Page 53 of One Night Stand After Another
Once all of her bags were on the curb, she sighed. It was a lot to carry alone.
My new life starts now.
She was here. In Los Angeles. Her interview with Fiber Kingdom was tomorrow morning.Best life, here I come.
She propped her yarn-stuffed carry-on on top of her rolling bag, slung her purse across her body, and looped her other carry-on, the one Zane had claimed as his own for their flights, over her shoulder. She slowly made her way into the chic boutique hotel. The lobby was incredible. The bar looked amazing. Her room, when she finally got checked in, up the elevator, and down the hall, had a great view of the beach.
The room service menu was propped on the retro desk. For dinner, she’d either have to leave the hotel, go downstairs, or order up. Food was not going to magically materialize tonight. No one was going to run her a bath, either. She was going to enjoy that king-sized bed alone. No one was going to…nope.
Not going there.
It hadn’t taken her long to get used to being indulged, had it?
I was on vacation. It wasn’t real life. This is real life, the one I make for myself. Tomorrow is real life, when I take what I’ve learned in the last ten years and use it to move my life in the direction I want to go.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she tugged it free.
Brittany:Checked-in yet? Banging with a beach view?
Her heart hit bottom.
As she tried to formulate a reply, she couldn’t. Her mind cycled through how to spin what had happened in a positive light, but she had a terrible feeling Britt wasn’t going to approve. Since she usually used Britt as a touchstone for good decisions, this was worrisome.
But she couldn’t lie. Not to Brittany, to whom she’d sent daily updates of Zane’s latest plan for their journey.
Clara:Checked in alone, as planned. Looking forward to my interview tomorrow.
Her phone rang two seconds later, and she didn’t want to answer. What did that mean?
“Hey,” Clara said, and launched into a recap of the day before Britt could speak. “Jimmy Banan’s showroom was amazing, and I spent the afternoon learning how to weave. You would not believe the things he had for sale. Absolutely astounding work.” She prattled on until she ran out of things to describe.
“You okay?” Britt asked.
“Of course,” Clara answered immediately. “I’m living my dream, aren’t I?”
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“I’m not sure I want to,” Clara said slowly. “I’m afraid if I tell you that Zane took me to an adorable beach storefront location and suggested we open an artsy café together, you might agree with him.”
Britt’s gasp was audible.
“Since I told him no, I really don’t want you to start in on me.”
“I would never do that, babe. You know I want you to be happy. Whatever form that takes.”
“Yeah,” Clara said.
“Do you want to talk about it, though? It won’t be the first time you’ve talked through a decision until you figured out what you wanted to do.”
“You mean, until you list the pros and cons until I see your call is the right call,” Clara corrected.
“Is that what you think I do? I’ve never steered you toward what I think is right. I just let you ramble until you figure it out, pal.” Britt’s chuckle was rich with shared history, and it warmed Clara to her frozen core. “Up until today, you’ve been way too busy fucking, and I didn’t want to interrupt with questions, but it sounds like you’ve got some time on your hands now. Start talking—and not about socks and sweaters this time.”
She told Britt about Zane’s blog betrayal, Jimmy Banan’s job offer, and Zane’s suggestion for adding a store to her site. “I can’t trust him, Britt. All this time he’s been reading my blog, probably gloating over all the ways he’s inspired me this week—”
“Well-deserved gloating, if you ask me,” Britt inserted.
“Quiet, you. And he used that plus my delight in all the places we’ve visited to suggest I take a chance on turning my hobby into a career before I learn a damn thing about the fiber business. What does he think I’m doing? I plan to try to sell my designs once I settle in at Fiber Kingdom. I know I’m talented.” But it felt strange to say it out loud.
