Page 101 of Stuck with Me

“But I want to.”

He seems like he’s going to allow it.

“For what it’s worth, this was the best holiday week I’ve ever had at the cabin.”

He gives me a half-forced smile and lifts his chin. “If it’s all the same to you, I’m going to get to bed early. I’m heading out in the morning so I can catch my flight from Denver.”

Regret aches in my chest but what’s done is done. And it’s for the best, I tell myself this over and over as I exit the room.

“Bye, Moretti.”

“Goodbye, Miss Milano.”

The proper referral digs deeper in my gut, and I shut the door behind me. My legs take me down the hall without direction from my brain, and when my watering eyes glance up to find Cammie’s, I rush into her arms.

She holds me up while I collapse against her and sob silently. I haven’t fallen apart like this since Gigi died. And before that, my parents. I never even let Cammie see me cry when my grandfather died. And when Cammie’s mom passed away, I held back the tears to be strong for her until I was by myself.

Hugging, crying, and showing my vulnerable side are uncommon for me. But Cammie is my best friend, and she lets me be real with her. I pull back and wipe the tears away. She gazes at me and her lower lip pouts.

“C’mon, let’s you and me go have ourselves a little chat,” Cammie says, using one of my usual lines.

One of Gigi’s lines.

A pitiful smile breaks on my face and I nod. Admitting I don’t have this whole life thing figured out is not something I like doing. But I haven’t been this confused since being in my adult years.

“Where’s everyone else?” I sniff.

“Outside. I think Dean talked them into a snowman competition.”

“And you didn’t want to join in?”

Her lips pull into a small smile. “Something told me you might need me.”

And now my eyes are watering again. “What did I do to deserve a friend like you?”

She shoves me into the living room and to the couch. “We both know I’m the taker in this friendship. You’re the one who’s always around when I need you. Let me return the favor, for once.”

We drop onto the couch and Cammie snatches a bag of mini Kit-Kat’s from the coffee table and brings it into her lap.

I huff out a laugh. “That’s not true.”

She tosses me a Kit-Kat and I catch it. “Is too. Now tell me what the problem is. Because I’m having a hard time seeing what it is exactly.”

I unwrap the mini candy bar, my mind whirling with the events over the last week. “I’ve fallen for him, that’s what the fucking problem is,” I admit.

“Again, I ask, what exactly is the problem?”

I exhale a long breath. “What did I just say this morning? I’m not the kind of girl who gets married and has kids. I need my independence. Remember, it will take a unicorn for me to settle down.”

She looks at me pointedly. “Who are you trying to convince? Because if anyone is marriage and mother material, it’s you, my friend.”

“Ha!” I bark out a laugh. “I’m fucked up, Cams. You know that.”

“You are not. Stop talking shit about my best friend.”

I give her sad smile and shake my head. Not even sure what to say.

“It’s not your fault you got dealt a bad hand in life. Even more so, it’s not fair. But you have the option to choose something good. It’s up to you though, to make that choice.”