Six Rules: Book Two in the SIX Series (17 page)

Chapter 23

          
“Wake up, Mal. You have a delivery,” Megan said, opening
up her living room shades. My body ached from her uncomfortable pull-out couch.

          
“What is that?” I asked, staring at the brown box in her
hands.

          
“I don’t know. I went out for a jog this morning with
Steve and it was on the doorstep. It has your name on it,” she replied, setting
it down next to me. I sat up, putting the box on my lap.

          
“I’m still waiting for someone to tell me the last two
days were all just a bad dream,” I said, opening up the box lid. Inside was a
pair of soft, light brown moccasins. There was also a handwritten note inside
the box.

          
Not exactly hand-crafted, but I’m trying.
 

          
“Are those
slippers? Moccasins? What’s going on?” Megan asked, taking the note from me.
“What does this even mean?”

          
“I don’t know, I got mad at him last night. He asked what
he could do to help and I said something about moccasins. I was delirious. It’s
just a guy trying to make something out of nothing, that’s all,” I said,
putting the lid back on the box. A slight smile crossed my lips, but I quickly
brushed it aside. “Want to head out shopping with me today? I’m going to need a
few things. I don’t exactly have your cleavage to pull off any of your shirts,”
I said with a smirk. Honestly, I needed so many things I didn’t even know where
to begin.

          
I borrowed some clothes from Megan and spent an hour
talking with my insurance agent. I had so many decisions to make it was
overwhelming. The rest of the day we spent shopping and eating, which was
exactly what I needed. Addie met up with us as well for a manicure. It seemed
ironic to me that I had virtually nothing to my name but yet here I was getting
my nails massaged and painted with my friends. But at the same time, it was
exactly what I needed.

          
“So, Saturday,” Addie started, prying for information
about my intentions with Greyson.

          
“Yeah, Saturday we should see if Griffin, Steve, and
Johnny want to go out to dinner,” I interjected.

          
Addie and Megan exchanged looks and I knew why, but I
really didn’t want to talk about it. Megan had previously explained the box of
moccasins that morning to Addie, but I just rolled my eyes.

          
“You’re really giving up on this whole thing with
Greyson?” Addie asked genuinely. “He said he wasn’t responsible for the whole
art festival bid issue. Maybe it was an honest misunderstanding, Mal.”

          
“I don’t know, Addie. It still sucks. And to think it
could just happen again and again. I don’t want to deal with that. I don’t want
to compete with him,” I said honestly.

          
“But just days ago you were hopelessly in love. I thought
you really found a great guy,” she said shrugging.

          
“Yeah, so did I,” I muttered. “Look, so the whole contract
‘relationship,’ if you can even call it that, completely backfired. I
understand what he was getting at in the beginning. The whole ‘getting what we
really want out of a relationship’ idea. But we missed the whole part about
really
getting to know each other, right? I feel like I don’t know him at all.”

          
“Mal, I think you’re wrong,” Megan chimed in.

          
“Oh yes, let’s hear from the relationship expert,” I said
teasingly. “Meg, you haven’t had a real boyfriend since seventh grade. You date
three guys a week.”

          
“Exactly Mal, that’s going to be my point. I date so much
because all these guys I meet out at nightclubs and bars, they aren’t worth my
time. They’re fun, sure. But I don’t have any ‘real’ connection with them. You
and Greyson, you at least have that. There’s some kind of crazy spark there.
You guys are both so similar, with your work ethic and passion, your priority
and love of family.”

          
“I know Meg, there are a lot of great things about him.
But he lied to me, repeatedly. Just like Pierce lied to me.” I didn’t often
talk about Pierce. My friends knew it was a really sore subject for me. Pierce
and I were engaged, but that felt like another lifetime ago. I was only
twenty-two, and it was a really quick romance. He cheated on me a few weeks
before our wedding. Sure, I was over it, so much time had passed. But yet
somehow in this moment, my heart still hurt. Maybe it was the letdown from someone
else I trusted stirring all of those feelings back up in me.

          
“You’re a hopeless romantic though, right Mal?” Addie
asked. “You’ve fallen in and out of love plenty of times since then.”

          
“Exactly. Which makes me way more hopeless than romantic,”
I said flustered.

