Page 40 of Love Bites (Timber Creek #2)

CHAPTER 40

SUMMER

I was a damn cliché, and I didn’t even care. In fact, I was leaning into it.

Ice cream? Check.

Fluffy blanket? Check.

Ignoring the texts from my friends and family? Other than letting Indi know I was alive, check.

Procedural crime drama TV? Law and Order SVU Marathon found. Check and double check.

Stress-knitting? One scarf down.

None of it made me feel any better, but until I was ready to talk to anyone in my family, this was where I’d be. The moment I saw any of them, they’d know something was wrong, and the jig would be up.

I stabbed my needle through the yarn, huffing as I missed the stitch in my impatience. “Stupid yarn,” I mumbled, but the only answer was the sound of the TV. Loneliness tugged at my heart, but after I’d gotten myself into this situation, maybe I deserved it.

A single tear gathered on my lower lid, but I brushed it away, refusing to let it fall. His words had been cruel, wielded with the intent to hurt me, and Goddess, they had.

“My life isn’t a mess,” I huffed, missing yet another stitch. Letting out a growl of frustration, I threw the needles across the couch, slumping back and crossing my arms across my chest.

He told me not to fall in love with him, and I’d laughed in his face, so sure of my abilities to keep my feelings in check. But that was before I knew him, knew how deeply he cared about those around him, knew what it felt like to be the center of his attention.

What a fool I’d been.

I sniffed, trying to focus on the TV through the blurry tears, and debated shifting into my wolf to let her take the brunt of this pain. That was a slippery slope though, and I refused to give Max that power over me.

Whatever Max had said, I knew what we felt for each other was real. I even knew that he knew it was real. The way he held me at our wedding, the way he looked at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention, the way he threw himself in front of me when I was in danger. Had I caused some of it? Maybe. But the way he’d flung the accusation at me stung worse than anything else.

We’d never used the words, but I was willing to bet my life that Max was as in love with me as I was him.

What was his deal? Something must have happened in Venice while we were apart for him to make such a 180 from our reception only days ago.

Banging on my apartment door made me jump, gripping my heart. How had I not heard footsteps on the stairs? I glanced at my TV, volume turned way up to drown out my thoughts. Maybe too loud.

“Summer Larkin, open up your door before we break it down.”

Aspen. Busted.

Before I could disentangle myself from my blankets and yarn, Indi and Aspen flickered inside. I gave them a flat stare and slumped back down on the couch.

“Why even knock and ask me to get up if you were just going to barge in?”

“Blame me,” Aspen said. “I got worried when you didn’t answer.”

“You gave me literally two seconds.”

My sister shrugged unapologetically and joined me on the couch as Indi sat on my other side.

“So? What’s going on?” Aspen cast her gaze around my apartment, as though looking for something. Or someone. “You disappear for a few days, we don’t see hide nor hair of you, and you feel all… off in the pack bonds. And now this” — she waved a hand at my current setup — “this is a cry for help if ever I’ve seen one.”

I turned to Indi, who raised her hands. “I said nothing.”

Aspen leaned forward, her eyebrows rising to her hairline. “Said nothing? About what?”

Resigned to my fate, I took up my knitting again and told them everything. Watching Aspen’s face was a show as I detailed how I’d spent the last several weeks: shock at the revelation I found vampires so easily in Boston; amusement at me throwing him to the literal wolves with the fake boyfriend dinner; regret over our fight that lead Max and I to the Grand Canyon; a mixture of judgment and amusement over our Vegas wedding; then terror when I recounted everything that happened in Europe.

“You’ve been busy,” Aspen said, a hint of hurt in her words.

“I couldn’t tell you.” I squeezed her hand, hating that I’d now caused my sister pain too with this stupid plan. “That he’s a vampire was Max’s secret to tell, not mine. There’s no way West and Cooper would have let me go, and Max needed me. That part, I don’t regret.”

“What about the rest?” Indi said quietly.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Did I regret it?

“I regret thinking I was strong enough not to fall in love with him,” I finally said. “I feel exceptionally stupid about that. I gaslit myself into believing it had changed somewhere in Paris, and it wasn’t about needing each other for this task anymore. I just needed him, not the adventures he provided. But he’s just as stupid if he thinks he doesn’t need me too. I know it.”

Indi hummed, but didn’t say anything.

