24. SKYE

24

SKYE

"Well, it looks like we picked a great one this month."

My eyes slid through the circle of women sitting around me. They were all smiling and giving me a round of nods. One woman, Cindy, proudly announced, "It really was a wonderful story. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished reading it a week ago."

I mirrored the smiles and returned, "I don't think you're the only one who feels that way."

"For as long as I've been a part of this group, this is the first time this has ever happened," another woman, Brenda, chimed in. "I'm nervous it'll never happen again, which would be so disappointing. This was the best book club meeting we've ever had."

Murmurs and nods of agreement came from each of the ladies who was in attendance. Nobody could dispute that this had been our best book club meeting, not even me. I'd hosted them from the start, so I could safely say Brenda wasn't wrong.

For the first time since I'd started the club, every member enjoyed the book we'd chosen for the past month's read. That never happened. Generally, there would be a mix of readers who loved or liked it, which often made up the majority. We'd then have a handful who would just think it was okay. And nearly every book club pick had resulted in at least one—sometimes more—reader who hated the story.

Never, not once, had there been a book that every member of the club thoroughly enjoyed. But now that it had happened, it seemed we were all hoping it would happen next month.

"I can't say I don't understand, Brenda. Today's discussion was so much fun. I love that everyone had the opportunity to be excited about the book. Days like today are precisely the reason I started this. There's nothing better than a group of readers coming together to share their love of books with one another. And while what happened today was rare, I'm holding out hope we can do it again next month," I declared.

"So, what's next month's book?" Teresa asked.

I grinned.

Then I reached into my bag, pulled out next month's book club pick, and shared it with the group. To say everyone was excited would have been an understatement. I could only hope it was going to be a good choice.

With the meeting over and the next one set, I spent the next few minutes thanking everyone for joining the discussion and said goodbye. While the members filed out of the space and back through to the front of the store—many would often pick up the next month's book before heading out—I gathered up my bag and books and moved them off to the side. I needed to work on getting my store rearranged and back in order.

But before I could get too involved in that, three smiling faces approached me, and my heart swelled. "What did you think?"

"I've never really been a big reader, so I wasn't quite sure I'd enjoy this, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself," Ivy answered.

"Same here," Rhea added. "I've read the occasional book, but I think I was reading the wrong stuff, because I've never been so engrossed in a book before this one. I can't wait to read more."

"I love baking, but there was a part of me that wished I wasn't dealing with needing to go through my pastry program for the last few weeks. I was taking every available second I had to read, even if I could only manage a handful of pages each night."

The smile on my own face grew. I loved this.

After learning more about my book club when we were at the lake house for the 4th of July, Rhea, Ivy, and Jules had decided to take part in the month's book club with me. I got them copies of the book, and after tonight's meeting, it was clear they'd enjoyed it.

Not only was I proud to know they were eager about reading now, but I also liked that I was able to create a deeper connection with these women in Cooper's family. It meant the world to me.

"I'm so glad the three of you enjoyed this. Do you think you're going to participate next month?" I asked.

"Absolutely." Ivy didn't hesitate.

"We were actually thinking of browsing the store for a few minutes to grab a couple of books before we leave, if that's okay," Rhea declared.

I nodded furiously. "Of course. If you want more like we just finished reading, head over to the shelves along the wall on the left side of the store. If you want to try something different, the shelves are labeled by genre. I'm more than happy to help you select something, but if you need help finding something, you can also ask Joan. I'm just going to get this put back in order here."

"Do you want some help?" Jules asked.

Shaking my head, I insisted, "No. No, I've got it. Go look for books, and I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."

"Are you sure? We don't mind helping," Ivy offered.

"I'm good. I promise. It won't take me more than just a few minutes, and I've got it down to a science now," I assured her.

With my determination to handle the cleanup on my own, Ivy, Rhea, and Jules took off to peruse the store for some books. I intended to join them as soon as I was finished with getting everything back in order.

When it came to my store, there was little I would ever want to change. I loved the location, the size, and the patrons. But I'd have been lying if I said I enjoyed how I always had to spend the time moving shelves, pulling out chairs, and rearranging things to accommodate the monthly meetings.

And while I knew I could have easily moved the meeting to a local library, coffeeshop, or even a bar, I just didn't think there was any place better than a bookstore for it.