          
“Well maybe you just need to be a little more involved in
your own love story. If you don’t show up on Saturday, how will you ever know
what could have been?” Addie asked.

          
“Right, Mal. Picture us when we’re like sixty-five,"
Megan stated. "Of course we’ll be morbidly obese by then after another
four decades of eating your desserts, but hear me out. I think people always
look back and wonder about choices they
didn’t
make, rather than the
ones they did make. I mean, I have met a few nice guys along my speed dating
career. What if I had actually slowed down a little bit and gave one of them a
chance? I could be blissfully happy in love right now if I would have just done
something unexpected.” Megan actually spoke with some conviction in her voice,
which was quite unlike her. “I just don’t want you to ever wonder about what
could have been. This is different than it was with Pierce. He didn’t give you
a choice. He made your decision for you when he cheated on you. But this is so
much different. This guy seems to really want to be with you. He’s trying.”

          
“She’s right, Mal,” Addie chimed in. “Maybe you should
just meet up with him this week to hear him out? See what he has to say? Or at
the very least, you have to go to the restaurant on Saturday. If you don’t go,
you’ll always wonder about it. Or if you do go, it could be a beautiful love
story.”

          
I rolled my eyes at them and we finished our manicures. I
really hoped they wouldn’t talk me into anything crazy over the next few days.
I knew they had my best interests at heart, but I was sure I wanted to stay
firm on keeping my distance from Greyson.

          
The next morning, I was awoken yet again by Megan right
before she left for work.

          
“Another delivery,” she mused, setting a box down next to
me. “I’ve got to get going, but I can’t stand not knowing. What’s in there?”
she asked curiously.

          
“Oh my gosh, who knows,” I said, opening up the lid. This
time it was an off-white knit sweater. Once again, there was a small
handwritten note in the box.

          
I’m still working on the rest.

          
“What the hell is that for? Why can’t he just get you
flowers like any other normal guy who screws up? It’s still summer. You can’t
even wear that right now,” Megan asked, shaking her head. “Are you sure you’re
going to be alright today? I can’t miss any more time from work, otherwise I
would stay home with you.”

          
“Yeah, don’t worry about me. Don’t forget, Addie doesn’t
have anything to do now either since the bakery is gone. I promised I would
help her with some wedding stuff today, so I’ll keep busy. Dinner later?” I
asked, and Megan nodded her head.

          
As promised, I spent the day at Addie’s apartment. We went
through wedding magazines, cutting out things she liked and drawing up a budget
and some plans. She wanted a summer wedding on the beach. Addie and I had
different tastes for sure, but we had fun together looking at flowers and
bridesmaid dresses, and I was happy I now had some disposable time to help her
while she was so excited about all of the wedding plans. We went out to dinner
that night with Megan, and time passed easily.

          
“So any word from the insurance company yet Mal?” Megan
asked as we sipped on margaritas at a small cantina near her apartment.

          
“I don’t have any final numbers yet. I don’t know what to do.
The building was so damaged and it was so old anyway. It may cost more to clean
it all up and start from the ground up, rather than just getting a new place.
But it meant a lot to me, you know? My grandparents gave that building to me
for a reason. And I really loved living right above it, that was nice. I just
don’t think there are any other spaces like that downtown. I don’t know, my
head starts to spin when I think about it,” I said, shaking my head.

          
“You know Johnny and Steve offered to help out, if you
need it,” Megan stated. They had helped so much when I remodeled the bakery the
first time. They built shelves, did all of the molding, and built the counters.
So much work already went into that place, but yet here they all were, ready to
pitch in all over again.

          
“You guys have been great, really. Everyone has. I think I
just need a little time to figure out what exactly I want,” I said hesitantly.

          
“On that note, any word from Greyson?” Addie asked.

          
I shook my head no.

          
“That’s not true, he keeps sending her packages in the
morning. They’re weird, but at least the guy is doing something,” Megan chimed
in. I explained the sweater I got that morning to Addie, even though I didn’t
expect her to understand it either.

