I laughed because I knew that. Which was exactly why I'd used it.
"Why don't you rest today?" she offered. "I can manage at the shop by myself."
"I'm coming to the shop. I'll take a nap then bring lunch to you and stay to help out."
She didn't argue but I could tell she wanted to. Then, it occurred to me that maybe she didn't want me messing with the business but didn't want to say anything because she was my best friend. Earth to Sierra, pay attention to social cues.
"Does it bother you that I'm there all the time now?" I asked. "I mean, am I stepping on your toes? Because I don't want to do that. You're the one who's actually built this business."
"No! I'm glad you come to help because it gives me a chance to see you more than just a few hours in the evening while you're here."
"And you're not upset that I horned in on hiring Lee? You can be honest with me. I won't be mad." I might cry inside, but I wouldn't be mad.
"No, it needed to be done. I can't keep up with everything. I just...wasn't ready until you showed up and I realized I have no time to spend with my best friend because I'm constantly working. That probably also explains why I have no other friends and I haven't been on a date in longer than I'd care to admit."
"Okay, then I'll go take a little nap and I'll bring food to the shop around noon."
Cam nodded. "Sounds good. I'm going to finish getting ready and go run some errands before I go in."
She went to her room and I picked up my mess from the table, along with my now-empty coffee cup. Once everything was clean, I collapsed on my bed and passed out.
Three hours later, I was a little bit better rested, showered, dressed, and semi-coherent as I waited at the diner for the lunches I'd ordered. Rachel, the woman behind the counter, sat a to-go cup of Dr. Pepper in front of me. Even though I'd forgotten to order it.
"Bless you, Rachel. May all your dreams come true."
She grinned at me. "You always order one, so I made it up out of habit."
"I've trained you well, young padawan."
Rachel laughed and drifted away. I sipped my Dr. Pepper and scrolled through news articles on my phone. I barely had time to read the news when I was working my day job, much less working with Cam, so now was my chance to catch up.
I was so engrossed in an article on the upcoming elections that I didn't notice when two women sat on stools next to me. It wasn't until I heard Ben Murphy's name that I tuned into their voices and realized they were the two women who'd been gossiping about Ben at The Red Boot the first night I'd gone home with him.
Crap, what were their names? The blonde was something with a J or a G. Jill, Jenna. No, Gina. Her name was Gina. And the other one was a B word. No, not a bitch. Her name started with a B.
"I heard he's banging some chick from Greenville."
As soon as she said it, I remember. Barbara. Good ole Barb. With a tongue that matched her name. It was barbed as well.
Jesus, didn't these women have anything better to talk about? Like politics or religion or something a helluva lot more important to the state of the world. And why in the hell did they only sit next to me when they were gossiping about Ben?
"Ben Murphy will never settle down. He might get married eventually, but he'll never be a one-woman man."
I bit back a scoff. The man worked so much he barely had time to date and they thought he had time to deal with two or three women at a time? Idiots.
"I know," Barb sighed. "But he's so pretty."
"He is. And he does a good job of treating the women he's with like they're the only ones. Mary Anne said that when they dated, he was great. He cooked her dinner, listened to everything she had to say like he actually gave a shit, and never got skittish when they talked about what they wanted out of their futures. She thought he was going to propose to her then, boom, dumped. Broke her heart."