So, even if it wasn't necessarily the fun part, I was willing to rearrange a small section of The Next Chapter to make it happen.

I'd gotten about halfway through moving the chairs out of the space when I heard, "Skye?"

My body instantly tensed.

I should have known. Things had been going so well over the last five weeks.

In every facet of my life, there had been an improvement.

The biggest change was obviously my newfound relationship with Cooper. I wasn't sure there were enough words to describe just how much that alone had impacted me. Ever since he came into my life, particularly since we'd made things official between us, everything seemed to be going right.

Tonight's book club meeting felt like a prime example. For the first time ever, we'd had a unanimous vote that the book we'd read was one everyone should read. Granted, that probably really didn't have anything to do with Cooper and was likely just pure luck, but I was telling myself he was partly responsible.

He and I had been having a wonderful summer together. Though things had been very busy for him at work—the amusement park expansion and the plans for Jules' bakery were keeping him with a full schedule—Cooper always made time for me.

It worked well for us. Because I still had time to myself to do my own thing. And I'd gotten more of that time to myself when I decided to hire a part-time employee to give us a bit more wiggle room in the schedule. So, I had more free time now, a good chunk of which I spent on my own and thoroughly enjoyed, but I would have been lying if I said that I didn't prefer being with him more.

To top it all off, my sleep had improved drastically. I no longer woke up at night unless it was because Cooper was with me and looking for a taste.

And I was giving myself permission now to try to form deeper connections. So far, it seemed I was succeeding in doing that with Cooper's sisters and Rhea. I would have tried with Ava, too, but she was off dancing on a tour for the next several months.

Part of me was worried about where things would lead and if I was making a mistake, but deep down, I knew I couldn't continue to lead a solitary life. I had no choice but to try.

And it was working.

I was exceptionally happy.

Perhaps that was the reason why I had to have one area of my life that caused me some stress. Or, at the very least, it was mildly annoying.

Maria.

She had attempted to reach out to me by calling and texting a few times, and I'd ignored every attempt.

Apparently, that hadn't made things clear enough, because after all the years that I'd been friends with her, I knew, without even turning around, that it was her voice that had just called my name.

"Skye?" she repeated.

My teeth clenched with fury, and I inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm myself down.

It didn't work.

So, I figured I'd have no choice but to allow this to play out however it would.

Slowly, I spun around, my eyes ultimately landing on my former best friend and her pregnant belly.

Even if I was confident that I had moved on and was completely happy with my life right now, it didn't stop the pang of hurt from lancing my heart again. The woman I thought was my best friend was standing in front of me, pregnant with my ex-boyfriend's baby. That was a reality no woman should ever have to face. As angry as I was at him for the betrayal—and I was livid about it—I was devastated over the fact she could do to me what she'd done. It was unbelievably sad.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, my voice indicating I was in no mood to deal with her.

Maria held my gaze for a few seconds before she whispered her plea. "We need to talk."

"About what? I have nothing to say to you."

Her shoulders fell as she tipped her head to the side. "Then let me talk. Just listen to what I have to say."

I didn't want to give her any of my time. She didn't deserve it. But I realized there were still some people in my store, and I wasn't keen on causing a scene. Maybe the sooner I let her say whatever she had to say, I could tell her to leave and never come back. "So, talk. But make it quick."

She inhaled deeply. "I know what I did to you was wrong. I'm sorry. I can't go back and change what happened. I understand why you don't want anything to do with me now, but we're all we have, Skye. For years, it was just the two of us. Before Simon was even in the picture, particularly after your grandmother died, we had each other. I don't want to lose you over this. Do you know what it's like to be going through one of the biggest milestones in your life and not have your best friend there to celebrate it with you?"

Having my jaw drop open while I stared at her with utter disbelief wouldn't have been an unreasonable reaction. I didn't do that. Instead, I fired back, "Are you listening to yourself, Maria? The reason your best friend isn't in your life to celebrate your pregnancy with you is your own fault. You created this mess. Not me."

Nodding furiously, she insisted, "I know. I'm well aware this is my fault. I accept full responsibility. I just?—"

"Accepting full responsibility would be understanding that there are consequences for your actions," I clarified, cutting her off. "You seem to think there should be no penalty for what you did to me. I'm sorry, but I don't trust you, and I don't want anything to do with you."

Disappointment washed over her. "How can you say that? After all these years? What if, what if we go to counseling?"

