Page 70 of The Through Duet
Rya grinned.“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if we were ever going to agree on anything, but I’m glad that we went with this house.While the one on Wavistead was cute, I really want to get a couple of dogs one day, and this place has the perfect yard for that.”
“Yeah, there’s nothing like having a pet,” I sighed.“I’m hoping to get one someday, too.”
Rya was kind enough not to point out that I could afford to have five pets right now if I was just willing to dig into my trust fund.However, since she knew the entire story there, she rarely mentioned it, knowing that it was a sore subject for me.
Getting off that topic, she asked.“So, how much longer are you going to avoid Dalton?”
After Dalton had left me to my own devices a few weeks ago, I’d been doing my best to avoid him, but not because of anything that he’d done.After all, I was used to his judgmental ways and shitty moods.So, it wasn’t anything that he’d done.
Instead, this was about being embarrassed because Lynne had given me the perfect tattoo for the unrequited feelings that I had for Dalton Summit, and not because I’d told her about it.
No.
As soon as Dalton had left, Lynne and I had gotten to talking about tattoos, and she had explained how inspirational tattoos could be a hit or miss because what a person found inspirational at the age of twenty might not feel the same about the quote when they’re forty.She had explained how tattoos were permanent, whereas the need for inspiration was temporary.
Of course, if you wanted a reminder of a certain time in your life, then that was a great reason to get an inspirational tattoo, but I hadn’t been trying to commemorate anything special.I’d been wanting to draw strength from something to help me deal with my mother, and getting a tattoo for that suggested that I’d be struggling with that for the rest of my life.Suddenly, getting an inspirational tattoo had felt as if I’d be branding myself with negativity forever, so I had decided against that.
Unfortunately, when we’d begun discussing other ideas, Lynne had suggested something that spoke to my personality, which was something that wasn’t temporary or fleeting.I was who I was, and it was time that I stopped apologizing for that-her words, not mine.
Granted, I’d been mortified, but once she’d started sketching some ideas, I’d fallen in love with the suggestion.Lynne also had a very talented eye, and so, by the time that she’d finished with the tattoo, I’d been both amazed and emotional.
She’d also told me that I could do better than a guy that was as clueless as Dalton, and she had also warned me that I wasn’t fooling anyone, and sooner or later, Dalton was going to catch on to the real reason that I put up with his shit.
So, in order to make sure that Dalton remained clueless, I’d been working around his schedule at Precious Pets these past few weeks, and I’d also been skipping out on all of Rya’s invitations, though she was fully aware of why.In fact, she’d been very understanding when I had asked to come over early to deliver her gift, so that I could leave before the party started.
“For as long as it takes,” I answered honestly.“I need to get a handle on these very misplaced feelings that I have, but I just can’t seem to do it.”
“Well, they say that the best way to get over a guy is to get under another one,” she teased.“Though I’m not sure how good that advice actually is.”
“Not to mention that I do date,” I reminded her.“It’s not like I’m pining away for him in some medieval tower somewhere.”
“True,” she sighed quietly.
After a few seconds, I asked.“What do you think about online dating?”
Rya’s head jerked back, her expression positively horrified.“Other than the fact that I’d rather set myself on fire than sign up for one of those sites?”
“What sites?”
We both turned to see Koen walking towards us from the kitchen, and Rya really was a lucky woman.Never mind his looks and money, but the man really did adore her, and one day, Rya was finally going to let him give her the world, and I couldn’t wait.More than anything, I wanted to see all of Rya’s dreams come true, and Koen was off to a great start so far.
“Leandra was talking about signing up for online dating,” Rya answered, ratting me out.
Koen looked just as equally horrified as he sat on the armrest of the couch, his left hand automatically reaching out to massage Rya’s shoulder.“Yeah, I’ve heard that those sites are horrible.”
“Oh, c’mon,” I drawled out as I looked back and forth between the two.“They can’tallbe bad.”
Rya looked at me pointedly.“Can you tell me of justonetime when you’ve heard something positive about online dating?”
“That doesn’t mean that no one’s ever found their happily-ever-after on one of those sites,” I argued.“It’s possible.”
“So, you’re really not going to try to make a go of things with Dalton?”Koen asked, and I immediately wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.If it wasn’t bad enough that Lynne had pointed out the obvious, Koen was also bringing it up.
“I didn’t say a word,” Rya blurted, probably embarrassed for me.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Koen rushed out.“I thought...well, I thought that it was a...a known thing by now.”
I waved away his apology, though I could feel the heat in my cheeks.“It’s okay,” I assured him.“I’m not...it’s fine.”
