might not be in that afternoon—since she always got an early start to handle flower deliveries, she didn’t always work all afternoon—but it was worth a try.
Ria was in the back room, working on a flower arrangement and chatting with Skye. Luke was sleeping in a baby carrier in the corner, so Belinda didn’t pick him up to give him a hug like she wanted. She quietly cooed over his chubby face and tiny fingers for a minute before she slumped into the most comfortable chair in the room.
“What’s the matter?” Ria asked, giving her a quick look.
“Nothing. Just tired and kind of blah. I think it’s just January. Post-holiday slump or something.”
“Yeah. But you’ve seemed kind of down all month. Is it Charles?”
Belinda shook her head. “Not really. I mean, he’s a nice guy, but it wasn’t like I was head-over-heels for him or anything.”
“He still might step it up. He seems to like you.”
“Maybe. But I want someone who more than likes me.”
“Of course you do,” Skye chimed in. “He’s out there somewhere.”
“Maybe. Or maybe not. Not everyone finds someone, and that’s still okay.” She was reminding herself of that fact as much as Skye and Ria. “I’m really fine. Just kind of blah.”
“I think it’s going around,” Ria said, focusing on the delicate orchids she was working into her arrangement. “Everyone seems down in the dumps lately.”
Belinda hadn’t noticed that, but maybe Ria had picked up on something she hadn’t. It was entirely possible that she’d been too distracted by her own worries that she hadn’t noticed how other people were feeling.
She’d have to work on that. She didn’t like being selfish or focused only on herself.
“Who’s down in the dumps?” The familiar voice came from the back door, and it startled Belinda so much that she straightened up with a jerk.
Fitz wandered in, looking as laid-back and nonchalant as ever. He wore his Army jacket and a pair of beat-up jeans. He’d kept his hair and beard trimmed since Christmas, which was a definite change in his habits. But otherwise he was exactly as he’d always been.
Belinda’s heart was racing as he glanced over at her, his eyes lingering for a few seconds before he jerked them away.
“No one in particular,” Ria said lightly. “Just