I jerked my head back as my brows pulled together. "Why should I go to counseling when you're the one who doesn't know the first thing about loyalty? I didn't go behind your back and lie to you about anything. I didn't betray you. I offered you an appropriate response to the way you treated me. It's a shame you believe you don't have to accept that."

"I'm not suggesting there's anything you did wrong, but I thought it would be a way for us to figure out how to fix this and get back a part of our friendship," she explained.

My eyes narrowed. "Counseling only works when the people going are interested in fixing something. I don't want to fix my relationship with someone who could so easily do what you did. That was the ultimate betrayal."

It was becoming clear how the weight of the consequences she faced for her decision to hook up with Simon was impacting her. She looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. And maybe there was a teeny, tiny part of me that felt bad for the baby Maria was carrying that she was under that stress. But I didn't feel bad for Maria. She obviously wasn't thinking about me when she betrayed me with Simon.

"It doesn't make any sense why you're still holding a grudge," she argued, even though the fight was no longer left in her voice. "You've moved on. You seem happy. If anything, you should be thanking me."

She didn't get it.

No matter what I said, I'd never get her to see it from my perspective.

"Maria, this isn't about the fact that I'm so much better off now," I started. "Yes, I've moved on. Yes, I'm deliriously happy with a man who treats me like I deserve to be treated. And yes, he's shown me a life that I never even knew could possibly exist. Unfortunately, none of that negates the fact you did what you did to me, and that's not what a friend does. I'm going to put all my energy, time, and affection into fostering the new relationship I have, one that's made me the happiest I've ever been in my life. You need to let this go. You need to focus on your new relationship and your new life. You have a baby on the way. Put your energy into that, because you're wasting your time here with me. I'm not sure I'll ever forgive you for what you did, but even if I could manage that, I know I'll never forget it. It's in both of our best interests for you to walk away and accept that this is how things are now."

She stared at me in silence for a long time, a single tear rolling down her cheek. If I hadn't shed hundreds of tears months ago when I got that email from Simon, if I hadn't had my heart broken by them, seeing what appeared to be genuine remorse might have led me to waver.

But I'd been put through the wringer. I had to accept what they'd done to me. And though I didn't necessarily wish any ill will toward Maria, Simon, and especially not their baby, I didn't want them in my life moving forward. Her tears weren't going to make me change my mind.

"It seems like I'm fighting a losing battle, so I guess I'll go," she rasped. "For what it's worth, Skye, I love you, and I'm truly sorry for what I did. But I never thought you'd cut me out of your life completely."

It was a good thing she had already decided to walk away, because I wasn't sure I would have been able to restrain myself. She should have stopped speaking after she apologized. She chose to make this about me, like it was my fault, like I'd randomly cut her out of my life for no reason.

My eyes followed her as she walked away, and when I could no longer see her, my gaze shifted to the side. Ivy, Jules, and Rhea were all standing there with concerned looks on their faces.

"Are you okay?" Jules asked.

I pressed my lips together and nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you sure?" Ivy pressed.

Was I?

"I think so," I murmured.

"You know what you need?" Rhea questioned me.

"What?"

"You need ice cream," she declared. "I've found it works wonders in a situation like this."

"Oh, I could so go for some ice cream," Jules said.

"Me, too. What do you say, Skye? Want to join us?" Ivy asked.

It didn't take me more than a second to decide. I grinned at them and replied, "Yeah."

For the next few minutes, Ivy, Jules, and Rhea helped me finish getting my store back in order. After I took care of a few last-minute things at the store, we were out the door. Before I knew it, we'd arrived at The Sweet Landing, Rhea's ice cream shop on her family's farm.

And it seemed that no sooner had Rhea scooped out ice cream for all of us, thoughts of Maria had vanished. Because my phone rang, and Cooper's name was on the display.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sweetheart. I'm not interrupting the book club meeting, am I?" Cooper returned.

"Not exactly."

"What does that mean?"

A smile formed on my face. "The book club meeting is over, and I've already left the store. But I didn't go home. I'm with your sisters and Rhea at The Sweet Landing, and we're having ice cream."

"I didn't know you were planning on going there," he said.

"I wasn't. But there was a bit of a situation at my store, and Rhea thought some ice cream might help," I explained.

Cooper didn't hesitate. "What kind of situation? What happened? Are you okay?"

