Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,105
that way? That means you were in love with Ryan. That you are.”
A pause. She wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never admitted that out loud, but of course she was in love with Ryan. But that would fade with time. Wasn’t that what people said? All wounds healed, and hers would, too. “I guess I am, but it’s temporary, and just because it doesn’t smack me in the face when I’m with someone else, doesn’t mean that relationship couldn’t be every bit as satisfying in the end.”
Joey and Loretta sighed in unison like Gabriella was a hopeless case of naivety. Loretta went back to work with a disapproving shake of her head, and Joey looked into Gabriella’s eyes. “I know you’re upset. I know Ryan really hurt you, but don’t screw up your entire life over it. Maddie is wonderful. We both know that. But is she your person?”
Gabriella tried to smile at her friend for caring, for reaching out and offering advice, but she couldn’t quite manage it because of the painful ache in her throat. Instead, she nodded, absorbing Joey’s words whether she wanted to or not. And finally, “I guess we’ll see.”
She spent the night at home on her own, and as she lay in bed, she surfed her phone idly, checking out the happenings of her friends and neighbors. Angie had posted a photo of her and their older sister, Teresa, in a water gun fight like they used to have when they were kids. She grinned and scrolled. On the Tangle Valley page, Joey had posted a gorgeous shot of the sun setting over the vines. She scrolled and went still. The Biddies’ page had a shot of Ryan and the same woman she’d seen her talking with at the Scoot not too long ago. Lana something. She was standing on top of a bench in town center, and Ryan was looking up at her, laughing. She wanted to put the phone away, to get the image the hell away from her, because everything in the photo gutted her. She felt ill and shaky almost instantly. That’s when she saw the caption: Sassy summer brings out the romance.
The romance. She looked at the photo again. Saw the mirth in Ryan’s eyes, the way her mouth turned up in laughter.
Needless to say, Gabriella didn’t sleep that night. Ryan was moving on, plain as day. It was time she did the same.
* * *
“Sounds like you had a rough one,” Lana said, after hopping in Ryan’s truck parked in front of her apartment complex. Ryan needed a pick-me-up after a rough go of things at work, and chilling with Lana would definitely help.
“I screwed up a work order, and my guy painted the wrong wall. Not only that. He painted it red. Bright red, which was meant for a child’s racer room across town.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. As you can imagine, the client was less than thrilled with his living room and had quite a lot to say about it. I had to hold the phone away from my ear.”
“Shall we grab a beer and lament your attention to detail and the fact that I’m falling in love with Tasha and wildly unsure how to tell her?”
In the course of their recent friendship, Ryan had received an earful about the whirlwind romance between Lana and Tasha from Portland. She’d nodded and listened and supported, and in exchange, Lana had done the same for her. “I’m all for that discussion, but I’m thinking ice cream instead. I’m becoming an ice cream addict and must be stopped. But not today.”
“Your addiction is my good fortune. Onward to the good stuff.”
The parking lot at Maraschino’s was hopping, the way it often was in the early evening. The sun wasn’t quite down, and families were all over the place now that school was out for summer.
“Name your poison,” Ryan said, as she swung open the door to the shop, a throwback to soda fountains of yesteryear. Most of the blue leather booths were occupied, and the line for counter service was long, but Ryan was undeterred. Nowhere to be, and ice cream soothed the soul.
“Oh, I’m going with a hot fudge sundae all the way. You?”
Ryan didn’t hesitate, feeling a tad lighter already. “Banana split because I love the way they layer the whipped cream. They make sure you never run out.”
Lana grinned. “It really is in the details, isn’t it?”
The bell above the door dinged as two new customers entered, and a