Page 18 of The Deal Breaker
Shoulders hunched slightly, he went around the corner to the kitchen.
Iris hated seeing him hurting, but she wasn’t doing it on purpose. Things weren’t the same between them. For whatever reason, Dash hadn’t noticed, or he’d ignored it. Bottom line, they weren’t as close as they’d once been. That wasn’t an observation, but a fact and why she’d said theywerebest friends.
Notcurrentlybest friends.
They shared the blame for that happening. He hadn’t made their friendship a priority, and she’d thought doing everything for him would be enough to save it.
“Are you sure you don’t want something?” Dash called out.
Her stomach churned. Drinking or eating anything wouldn’t be smart. She pulled her legs in closer. “I’m good.”
And she was.
Maybe not at this moment, but overall, she was more excited about her future than she’d been in a long time.
Iris had always gone along with whatever Dash wanted. She hadn’t spoken up about anything over the years, including them not spending time together.
Friends forever.
Except their deal had been nothing more than an excuse.
She’d continued to work hard and kept pretending being his housekeeper was enough. A potent combination of fear and lack of self-confidence kept her doing anything else. Every time a dream surfaced, she buried it deep again. She’d put Dash first, never realizing her needs mattered, too.
Not until spending time with Henry over Christmas.
A mashup of a fairy godfather and psychologist, he listened to her and asked questions that no one, including Dash, had ever thought to ask. Talking to Henry opened a spill-gate of her hopes and dreams she hadn’t wanted to close.
She’d allowed herself to get stuck. Some of that was because of gratitude to Dash, but she was the biggest problem. Iris could no longer settle because she was afraid of failing or being abandoned. Finding herself alone wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.
Truth was, she was on her own.
Why not go after what she wanted?
Which was what Iris was going to do. She didn’t hate her job, but she wanted…more. Things she couldn’t have if she continued working for Dash.
A kitchen cabinet closed. He must be pouring his drink into a glass. Funny, but she remembered when they were in high school and he drank straight from the jug. That had bugged his mom. “Habit” had been his reply.
Not much had changed.
“You got any cookies?” he asked.
“In the jar on the counter.”
“Store-bought?”
“Homemade.” Which he should know. The fact he asked drove home how much they’d grown apart.
Iris cared about Dash. She always would.
Once upon a time, she fancied herself in love with him. A crush, Iris realized later, but gorgeous geeks were her type, which was why she'd introduced herself as soon as she saw him the first day of school so many years ago. Finding herself parked in Dash’s friend zone had hurt—oh, the tears and belief she’d never get over her broken heart—but it had been for the best.
“Want one?” Dash asked.
“No, but help yourself.”
Their friendship had been the most important thing in her life, which was part of why she’d fallen for him, but she’d kept her feelings a secret. One reason had been their friends-forever deal. Funny how something like that could define her life. The other reason was because she wanted something Dash couldn’t give her—love.
Iris wanted the happily ever after—marriage, kids, animals. Then and now, she dreamed of having a family of her own. Someday, she would find the right man who would love her, treat her as an equal, and make her a priority the way she would with him.
