Page 33 of This Time Around (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #3)

“Thanks.” Skye’s smile went a little wider as she chewed a mouthful of cereal. “Looks like you had a good night.”

Allie felt her cheeks start to redden before she realized Skye was nodding at the wine bottle. “Oh, yes. Right.” Allie tucked the empty bottle in the recycle bin. “Yes, it was terrific wine.”

“Tell me about it. I dated the winemaker there like ten years ago. He made some killer Rieslings, too.”

“I’ll have to check those out.” Her face felt hot, so Allie opened the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs she’d brought over earlier in the week. She found a nub of butter in an orange dish, then turned to rummage for her grandmother’s favorite copper skillet.

“I bought some really great bread at the farmer’s market yesterday,” Skye offered. “If you want some toast with that.”

“That sounds great. Can I make you a scrambled egg or two?”

“I’d love one. Thanks!”

They were behaving like awkward new roommates, which was sort of what they were.

Still, it felt weird to be in that position after so many years of living on her own.

Allie got to work cracking the eggshells, beating the eggs with a heavy-duty whisk and the gourmet white pepper her grandma always used.

She poured the whole mess into the skillet and turned down the heat.

“Thanks again for pilling all the cats last night,” Skye said.

“No problem. I take it you had a good dinner with Wade?”

“Oh Lord! That man is amazing.”

Allie turned to see Skye beaming with the same look Allie had seen on her own face in the hallway mirror just a few minutes ago.

She felt a pang of nostalgia for her college years, for the sequence of female roommates she’d lived with after she and Jack had split.

Something inside her shifted, a quiet little thawing.

“Yeah.” Allie grinned and gave a little wave of her spatula. “Wade’s amazing. Jack’s amazing. Sounds like this is a pretty amazing morning for both of us.”

Skye laughed. “Very true.” She seemed to hesitate, twirling the spoon in her now-empty cereal bowl.

“I was thinking of this thing with Wade as a fling, you know? I had kind of a dry spell after Brody left, and I’ve been easing back in with some casual hookups.

It works if everyone’s on the same page. ”

Allie nodded, even though she wasn’t all that familiar with casual hookups. It had never been her style, which was probably why she’d ended up engaged to so many men she barely knew.

The other woman was looking at her intently, so Allie just nodded. “I get it. Did something change your mind about that with Wade?”

Skye shrugged. “I don’t know. This morning—” she stopped there, and her cheeks went faintly pink. “I probably shouldn’t talk about this, huh? You’re his best friend and all.”

“It’s okay. I mean, if you want to talk about it, I promise not to tell him anything you don’t want me to.”

Skye seemed to hesitate, twirling the spoon again. Then her face broke into a grin. “I’m just thinking it could be more than just a hookup. Like an actual relationship.”

Allie swallowed hard, then turned to stir the eggs so she wouldn’t have to meet Skye’s eyes. Shit. This could be bad. “Wade is a great guy,” she said. “But uh—I’m not sure he’s really. Um, I mean he kinda?—”

“He fucks a lot of girls?” Skye laughed and Allie turned with a start to see the other woman grinning like a cat that ate a canary. “Yeah, I know. Even if he hadn’t told me, I know the type. I can spot a manwhore from a hundred miles away. I’ve even sought them out.”

“Right,” Allie said, relieved not to have to break this to her gently. “He’s a good guy, and he’s not insensitive or anything. He’s just not really one for commitment. He tried it a couple times, and said it wasn’t for him.”

She stopped there, remembering the blaze in Jack’s eyes last night when she’d mentioned the engagement. It didn’t seem like her place to share that detail with Skye, so she left it at that.

“I totally get it,” Skye said. “I’m kind of into the casual thing myself. But this morning, I don’t know—things feel a little different. For him, too, I think.”

Allie wanted to believe it. Wanted the glow in Skye’s cheeks to be reciprocated on the other end. Before she could say anything, Skye held out her phone.

“Here. I don’t normally share private text messages from guys I’ve just hooked up with, and maybe this is weird since you’re friends and all, but I kinda want your take on this.”

Allie found herself reaching for the phone, spurred by a touch of voyeurism and the thrill of having a girlfriend to share secrets with.

After her parents’ arrest, she’d started avoiding old friends. She’d hated watching their faces for pity or judgment or both, and it felt easier to keep to herself.

Just last week, the PR exec from Belmont—a kindhearted woman named Jenna—had suggested they grab a drink, and Allie meant to take her up on it.

