Sleeping in isn’t my kind of thing. I like to get up early and start the day. I’m one of those people other people complain about. Sunrises are one of my favorite things in the world. Well, except if I’ve been partying with Syd the night before, but we have done very little of that. Once we hit our thirties, recovery from a night of drinking started to take its toll. Now, a glass of wine and some really bad carbs. Like, pizza. Oh, God, that sounds good. And I know I am in a funk if I am thinking about pizza for breakfast. But it does sound very, very yummy.
I ignore my phone and head off for the bathroom. After a shower, I feel the best I have in a long time. I walk out to my kitchen and start my coffee. I sit down to wait and catch up on my texts.
Syd: How do you feel about Milan? You could come with Grady and me on our trip this fall.
Oh, yeah, that will be fun. Tagging along with Syd and Grady on their romantic getaway. Nothing like hammering home just how sad my life has become that Syd is inviting me on a trip that I think has bigger ramifications than she realizes.
Syd: Please tell me you aren’t giving in to my brother just yet. Make him work for it.
She shouldn’t even have to ask me that. Okay, I take that back. We both know I have been a pushover when it comes to Travis.
Syd: I’m wondering how much it will cost to ship my shoe haul back to the US.
That’s probably why she wants me to go to Italy with them. She thinks I’ll be able to take some of them back in my suitcases. Also, she’s going with a freaking billionaire who is probably going to propose to her while they are there. I have a feeling that he can afford to ship her shoes back.
Syd: Do you think I should cut my hair?
Syd: Never mind. I just remembered what it looked like in college after THE INCIDENT.
THE INCIDENT is what we call the night we got really drunk and decided to do makeovers. She ended up with a lopsided bob that looked as if a drunk monkey cut it. Me…I was missing eyebrows.
Syd: I expect to hear from you by noon or I will send Josh over there.
Syd: Seriously. I will do it.
Syd: And I’ll put out an alert to the LOLs.
I roll my eyes. That was just forty-five minutes ago.
Me: I’m here. Just slept in.
Syd: I was just on the phone with Mrs. Peterson.
Me: It isn’t noon.
My phone starts to ring, and Syd’s face appears on the screen. I pick up.
“I know it’s not noon, but I was worried about you.”
Even after all these years, it’s hard to deal with her attention. I don’t want to go all poor little rich girl, but until meeting Syd and Travis, no one really paid much attention to me. Oh, my mother was around for the pageants she forced on me, but other than that, people didn’t check on me. Showing concern. It still gives me that weird feeling in my stomach.
“Well, I’m fine. I finally caught up on my sleep. You know how I am at the end of a season.”
I do tend to go into a kind of hibernation for about a week after we wrap up the last show. I love the job, and the people we work with, but I need a break every now and then. At the end of a season, I often feel wrung out, unable to deal with even little things like…other people.
“And you have not given in to my brother?’
“Absolutely not.”
“Good. Just don’t tell Grady I said that.”
I laugh. I know it’s hard for her being my friend, Travis’ sister, and Grady’s girlfriend. Her job means she should be trying to talk me into going back to Flipping Texas, but she’s my friend first. And it’s one of the things I love most about her. Loyalty is so important to me.
“What are your plans?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
“Yeah, right. Nancy, you are always doing something.”
She’s right, but for once I think I am going to watch one of those series everyone says you should binge. Travis and I tend to binge together, as we miss so much during filming, but this season, we didn’t do that for obvious reasons. Everyone keeps telling me I need to watch You. Although, I wanted to watch it with Travis. And that is how pathetic I am. I can’t move on even with binging a series.
When I don’t say anything, Syd picks up on my worries. “Nancy, are you okay? Really?”
I sigh. “I kind of think I might have done that over the last four years.”
“No, you haven’t. You became a household name and people love you. Adore you. You would not have that deal with Target without Flipping Texas, no matter how much you deserved it. You know how that goes.”
“Thank you.”
Then there is a beat of silence, and that is always a sign of trouble with Syd. That world class mind of hers is working on what to say next—which is odd. She usually just blurts things out and deals with the consequences later.
“Spit it out, Syd.”
She sighs. “I want to ask about where you are on your decision, if there is even a chance you would return to the show. I don’t want to pressure you though.”
“I don’t know. That’s the god’s honest truth.”
“I understand.”
“But it’s better than it was twenty-four hours ago. I was ready to burn it to the ground.”
“Okay, that’s good, but as your friend, I want you to take as long as you want. We won’t start looking for a replacement for at least a month.”
Replacement. That one word has a lump rising in my throat. I never thought it would come to this. For the last two seasons, Travis has gotten worse, and I would threaten to leave, but it wasn’t until this season that I knew I would. It still hurts my heart thinking about it, but I should have seen it coming.
