Page 9

C lara’s legs hurt. Was it embarrassing if she limped across the parking lot to the bar? It felt embarrassing.

“Are you okay?”

Man, even Indie noticed. “Why do you ask?”

“You’re walking…funny.”

It was that obvious. “Sunday’s run is still killing me. I forced myself to finish the five miles.”

It was Wednesday. Three days had passed since the run and her legs were still hurting. In fact, there’d been three more running club sessions since the first, and at each one, she’d pushed herself to finish, so she’d just been in a permanent state of pain.

When did it start getting easier?

“You know, you don’t have to finish,” Indie said, always the smart one.

“I absolutely do. Holden just watches, waiting for me to pull out. I’m determined not to prove him or my brothers right.”

“Clara…they’re—”

“Don’t say they’re just looking out for me. I don’t need a shadow at a community run. He’s the fastest and fittest there. He should be leading the group, not lagging behind watching me.”

A soft smile curved Indie’s lips. “It’s kind of sweet.”

“You sound like my mother.”

They were about to step inside when Indie touched her arm. “Clara, I know you don’t like it when Holden and your brothers get overprotective. But they care about you. We all care about you.”

She ran her finger over the seam of her high-waisted jeans. She’d gone casual, tucking in a T-shirt and pairing it with heels.

“I know they care about me,” she said softly. “It’s just…I fought the cancer.”

“No, you kicked cancer’s butt.”

“I did. And that made me feel strong and resilient, and when the guys hover, they make me feel a bit less strong.”

“Oh, Clara, I can understand that.” Indie slipped some hair behind Clara’s ear. “But they know how strong you are. They just have protector in their DNA.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Of course, I am.” Indie tilted her head toward the door. “But we can still drink some huckleberry martinis while thinking violent thoughts about them.”

Clara laughed. Huckleberry martinis were Indie’s favorite. Clara didn’t really have a favorite because she didn’t drink very often, but she’d have at least one glass tonight.

They stepped inside, immediately hit by loud, booming music, and the competing noise of voices and clinking glasses. The bar was warm, filled with so many people there was barely room to move.

Indie took her hand. “Let’s get a pitcher.”

That was something locals loved about CJ’s—almost any cocktail could be bought by the pitcher.

Five minutes later, they were standing at a table, two glasses filled with martinis and a jug in the middle.

Clara looked at her cousin. “Okay, your turn. How are you doing?”

Indie ran her finger around the rim of the glass. “Actually, I did something.”

“A good something?”

“I sent Colt the divorce papers.”

Clara straightened. “You did?”

They’d been separated for almost a year, but neither of them had started the divorce process.

In fact, they hadn’t really spoken in the last twelve months…

well, Indie hadn’t spoken. Colt had texted.

Called. Emailed. And Indie had always said the same thing.

That nothing had changed. That it hadn’t worked between them.

Indie nodded. “Yeah. I decided it was time.”

The pain in Indie’s voice was hard to hear. “How do you feel?”

“I was hoping I’d feel good. The end of a chapter. I thought maybe it would give me some closure. But that was probably naive of me. It will probably always hurt.”

Clara swallowed. “You’ll always love him.”

“But love wasn’t enough. Not for us, anyway. And I can’t go back to that dark place I was in a year ago.” Indie shook her head. “Let’s talk about something happier—like the budding love between you and Holden.”

Clara scoffed. “Trust me, there is no budding love.” Although a part of her, a really big part, wished there was. Would probably always wish he loved her the way she loved him.

Indie gave her a look. “That’s because you haven’t told him how you feel. Tell him. Take a chance.”

Clara wet her lips before scrunching her eyes and blurting the words out. “I did tell him.”

“ What ? When?”

Clara looked at her cousin. “Three years ago. I never told you because…I don’t know. I was embarrassed.”

“Okay, I need more details.”

“It was the night of the annual street party. Holden and Jesse were home. Even Colt was there.”

Indie’s brows creased. “I remember that night. You got a drink spilled on you, so you went to get a clean shirt from your car, but you never came back.”

“Holden followed me. He gave me his sweatshirt and I…I told him I loved him.” She wrinkled her nose and hurried the next words out. “I told him it was the kind of love that made me want to kiss him and count down the days until I saw him again.”

Indie was silent for a moment before uttering one word. “Wow.”

“Yeah, wow.”

“What did he say?”

She looked back at her drink, his response burned into her brain. “That I’d be easy to love. And that’s why he has to stay away from me.”

“What does that mean? Why can’t he love you?”

Clara lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. But the next time we saw each other, it was Thanksgiving at Mom’s, and he just acted like it had never happened, so I did the same…and neither of us ever mentioned it again.”

“Oh, Clara—”

“It’s okay.” Well, it wasn’t, but what was she supposed to do?

Dwell on the fact that she loved someone who didn’t love her back?

“He cares about me like a sister. I need to get over this little infatuation and move on.” Little?

Huh. She’d loved the guy as long as she’d known him.

She sipped her drink before looking at her cousin.

“Maybe I just need to find a random guy and have sex with him.”

