Chapter 42

DARCY

* * *

"Girl, this place looks amazing," Harper squeals. "I love everything you did."

"Yeah, this place looks great, Darcy. Thank you." Lawsy pulls me into a half hug.

"Thanks. Do you really like it? Does it feel like you? You can tell me the truth. I need to know to improve."

"It's perfect," Lawsy says. "It doesn't feel girly at all." He gives me another little squeeze and lets me go. "I'll admit, I was afraid there would be an explosion of throw pillows, but this is great. And my office is functional and cozy. The bar cart with my bourbon collection is brilliant."

"Yeah, now he'll never leave that room," Harper teases.

"Well, you guys already had a great start. I just bumped it up a bit." This really wasn't difficult. Lawson hired a decorator a few years ago, and while it was a little impersonal, it was easy to build on the foundation.

"I may never want to leave," Harper coos, winking at me.

Lawson moves to Harper and wraps her in a brotherly hug, kissing her on the head. "This will always be your home. But you should find your own place too, so you can date, and I won't have to know about it." He gives an exaggerated shudder.

"Well, that's not in my future. Between you and your teammates scaring anyone who dares to come around me, I'm practically a nun."

"Aw, Harps, you know we want you to be with a guy worthy of you. And trust me, none of the last few dates measured up."

"How do you know? You never gave them a chance?" she whines. She pokes him between his ribs, and he winces and steps back. "If you guys let us figure it out for ourselves, we'd be fine, right, Darcy?"

"Hm, what?" Their sibling argument has me daydreaming about my relationship with Cole. I wonder if all big brothers are overbearing or just big brothers who are professional athletes.

"I mean," Harper continues, "if it weren't for Cole, you'd be living your happily ever after with Matt."

"Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure we were meant to be. I mean, it was a forced proximity kind of thing mixed with a childhood crush. A lethal combination. Just not sustainable." It wasn't real. It was a mistake.

"He still texting you every day?" Harper asks.

I nod and half-shrug. Matt sends me a text every day. Sometimes it's a gif. Sometimes it's a joke. If I don't hear from him all day, there's a sweet dreams text sent late at night I see in the morning. I'm not sure what to make of it. There's no sense in responding. We were a mistake. And I'm doing better. Why pick at that wound? It's healing. I'll tell him to stop. Eventually.

When I talk to Cole, he never mentions Matt. It's like he purposely avoids his name. I know they talk now, even hang out, it seems. My conversations with Cole focus on my projects, his wedding, or begging me to come to a game.

I've lost my taste for baseball. Totally. I don't watch it anymore. What if I see something about Matt? And, well, I can't. Not yet. Taylor Swift said it right in "All You Had to Do Was Stay." Seriously, why did he ghost me? Any why the texts now? He's confusing.

"Well, it's a long weekend. You aren't due back in Charleston for a few days. I have to go to New York to meet with a literary agent, and…."

"You sold your book?!" Harper is a talented writer and wasn't ready to put her work out there until I challenged her. We agreed if she sent her book out to agents, I'd work on putting my design company out there.

"Well, not yet, but an agent wants to meet me. Come with me to New York. We'll make a girl's trip out of it. Invite Sammie too. I can't wait to spend quality time with her."

"I don't know," I hedge.

"Consider it my graduation present to all of you," Lawson chimes in. "It's on me. Call your friend and see if she can go. I'll take care of everything."

And just like that, I'm off to New York City for a girl's weekend. Is this my new world?

* * *

Sammie and I roll into our apartment, which is smaller than the New York City suite Lawsy put us in. Harper and Sammie hit it off immediately. I knew they would. After our first day of shopping and sightseeing and a Broadway show, we crashed. Over breakfast, they ganged up on me about Darcy Davidson Designs. Oh, as if I had any doubts about it being a planned attack, Ashleigh showed up that afternoon to complete the foursome. When she pulled out a laptop to create an entire social media identity and plan, I knew. It wasn't a girl's weekend. It was an intervention.

"I still can't believe you conspired behind my back." I plop on the couch and put my feet on our secondhand coffee table. After the luxury weekend in New York, the poor student look feels less homey and more shabby.

"Conspired is such a harsh word. It implies a negative intent. Which none of us had." She crashes on the comfy reading chair and shifts to avoid the spring that punctures you in all the wrong places. "I know you weren't thrilled at first, but you're pleased with the final product, aren't you?" She looks at me with unsure eyes.

"No, you guys came up with an amazing business plan." They really did. Ashleigh and Harper have a good sense of business and how to set up the structure. Ashleigh set up separate Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, website, and email accounts and posted a few pictures to tease the launch that's coming soon. She crossed it to my personal accounts plus the Decker Connection accounts. I already have over twenty thousand followers without any actual content. That girl is a wiz. Even so, it still terrifies me.

The launch is coming soon. I don't even know what that means. They set the business plan up to lessen overhead by keeping many of my services virtual. I can do video consultations from anywhere. The client pays travel expenses. They even helped me come up with hourly and project rates. I about choked when they calculated what the cost for Chance's house was using the proposed rates. Now I understand why he insisted on paying my rent and meals.

"I already heard from Mr. McIntyre with the numbers I'd need and the promise to be my silent partner. He'll wire the money once the business account is open." Mr. Mac is thrilled to be an investor in my company. He's a retired Silicon Valley executive and part of Cole and Matt's surrogate family from Savannah and I'm humbled by their support system extending to me. I'm nervous about being able to pay him back, but he seems confident he's making an excellent investment.

"That's amazing!" Sammie joins me on the couch and playfully throws a pillow at me. "So quit moping. This is the start of something great, Darcy. I just know it."

"Yeah, it's great." My voice lacks the enthusiasm it should.

"This launch party will be lit. And Cole can come, too, since he'll be down here for a series. It's perfect." They picked a date for a launch party and my only responsibility is to show up.

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't want to use my start-up money for it. It seems, I don't know, premature?" And irresponsible.

"Girl, it's fine. Besides, the bill is being picked up by an anonymous donor."

"Oh, who?"

"Dunno. Guess that's why they call it anonymous?" She gives me a wink and a look that tells me she knows more than she's sharing.

"It was sweet that Chance offered his house, but it just feels off somehow."

"It's because you've been off. You need to hit that reset button and move forward. It's time to face your future."

The thought of a big party at Chance's house makes my stomach sour. It's been six months since I was there, yet it seems like yesterday. So much has changed. I graduated. Matt and Cole fought and made up. I'm launching my company with no safety net. I've learned to live with a mended heart. Yeah, she's right. I'm moving forward, even if I'm dragging my feet.