“And I regret lying,” I whispered, looking back and forth between my two best friends. “The thought of telling Dad…” I tipped my head up to the ceiling, blinking rapidly to fight back the emotions flooding me. “He was so excited. You threw me the wedding of my dreams, and it was for nothing.”

“Not for nothing.” Indi squeezed my hand. “You’re worth celebrating, Max or no. If you think Heath wouldn’t have thrown you a party on any given Tuesday, you don’t know your dad that well.”

Aspen’s eyes were incandescent with her wolf, ready for murder. “That goth pigeon bastard . I’m getting his number from West and luring him here and then I’m going to kill him.”

I gripped her wrists before she could reach for her phone, knowing she would do exactly that. “No murder, please. He does still need to save the leader of the supernatural free world.”

She growled, but didn’t resist my hold. When she sat back, I let go.

“Don’t tell the boys,” Aspen finally said, and I looked over at her. “I’ll deal with it, and let them know where to shove it if they have anything judgmental to say.”

I nodded quickly, unable to voice how relieved I was over this. “Thank you.”

“This is probably a stupid question, but how are you doing?” Indi asked.

I gestured to the post-breakup nest I’d made for myself. “Right on schedule, I think. Not my first breakup rodeo.”

My throat went tight, but I fought back the tears.

“How can we help?” Aspen bumped her shoulder into mine, and a little of my tension eased at the contact.

I sighed. “It is what it is, right?”

“Stupid saying,” Indi muttered.

“Well, you’re doing the right thing,” Aspen said, shooting off a text before reaching for the remote. “When in doubt, look to Olivia Benson.”

They pulled my blanket over their legs too, and settled in to stay with me, each resting a head on my shoulders. I tipped my head onto my sister’s, savoring the physical connection I had not just with her, but also her wolf.

As much as I wanted a life of adventure, I loved my family, and I loved my pack. Someday when the sting of his words faded, I knew this was a good thing and I would be better off without Max.

For a brief time, the idea of sharing my life with Max had been all I could think about. Family dinners at the pack house, slow nights with my siblings, lazy mornings in bed before I went to work in the bakery, and then letting him whisk me off on an adventure for a few days before returning home to our family.

But that had only been a dream, and the sooner I realized it, the better.

A few minutes later, familiar footsteps pounded up the stairs right as a new episode started. We were mid-intro recitation, the three of us chanting the opening words in unison, as the front door cracked open to reveal Terran, takeout bags in hand. In all-black and his backwards Buffalo Willies hat, he must have come straight from the restaurant.

“Uh—” he froze, like he was unsure if he should interrupt, eyes darting around the messy living room. The episode moved on from the intro, and Aspen waved him in.

“I ordered reinforcements,” she explained. “A wolf can’t live off ice cream.”

My stomach rumbled as the smell of burgers and fries reached me, so maybe she had a point.

“Uh-oh, SVU? Do I need to hurt someone?” Terran asked, bringing the bags to my coffee table and looking between us. He raised a brow at Indi, like she would be the one to spill the beans, but she merely cleared her throat and looked pointedly at the TV. “Dare I ask what’s going on?”

“You dare not.” Aspen waved him away. “That will be all.”

“Where’s my tip?”

“Here’s a tip — get a haircut.”

Rolling his eyes, Terran left, shutting the door behind him.

Indi fell asleep somewhere into the third episode, curling up on the end of the couch. Aspen had assigned herself as yarn-holder and was uncoiling it for me as I knitted.

I was relieved they hadn’t pushed me to talk more, instead just being with me. If I was honest, I was sick to death of thinking about myself and my own problems.

Clearing my throat, I shot Aspen a glance. “So. Did my eyes deceive me or did I see you and Cruz getting up close and personal at the party?” I couldn’t say reception , not after Max had ruined it.

Aspen huffed. “Moment of weakness. It won’t happen again.”

I tilted my head, squinting at her. “Are you sure? It looked like you two were having fun. Why didn’t Matthew come?”

She shook her head, swallowing as she flicked a glance at me. It was quick, so quick you could blink and miss it, that split second of vulnerability. But she was my sister, and I’d recognize it anywhere, even if her next words hadn’t been shaky. “Because I didn’t invite him. And yeah, I’m sure about Cruz. I can’t go there.” Then her features hardened, and when she continued, her voice was decisive. “I won’t go there.”

