Page 121 of Forty, Flirty & Fall Inn

Or just another form of torture.

At this point, it's hard to tell the difference.

23

SUCCESS WITHOUT SAGE

SAGE

Day eighteen.

Day eighteen, since Luke Sterling broke my heart on my own porch—and I'm standing in my office holding a check that could solve every problem I've ever had except the one that matters.

Beyond my windows, November is being particularly November-ish, with gray skies that match my mood and rain that can't decide if it wants to be mist or actual precipitation.

The perfect weather for staring at an obscene amount of money while feeling absolutely miserable.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars," I read aloud to the empty room."Pay to the order of Cascade View Inn LLC."

The memo line, in what must be Daniella's handwriting, reads: "Partnership Investment - Q4 2024."

Partnership investment.

Like this is business.Like he didn't hold me in the rain.

Like he didn't say this was real for him.That we were real for him.

Were.

Past tense.

The awful, final past tense.

"Sage!"Mira bursts through the door, practically vibrating."The goat yoga people are here!All of them!With actual goats!"

"Great," I manage, folding the check and sliding it into my desk drawer like it's evidence of a crime.

Which maybe it is.Evidence of how badly I screwed up the best thing in my life.

"Four goats, eight participants, and someone from the Snoqualmie Valley Record!"Mira continues, oblivious to my internal crisis."They want to do a feature on 'Rural Wellness Trends.'We're going to be famous!"

"We're already famous," I mutter."Just not for good reasons."

"What?"

"Nothing.Tell them I'll be right out."

She bounces away, and I take a moment to look at myself in the mirror.

Three weeks of barely sleeping has left me looking like an extra from The Walking Dead.

I've tried concealer, but there's not enough makeup in the world to hide heartbreak.

"You wanted this," I tell my reflection."Successful inn, no foreclosure, actual goat yoga.This is literally everything you said you needed."

My reflection looks unconvinced.

Probably because we both know what I actually need is currently in Seattle, presumably hating me with the kind of quiet competence he brings to everything.