But she couldn’t shake the thought that Jenna just felt sorry for her.

Even Amy, her oldest and dearest friend from summer camp, seemed unsure what to say to her sometimes.

Allie wasn’t sure, either, how they should fold themselves into adult paper figures of their childhood selves.

But things felt different with Skye. Something vital had been missing from Allie’s life.

She had a female friend, and part of her felt fiercely protective.

She looked down at Skye’s phone, wanting to be proven wrong about Wade.

Wanting him to be truly be smitten for once.

She didn’t have much hope, but his words to Skye stopped her flat.

You are fucking amazing. I woke up feeling like I’ve been hit on the side of the head with a 2x4 made of happy. God, I’m talking like a fucking Hallmark card. Look what you’ve done to me, woman. When can I see you again?

Allie stared at the words, taking them in. She felt a slow smile spread over her face.

“Well?” Skye’s tone was hopeful, and Allie looked up to see a little crack in the bravado she’d worn just a few moments ago. “It’s cheesy, I know. But is it just a line? Does he say that sort of thing to all the girls? Lay it on me, I can take it.”

Allie shook her head and handed the phone back. “I’ve known Wade for six years. Cross my heart and hope to die, I’ve never seen him write anything remotely like that.”

The grin that flashed on Skye’s face was like the sun coming out. “I was hoping for that.”

“Seriously. He dates a lot of women, and he can be a passionate guy. But he’s never that effusive. Never .”

Skye tucked a blue curl behind one ear. “You’re not just saying that?”

“No way. The man’s got it bad.”

“Good. Because so do I.”

Allie laughed. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks!” Skye cocked her head to the side. “So how about you? Is this thing with Jack serious, or is it just a fling?”

Allie gripped the spatula tighter, not sure how to answer. “I guess it’s too early in the morning to say. I mean, it’s kinda new. Well, not new. I mean, I’ve known him forever, but not this version of him, you know?”

“Right. But what do you want to have happen?”

The hopefulness in Skye’s voice was contagious. Allie hesitated, not sure what to say. She felt deliciously happy, happier than she’d felt in ages. She couldn’t wait to see Jack again, and the thought of kissing him made her spleen do somersaults in her abdomen.

She wondered what he was feeling. Was it just a fling for him, or something more? Which did she want it to be?

“Hey, Allie? I think your eggs are burning.”

“What? Oh.” Allie whirled around to see smoke billowing from the copper skillet. Dammit. She snatched it off the burner and dropped it into the sink, scraping halfheartedly at the mess glued to the bottom. “Crap. They’re goners.”

“Sorry. My fault. I distracted you with all that boy talk.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry, I was plenty distracted on my own.” She reached for the faucet handle, but Skye stood up.

“Actually, let me see if I can salvage any of that for the cats.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have thought of feeding eggs to cats.”

“The vet says they’re a good protein source. Especially for some of the older guys.”

As if on cue, two cats appeared in the kitchen and began twining themselves around Skye’s ankles.

A tiger-striped one named Kenny and a chubby, Creamsicle-colored cat named Luna.

Their oversized paws made velvety thumps on the hardwood floor as they circled Skye’s bare feet in perfect synchronicity.

“I’m gonna miss these guys,” Skye murmured. “Big sweeties.”

“You could always stay,” Allie offered. “Once I get the B&B back up and running, I’ll still need the help.”

“Thanks. I’ll think about it. But I kinda want to venture out on my own, you know? Be open to new experiences, new jobs, new people?”

Allie nodded and turned to the cupboard filled with pots and pans, grateful she had more eggs and an abundance of good skillets in her grandma’s kitchen.

But mostly grateful she’d avoided Skye’s question. The one about what she wanted. She wanted Jack, plain and simple. Wanted him so much she practically ached with it.

And that was a scary place to be.

“Okay, you little bastards,” Allie muttered an hour later. “Time to get serious.”

She shoved one last battery into the eighties-era boom box and jammed the flap closed.

Tucking the oversized stereo under one arm, she turned and crawled down through the attic door.

This was the first time she’d been up here since Friday, and she knew she’d been avoiding it on purpose.

Part of her didn’t want to look at the money, didn’t want to think about what she should do with it.

Part of her was afraid to open any more boxes, not sure what the hell else she might find.

Most of her just wasn’t sure what to do, at least not about the money.

But she had an idea what to do to make her grandma’s house better, so she’d focused on that.