I lowered my yarn into my lap, reaching over to squeeze her hand. My tough-as-nails sister, the one who’d taken care of so much after our mom died, who always seemed to have her shit figured out, was maybe the one of us who’d broken the most.

She wiggled the yarn she held for me. “C’mon. Are you gonna finish this scarf for me or what?”

Knowing I’d never get her to talk before she was ready, I slouched down, getting comfortable, and took up my needles again. A moment later, Aspen joined, slinking down until she was snuggled up next to me.

Disentangling myself from the yarn and blankets, I stood and stretched early the next morning. Aspen had moved to the guest room at some point, and Indi must have gone home because I was alone on the couch.

Yesterday had sucked, but I woke up this morning feeling a renewed sense of purpose. Today was a new day. My heart still hurt, but no matter what life threw at me, I still had my family, the shop of my dreams, and a whole list of things I wanted to do for no one other than myself, made easier when I didn’t have to answer to anyone.

There was always a silver lining if you looked hard enough.

“Just a single pringle,” I said to myself as my stomach rumbled. “And now I want chips.”

With a resolute nod, I started to fold up the scarf I’d been working on, then did a double-take. Somehow, the thing was at least 15 feet long, with some bands of color only a few inches long and others several feet, depending on how much of that yarn I’d had left. I’d just been using up whatever was left over in my yarn pile.

Maybe not the prettiest scarf, but at 15 feet, at least it would keep someone very, very warm.

Sighing, I tossed it down on the coffee table, then made my way over to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

I was sick of being sad over what Max and I could have had. Enough was enough. If he wanted to be an idiot and throw it away, well, I couldn’t control his actions.

But I’d be damned if I let his decisions keep me down.

“Oh, my.”

Indi covered her mouth with her hand, gaping at me from the door to my bedroom.

Aspen called from down the hall, “What?”

“Found her.”

As Aspen joined Indi in the doorway, I gestured to the mess around me. “It’s not what it looks like.”

From an outside perspective, it probably looked like my arts and crafts corner had exploded, yet again, which wasn’t that far off.

I stood, shaking off the paper scraps clinging to my clothes. “First, I decided to update my bucket list, organizing things I was able to check off over the last few years and prioritizing the next ones I want to tackle. Then, I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to makeover the bakery?” I gestured to another pile of magazines and a tiny photo printer I’d bought two years ago, then promptly forgot existed. Now, dozens of pictures littered the floor of ideas I’d printed offline. “So, I started planning that. I’m picking up the paint and fabric to redo the upholstery later today, already ordered. But then I thought, okay, well if I’m redoing the whole bakery aesthetic, I probably need new branding.” I flipped around my tablet, where I’d been playing around with my logo — a book with flowers blooming from the center, but instead of a few of the blooms, a cupcake, croissant, cookie, cinnamon roll and a whisk grew out from the stems. “Cruz said he had a guy who could put the vinyl up on the front window later today.” Then I snapped my fingers. “Oh, before I forget, I booked us that ziplining tour for later this week.”

Aspen blinked at me. “You’ve gone full Heath.”

I frowned, ready to protest, then took another look around. She might have been right.

“So what?” I caught a glimpse of myself in the floor-length mirror and noticed my top knot had somehow slid to the right. In quick motions, I pulled the hair tie free, smoothed it out, and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. “I’m going to live my life. My best life. I’m going to do all the things I want to do and not feel bad about any of it.” I leveled a stare on both of them. “Are you going to stop me, or help?”

They shared a look, then Aspen went for my stack of café clippings and ideas. “You know, if you’re renovating anyway, I’ve been thinking you should add a little outdoor courtyard area. You’re on the end of the block, and there’s no mayor to protest if you put some tables on the sidewalk when the weather’s nice. I can draw up the plans if you want.”

I grinned, throwing my arms around her and squeezing tight as she grumbled.

Indi scooped up my tablet and clicked away. “Well, if you have a new logo, then we need new merch. Shirts, aprons, cups,bags. Oh! Maybe some stickers.”

My heart swelled, and I blinked the moisture from my eyes. Maybe I wasn’t okay yet, but I had my girls at my back, and I could still reach for my goals.

Fake it till you make it .

Well, one thing I knew for damn sure — I was a real tough kid.

I’d handled losing my mom at 15. I could handle this too.