Page 124 of Forty, Flirty & Fall Inn

"I'm fine," I sob."I'm totally fine.The inn is saved and the goat yoga worked and I have everything I wanted and I'm completely, absolutely fine."

"You're not fine," Lululemon woman says gently.

"I'm not fine," I agree, burying my face in Buttercup's surprisingly comforting neck."I ruined everything.I lied to someone and he found out and now he's gone and he sent me a check like I'm a business transaction and?—"

"Breathe," someone instructs.

"I can't breathe.I can't breathe because I miss him and he was everything and I destroyed it because I'm an idiot who thought saving the inn mattered more than being honest and?—"

"Was this the billionaire?"Melody asks."The one from the Instagram posts?"

"Luke," I whisper his name like it hurts.Because it does."His name is Luke and he builds train cars when he's sad and dances the waltz to make me feel better and sends inappropriate notes with flowers and I love him."

"Have you told him that?"

"I can't.He made it very clear we're done.He even honored the business partnership because he's good and decent and keeps his promises even when the other person is a lying disaster who doesn't deserve?—"

"Okay, stop."Lululemon woman—who I now notice has a therapist's calm—takes charge."Let's break this down.You lied?"

"I hacked his dating profile to make us match."

There's a moment of silence.

"That's..."someone starts.

"Fraud.I know."

"I was going to say romantic."

I look up through tear-blurred eyes."What?"

"You wanted to meet him so badly you hacked a dating app?"A younger participant grins."That's like a rom-com plot."

"It's a crime plot."

"Look," the therapist-like woman says."What you did was wrong.But people make mistakes when they're desperate.The question is: was the connection real?"

"Yes," I say without hesitation."Everything after that first night was real."

"Then fight for it."

"I can't.He doesn't trust me."

"Trust can be rebuilt."

"Not with Luke.His ex-wife betrayed him.He…doesn't give second chances."

"Has he explicitly said that?"

I think about our last conversation.

The hurt in his eyes.

The finality in his voice.

"He said he needs to think."

"That's not never."