          
“I don’t know. I know he’s trying to get through to me.
But it’s just bad timing, you know? I have so much else on my plate right now.”
I wanted my friends to commiserate with me on that, and although they did to
some degree, they kept bringing up Greyson anyway. “Actually Addie, can you do
me a favor tomorrow? I imagine the Chamber has heard about the fire, but I
haven’t actually talked to them since then. Can you let them know we’re out of
the art festival? There is no way we can make all of those desserts without a
big kitchen, and it’s only a few weeks away. Whatever I decide to do, I’ll
never have a real kitchen up and running by then. Just apologize and let them
know I hope to be up and running again before their next big event. I suppose
Greyson can have the entire bid now,” I muttered.

          
“Sure, Mal. I’ll head over there tomorrow afternoon,”
Addie replied.

Chapter 24

          
The next morning felt like Groundhog Day. I was awoken
again by Megan with a brown box in her hands.

          
“Another one,” she said, shoving the small box at me. “I
can’t wait to see this. This guy is crazy.”

          
“Yeah, he is a little crazy,” I answered in agreement. I
lifted up the box, surprised there wasn’t an actual item in it. Instead there
was only a scroll of paper, tied with a ribbon. I untied the ribbon and
unrolled the scroll.

          
It said the word
RANSOM
at the top, and below that
there was a picture of my keychain bird with a piece of string tied around its
eyes and a small piece of duct tape around its beak. Below the picture read:
If
you ever want to see your bird again, meet me at 3411 Seventh Avenue at 6:00pm.
Come alone and the bird won’t get hurt.

          
I snickered for
a moment, then set the paper down.

          
“What the hell is all that about?” Megan said. "I
don't understand any of this."

          
“Damn him. He’s actually trying. Like
really
trying.
But I just can’t do it, Meg,” I said, laying back down. “He wants me to meet
him tonight. But what’s the point?”

          
My phone rang at that exact moment, and Megan gave me a
brief apologetic wave as she hurried off to work.

          
The number took me by surprise. I initially thought it
would be Greyson, but instead another name flashed on the screen.

          
“Hello?” I answered suspiciously, assuming it was an
accidental pocket dial.

          
“Mallory, how are you? I heard about the bakery,” Dillon
said on the other end. “I was really sorry to hear that.” There was silence for
a moment.

          
“Yeah, it was pretty terrible,” I replied, not really
knowing what else to say to him.
 

          
“Well I just wanted to call and give you my condolences.
I’m sure you’re bombarded with a lot going on right now. But I was just worried
about you. I thought maybe we could go grab some lunch or dinner if you had any
time this week?” he asked casually.

          
I didn’t really have time to mull it over in my head
before blurting out “sure.” We made plans to meet up at five o'clock for an
early dinner. At least these plans would ensure there was no chance of me
breaking down and meeting up with Greyson. I moseyed around the rest of the
morning and early afternoon, not really doing much. I watched some horrible daytime
TV, wondering how people could survive on that filth if they didn’t have a day
job. Come to think of it, I hadn’t watched much TV at all over the past year
with how busy as I was. I finally showered and curled my hair, carefully selecting
an outfit to wear for dinner. I settled on a striped a-line dress and some
strappy sandals. I really had no idea why I was meeting Dillon for dinner
anyway, but the vengeful side of me wanted to look as good as possible. I felt
like I still needed some closure. Perhaps one final moment where I could make
him wish he’d made a different decision when he walked out on me just a few
weeks ago. It was strange to me to think about what life would be like if he
hadn't done that. It would've been better if this whole Greyson saga never
began, that's for sure.

          
We met at a café on Dillon’s side of town. He looked as
handsome as ever in his business slacks and button down shirt.

          
“So how’s business?” I asked as we sat down. He worked
with his father at a realtor agency and I suspected he just came from the
office.

          
“Things are great, actually. Thanks for asking. Look, just
to clear the air here,” he said as the waitress set down two glasses of water,
“I do want to apologize for that day at your apartment. The things I said to you.
I never should have said you were unlovable,” he said politely.

          
The waitress raised an eyebrow at me and I was embarrassed
all over again. I’m pretty sure my cheeks were turning pink as he spoke.

          
“Oh, you said that? Gosh, I don’t really remember all that,”
I said, trying to glaze over the event.

