Testing Recipes for Disaster (Emberwood #2)

Chapter 35- Lauren

“ H oney, I’m home,” I called, trying to not immediately infuse my house with negativity and embarrassment.

“Welcome, darling. I have all the combinations of bread and cheese I could think of. Pizza, pretzel bites with cheese dip, brie and crackers, and quesadillas from Romero’s .

“How did you have time to go get all of this?”

“You realize it’s almost ten? Jer texted me an hour ago.”

“It simultaneously feels like I was dancing with Jer ten minutes ago and like it’s two a.m.”

Sam sighed and started loading a plate with food for me. “Tell me what happened.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good time for either of us.”

I bit off a large chunk of pizza to emphasize my point.

Sam’s blue eyes narrowed at me. “Remember all those times you talked me off a ledge in the last year? Was that a good time?”

“No,” I got out begrudgingly.

“Right. I’m here because you’re my best friend, and you needed me. Not because I expect entertainment. Eat. Hydrate. Tell me who I need to hex.”

Tears sprang up again as I nodded. I knew things between Sam and me would change when she moved in with my brother and when they got married in a few weeks, but her showing up tonight helped me remember that it didn’t mean I’d lose the person who knew me best.

I hydrated. I ate like I hadn’t already overloaded on carbs and cheese three hours ago. And I spilled my guts about everything. Mine and Jer’s official relationship status, my appointment and diagnosis, and how stupid I felt for thinking everything was looking up only to have the consequences of my past self’s actions show up and punch me in the gut. I didn’t even censor what Charlie said, even though his words made me want to vomit.

“We’re going to go back through that enormous life update point by point in a minute, but hold the phone. Charlie... like 5’9”, lanky. Banker.”

“Yeah.”

“Went toe-to-toe with Jer. 6’3”, looks like he belongs on a calendar.” A laugh bubbled up from my chest as I nodded. “For the record, I’ll be working a return-to-sender spell tomorrow for our friend, Charlie, but I can’t imagine him coming within 100 yards of you after whatever Jer said to him.”

I shrugged.

“Laur... you are the most confident person I’ve ever known. I one thousand percent understand people getting under your skin, but what is it about this guy that has your energy feeling like it’s underwater. It’s a weird sensation, and I haven’t gotten that from you before ever.”

“What if he’s right?” I whispered.

“ Charlie? ”

“I mean I know some of the things he said were right. Except for the fact that I’m a mediocre lay because I’m not .”

“Obviously not.”

“But what if I’m putting all my eggs in this basket that what I have with Jer is special? What if it’s not special, and I drop him because he says he likes chocolate sprinkles more than rainbow sprinkles? I’ve ghosted guys over such little things, Sam. With Charlie, I should have been able to say, ‘Hey, it’s not going to work out, all the best!’ but I didn’t . So, is he so off base that I’m fine for a hookup and otherwise kind of a bitch? Like, do I expect them to be perfect, or do I have terrible taste? I don’t know.”

“Charlie said you’d have to change your house, right? If you ever wanted to live with a man? That was him?”

“Yep.”

“So, that tells us he’s a misogynist who also has no taste in interior design. The taste thing is forgivable, but the misogyny thing, not so much. So, even if you think they might be ‘little things,’ your intuition is so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. Don’t berate yourself for trusting the vibes—they don’t lie.”

I didn’t know that I believed her. It felt like I had done this far too many times. Not all the guys I’d ghosted had been bad guys, no matter what Sam said. Even if she was a psychic.

“I kind of want to paint ‘Trust the Vibes’ on my living room wall now.”

I could already picture it in my head in some great 60s-style lettering.

“Maybe tomorrow. Tonight, sleep.”

“Always the voice of reason. Speaking of which, any sage wisdom on what I say to Jer?”

“Um, you could say ‘hi, last night sucked.’ Because that man is gone for you, my friend. But I also know that if you need some space, he’ll give it to you. Your energies are so complementary when they’re together, and he’s not going anywhere.”

“Maybe he should, though. I think so much about what’s right for me that maybe I’m neglecting what’s good for him.”

“If you could see his face when he looks at you from across a room? I don’t think you would be questioning that at all. So, to all of it, I still say sleep. Figure it out tomorrow.”