Laughter spilled out of me. "It would be difficult not to be okay, Cooper. I'm eating ice cream. But to answer your other question, Maria stopped in tonight. She was hoping to get me to go back to being her friend. She wanted me to be there to celebrate this pregnancy milestone in her life."

There was an extended pause as Cooper took a moment to digest the information I'd just given him. Finally, he declared, "I'm on my way there."

"What?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Are you sure you're alright?"

Warmth moved through me. "Yes, I am now. You don't have to come here. I promise I'm fine."

"Skye?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm coming there."

He was a determined man. There wasn't a chance I was going to have any success convincing him to do something other than what he'd already decided he was going to do. "Okay."

"See you soon, sweetheart."

"See you, Cooper."

We disconnected the call, and I blurted, "Maybe I should have listened to Maria."

"What?" Ivy asked, disbelief in her tone.

I nodded, confirming she hadn't heard me incorrectly. "Maria told me she didn't understand why I was still holding a grudge when it was clear I had already moved on and was happy. She suggested I should have been thanking her for what she did. Obviously, there's no way I'd ever do that, but she isn't technically wrong. I've got something so much better in my life now."

All three women beamed at me, and it was Rhea who spoke. "My family is very tight-knit, and I thought I would have a hard time ever finding someone who came from a family with similar values. I haven't been around the Westwoods much longer than you, Skye, but I can tell you that they are some of the best people I've ever met."

"Aw, Rhea, that was sweet of you to say," Jules declared.

"It's the truth."

"Based on what I know about my brothers, I suspect it's probably wise for the both of you to get used to this family, because they aren't going to let you go," Ivy chimed in.

"And the rest of the family adores the both of you as well, so Wyatt and Cooper would be getting flak from all of us if they didn't keep you two around forever," Jules added.

Nothing made me happier than to hear that.

I could have questioned what Cooper's sisters were saying, but the reality was that I didn't think they were lying. The proof was sitting across from me. They didn't hesitate to step up and be supportive of me after what just went down in my bookstore. It warmed my heart to know that after only knowing me for such a short time, they were willing to look out for me like this.

Before Rhea or I could respond to the comments Ivy and Jules had made, the door to the ice cream shop opened and forced our attention in that direction. My eyes landed on Cooper, who had his gaze pinned on me as he stalked in my direction without taking in anyone else in the store.

He came to a stop at the side of the table, bent at the waist, and drove one hand into my hair as he kissed me. Whether for the sake of his sisters and Rhea or because he merely wanted to confirm what he'd already asked on the phone, Cooper kept the kiss from getting too heated. It was good he'd done that, because I didn't trust I could have held myself back from him otherwise.

Keeping his eyes only on me, he asked, "How are you doing?"

I smiled at him, feeling so much warmth and love move through me, and I promised, "I'm okay. In fact, I'm better than that."

"I don't understand what that woman doesn't get about the situation," he muttered. "Does she honestly believe it would be easy to forget what she did to you."

I shrugged. "I don't know. But I don't want you to be upset about it. I was when she showed up, but I'm quickly realizing it's not necessary. I just need to let it go. I've got you, your sisters, Rhea, and the rest of your family. I'm the happiest I've ever been."

He smiled, his features softening.

I held up my ice cream and said, "And I've got ice cream, so it doesn't get much better than that."

Laughter spilled out of him, and he kissed me again. Then, for the first time since he walked into the store, Cooper glanced around the table and greeted Rhea and his sisters.

"Can I get you an ice cream, Cooper?" Rhea asked him.

He shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm not going to stay. I just wanted to check on Skye. Now that I know she's okay, I'll let the four of you enjoy the rest of your girls' night together."

My heart couldn't take it.

God, he was such a good man. For so long, I'd considered myself to be rather unlucky, but if all that I'd experienced led me to this moment, I couldn't say I didn't feel fortunate. Cooper was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I had fallen hard for him when I never thought it would be possible to open my heart to someone again.

"We won't keep her out too late," Ivy told him, her tone teasing.

He offered a nod and a smirk in return. Then he focused his attention on me again. "Call me when you get home, okay?"

I dipped my chin. "Okay."

After giving me one more kiss and saying goodbye to everyone, Cooper left.

And I spent the rest of the evening feeling nothing but gratitude for the new people who'd come into my life and wondering how to tell the man who'd made it all possible just how much he meant to me.