Molly set the cupcake in front of her anyway. “He’ll call.”
“He hasn’t yet,” Jo said. It had been two weeks since they’d gotten back from California. Two weeks without any word from Derek, as if their time at the Hotel Bellwether hadn’t meant anything to him.
Maybe it hadn’t.
No. She refused to believe that. Sheknewit meant something to him. Just not enough, apparently.
“He’ll call,” Kyla repeated.
“He’s probably busy preparing for the tour,” Hannah said as she returned with a bottle of wine. “Jackson said they’re planning to be on the road by the fall.”
“Aren’t they playing that VIP event tonight at the Bay Breeze?” Molly asked.
“They are,” Jo confirmed.
“I can’t believe they still play shows there,” Tessa said. “They could be filling much larger venues.”
“It’s not about that,” Hannah replied. “It’s their hometown bar.”
“Now that they bought out that cul-de-sac on the edge of town, that is,” Kyla said.
“They like to test out new material on a smaller audience,” Hannah continued. “There’s at least one new song on the set list tonight according to Jackson.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go?” Kyla asked Jo.
Jo shook his head.
“We could hold a breakup party if you want,” Sabrina offered.
“No. Thank you, but no,” Jo said.
Sabrina’s pottery studio, Get Clayed, was known for their breakup parties where women gathered to create clay replicas of their exes’ penises and then smash them. Jo had already held her fair share of dick smashing parties at the studio, and they had all been cathartic and a damn good time. But the idea of throwing one for Derek made her want to crawl back in bed and hide under the covers. Destroying his dick in effigy wouldn’t take away the constant ache in her chest, the hollow feeling in her gut that had plagued her since their plane had landed in Boston.
She didn’t want to break him. She wanted to love him.
“Okay, so no going to the show tonight and no smashing the single dad’s dick. Whatison the agenda for tonight?” Tessa asked.
Jo accepted the glass of wine Hannah offered her. “I have an idea, but I need your help.”
“We’re in,” Kyla said.
“You don’t even know what it is yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re in,” Sabrina said.
Warmth washed over as she glanced around the table at the fierce, wonderful women she was lucky enough to call friends. Friends who were always there for her, who hadn’t made her feel silly for being so heartbroken after only a few days, whounderstood how a few days with the right person were worth more than years with the wrong one.
This could be enough. This life could be enough.
The thought settled uneasily over her, like shoes that were half a size too small. Sure, she could strut down the runway in them and no one would ever know how the heels dug into her skin, how her feet blistered and throbbed. But she’d know. Now that she’d gotten a taste of what life could be like, she’d always know what was missing.
Jo cleared her throat, pushing down the uncomfortable thoughts, the dull ache that followed her everywhere. “I want to start my own business. A social media consulting firm. I can teach small businesses how to grow their audiences, what to post and when. I could even manage a few accounts. I think I could be really good at this.”
“Are you kidding? You’d be fucking fantastic at it,” Tessa said, grinning. She dipped a finger into a swirl of frosting and sucked it clean. “I’d hire you to manage the bakeshop’s accounts. Between being a mom and keeping up with the orders, I haven’t had time to devote to our marketing like I should.”
“I was talking with Natalia about this the other day,” Kyla said. “She’s struggling with the lingerie shop’s pages. They keep getting shut down because her content is ‘too sexy.’ And I haven’t even tried with the boudoir studio for the same reason. We would absolutely hire you to teach us what to do differently.”
“You could make a presentation to the Merchants’Association,” Sabrina said. “I bet there are lots of places in town who would want your help.”