Indie choked on her cocktail. “What?”

“I’m going to be thirty in the next month. Thirty .”

“I know. I wanted to throw you a party and you said no.”

“And it’s still a no. But I shouldn’t go into my thirties a virgin. That’s weird, right?”

“No. There’s no right or wrong time.”

“I think it’s weird.” She looked around the bar. “I should just pick a guy and do it. Rip off the Band-Aid.”

“You absolutely should not .”

She looked back at Indie. “Malcolm’s nice.”

“Who’s Malcolm?”

“Hey!”

They both looked up to see Helen Monroe, from the running group. “Helen…hi.”

The other woman’s eyes were wide and her smile big. Before Clara knew what was happening, Helen drew her into a hug, and all Clara smelled was sweet alcohol.

She was drunk. Probably too many of CJ’s famous cocktails.

Clara chuckled. “You seem happy.”

She pulled back. “Because it’s so good to see you.”

“You too. Helen, this is my cousin Indie.”

Helen released Clara’s shoulders and wrapped Indie in the next hug. “Hey, Cousin Indie!”

Indie’s brows shot up. “Um, hi.”

“Are you here with anyone?” Clara asked.

“Only a ton of people from work. Deb. Malcolm. Briar. Come join us!”

Clara started shaking her head. “Oh, I don’t—”

“I insist .” Helen yanked her hand, and Clara almost stumbled as she was dragged through the crowd. She glanced behind her to see Indie following, their drinks in her hands.

Helen stopped at the pool table, where half a dozen people stood, some with pool sticks, others with drinks. All people she recognized from the running club. “Look who I found. Clara and Cousin Indie.”

A few people said hi. Most of them seemed sober.

When Helen grabbed Indie’s arm and went around to introduce her to everyone, Malcolm came to stand beside Clara. “Hey. I have a feeling it wasn’t your choice to come over here?”

“No. But I don’t mind. How much has she had to drink?”

“Too much.”

Clara chuckled. “Have you been here long?”

“About an hour. You?”

“Maybe ten minutes.” She scanned the group of people. “You run with your colleagues and you drink with them? You must really like each other.”

He grinned. “Either that or no one else likes how much we talk medical speak, so we only have each other.”

Clara laughed. “Hey, I’m here.”

“You are. You must enjoy being bored to death with talk of sepsis and catheters.”

Briar joined them. “Hi. Karen, was it?”

The smile slipped from Clara’s face. “Clara.”

The other woman just nodded, no apology. “Did you hear? I hired Holden to do my kitchen.”

Her heart gave a little jerk, but she was careful to keep any emotion off her face. “That’s great. He does amazing work.”

“I know he does. It’s why I hired him.”

Was it? Or was it because Holden was cute and funny and kind and a million other things?

Helen suddenly stepped between Briar and Malcolm and threw her arms over their shoulders. “Why does this little subgroup seem so docile?”

“Helen, how much have you had to drink?” Briar asked, annoyance in her voice.

Helen held up two fingers, showing the smallest gap. “A teeny, tiny bit.”

Briar rolled her eyes while Malcolm chuckled.

While the three of them continued to talk, Clara’s phone beeped with a text.

Scarlett: Are you at the bar? Is everyone from the hospital there?

Clara frowned. Firstly, how did Scarlett know she was at the bar? Secondly, how did she know people from the hospital might be here? Thirdly, why did she care?

Clara: Yeah, I’m at the bar with Indie. And yes, Malcolm and a few others from the hospital and running group are here.

She waited a moment for a response, but none ever came.

Thanks, Clara. I really appreciate the information. You’re such a lovely roommate.

All things Scarlett should have said.

Malcolm bumped her hip. “Hey. You okay?”

She looked up and nodded. “Yeah, just messaging Scarlett.”

“We keep trying to arrange a lunch at the hospital, but every time, I get caught up with an emergency.” A shadow passed across Malcolm’s face.

Clara frowned. “Everything okay?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but then Deb’s loud voice cut through the noise of the bar.

“Holy crack on a cracker. It’s that sex-on-a-stick Holden—and he brought his hot friends. Someone get me a fan.”

Clara’s head whipped around, and sure enough, Holden and her two brothers stepped into the bar, Aspen and Sky with them.

Her throat snapped closed at the way the tight fabric of Holden’s black T-shirt traced the muscles in his chest and arms. At the sharp edge of his jaw and his warm sun-kissed skin.

Holy Hannah, he was all strength and power and sex.

Butterflies were still fluttering in her lower belly when Briar suddenly pushed past her. The shove was so rough she almost spilled her drink all over her shirt.

Then the nurse walked straight up to Holden. She didn’t hear what they said, but Briar stood so close it looked intimate.

It felt like a punch to the stomach. One where the freaking air was forced out of her.

And she hated that that was her reaction. She knew he didn’t love her the way she loved him. And he was eventually going to date.

But it still hurt.

“Here.” Indie filled her glass with more martini.

Without a word, Clara took a big gulp. She’d probably be needing a few of these tonight.