          
“Well I’m sorry, I was just emotional about my grandma
dying and all that. And then I saw you at Mack’s Tavern and I wanted to say
something then. But it didn’t really seem like the appropriate time,” he said,
likely hinting at the fact that I was with Greyson at the time for that awkward
run in. “I wanted to reach out to you since then, but I just wasn’t sure where
you were at. You know, what you had going on and all that.” He eyed me
curiously, and all I could think to do was be vague.

          
“Oh right, well I’ve been pretty busy. As usual, right?
Things were going well, the bakery was really busy. I had some big orders. I
guess I finally have some downtime, right?” I said sarcastically.

          
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually."
He paused, staring at me with a serious expression.

          
Oh no, was this the moment? Maybe he actually did change
his mind and he wanted to give our relationship another shot? Is that something
I even wanted?

          
"Dillon, I'm not sure about all this," I began.
I really didn't know what I felt at the moment. He did look rather handsome in
his work clothes, but I had so much going on in my life.

          
"What? I was just going to talk to you about your
bakery. Have you decided whether or not you're rebuilding versus just buying a
new property?” he continued as he opened the menu. Right away I felt so
mortified by the direction of his conversation. How did I completely misread
what was happening? We both ordered chicken salads and I studied his face.

          
“Right, the bakery. I’m not sure yet. I’m conflicted about
what to do. That was my home too, so I feel like I have twice the decision to
make,” I said honestly, trying to play it off like I knew that's what he was
getting at from the beginning.

          
“Well I have this really great property downtown I wanted
to talk to you about,” he said eagerly.

          
Great. This meeting is a sales pitch.

          
“I don’t really
feel ready to make that decision right now,” I said skeptically.

          
“Just hear me out. Eight hundred square feet of frontage
space, with another seven-fifty in the back for your kitchen. There’s a nice
big lobby area, great natural light.” Dillon continued talking, but I started
tuning him out. It’s not that I wanted to get back together with him or
anything, that was definitely not why I agreed to meet him out. But still, I
thought there would at least be something there, even if it was only a little
more remorse for having left me in the first place. Instead I appeared to just
be a prospective buyer.

          
We finished our salads as Dillon continued to talk the
entire time about some other options he knew about that could possibly be
coming on the market soon. I nodded politely, feigning interest. I was relieved
this dinner was almost over. As the waitress brought us our check, the door
chimed for a new customer walking into the café. The guy looked familiar, but I
couldn’t place him right off. He had thick dark hair, a handsome jaw line, and
a decent physique. I was certain I had seen him before. Maybe with less clothes
on?

          
Oh no. It was Ben.

          
We regrettably made eye contact, and I knew right away he
saw Dillon sitting across from me at the table. Not that he would know who
Dillon was. But still, Ben would say something to Greyson about seeing me out
with another guy, right? Not that it mattered since Greyson and I were
officially done. But it was inopportune timing though, and I didn’t feel good
about it.

          
Ben nodded at me, and I gave him a pathetic smile. I
wanted to somehow signal to him that my situation was not what he probably
thought it was, but I wasn’t sure how to get that message across without saying
it outright.

          
Dillon picked up the check and we headed up to the front
register as Ben headed the opposite direction to the restroom in the back of
the restaurant. I guess there wouldn’t be time to explain this after all.

          
I thanked Dillon for dinner and promised I would call him
when I was ready to look at some of the properties he mentioned. We hugged
awkwardly in the parking lot, and I was thankful the evening had ended.

          
On my drive home, I thought briefly about swinging by Greyson’s
condo to explain my dinner. I wondered if he was even home though. What if he
went to the restaurant he mentioned on his note, hoping I would show up?
Although we weren't together anymore so he wasn't that delusional, right? It's
not like I contacted him after I got the note to confirm I would be there.
Although maybe I should see if he was still at the restaurant? Maybe I still
owed him an explanation about tonight. But what was the point of that? I didn’t
have to explain an awkward ex-boyfriend dinner to a guy I just dumped, right?
That would just make things even more weird. Still, I wondered what Ben would
say to him. I wondered if Greyson would even figure out the guy I was with was
Dillon. I wondered if Greyson would even care at this point. I wondered if
Greyson would be disappointed. But more importantly, I wondered if I would ever
stop thinking about Greyson at all.