Two and a half Years Ago
I’m holding a hammer, trying to remind myself that hitting Travis in his stupid, beautiful face with it would probably land me in prison. My fingers twitch on the wooden handle. What happened to the sweet guy I coaxed through our first season?
Fucking fame.
“Now, Nancy, here, she knows how to pick out a pretty pillow, but then I handle all the other stuff.”
All the other stuff.
We’re standing in front of a group of people at a home improvement fair in Seattle. It’s one of those things we do in the off season to promote our show. We are now the most successful show in the At Home history, and Travis has let it go to his head. He has spent the last fifteen minutes making derogatory statements about me. They aren’t outright misogynistic, but there is enough in there that tells me he’s speaking to the He-Man Woman Hater’s club in the audience.
I count down from ten and remind myself that this isn’t the real Travis. It’s the asshole that comes out to play for the camera at times and always when we do these shows. Well, the asshole part of his personality popped up about midway through our second season.
We finish up our appearance—the last one for this venue—and head out to catch our plane. Finally, we will be back in Texas. I was excited to travel to the northwest, but we’ve been gone for a little over a week. I’ve missed my home state more than I thought I would before we started on this tour. I need a break, my pretty house, and Syd. We both need to let loose. Her reason is she’s about to start working for Grady Hawthorne, the son of the man who hired her. She can’t stand him, but she loves her job so she’s staying on. Me, well, I won’t tell her this, but it’s because my heart is bleeding.
I have always thought Travis was a sweet boy. I mean, when we were younger, and he trailed behind us in our adventures. Then he grew into this amazing man, one who understood that women in the business got a raw deal, and Jesus, he’s pretty. Those deep brown eyes, all that blond hair…and he just grew a beard for the first time in my memory. It makes him look like a very sexy lumberjack. And somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of him as my cohost and best friend’s younger brother. Now I think of him as Travis, hot piece of man meat who knows just how to handle his tools.
I roll my eyes and am thankful I ha
ve my mirrored sunglasses on. If Travis could see, he’d have to make a comment that would make me hate him and despise myself more. How can I be infatuated with a man who acts like he does? Is this just a phase? I hope so because I can’t see myself staying on the show if he keeps up his current behavior.
“You’re really quiet.”
He says it like he has no idea why I’m pissed. And I am, but I am more heartsick than anything else. We started this venture as friends, coming together to conquer the world of reality home improvement. Now, all of it is tainted.
“I kind of don’t like having a man pretend that I’m not the one with the architectural degree.”
I don’t look at him, but I feel his glance. He’s driving us to SEATAC. I almost wish we were flying back separately. That’s the way this entire season has been going. He has turned a corner and now only sees me as his sidekick. Like the whole show wasn’t my idea, or I didn’t baby him through our entire first season.
“You know how people think.”
Yeah, I do. But not Travis. He has always respected me…until now. My attraction to him should die out, but it doesn’t. Not even with the way he’s been acting with the location hoes he seems to acquire at each shoot.
When did I fall under his spell? I think it was that first season when we were in it together. He would look at me every now and then, heat in his eyes, like he was feeling the need for me pulling at him, a carbon copy of my need for him. But it dissolved soon after we aired our first season. He would treat me like he always did, his sister’s BFF, and cohost. And then the indiscretions started. He had never been like that before, but now, he acted like if he didn’t have a woman hanging on his every word, he was failing in some way. And I am sick of it.
Syd says I need to go let off some steam, and I have to agree with her. Maybe a quick trip to New Orleans or Vegas. Just girls.
“Nancy,” he says, his voice pulling me out of my thoughts.
I turn to look at him. “What?”
“I asked if you had any off season plans yet.”
“No.”
And that’s all I say. I will not ask him on my trip, if I take one. I need a break from him because I don’t think I can take him breaking my heart again.
Present day
“Nancy, are you listening to me?”
I blink and realize I zoned out again.
“Yeah, sorry, my coffee just brewed.”
I rise from my seat and grab my favorite mug. After filling the coffee to the brim, I doctor it just like I like it, then I sip at it.
“I told you we’re coming up there, right?”
“Yeah.” Only about fifteen times.
“Well, I’m sorry.”
I frown. “I can come down there.”
“Naw, we’re coming. We’re just going to have a tag along.”
“Who?”
She sighs. “Carter.”
“Oh, you made me worry my father or mother might be coming. I have to see them next week as it is.”
“Ugh, I forgot about Estella’s birthday.”
“Yeah and I can only take them about once or twice a year. Twice in less than a week…”
She snorts. “As if. But, seriously, no. I just wanted to give you a heads up. It’s part of the reason we are only coming up for the day. I’ll come back in a few weeks for the girls-only thing.”
“Cool.”
“Maybe we could do a girl trip. Like to Vegas, or to a spa or something. Just for the two of us.”
“That sound fabulous.”
“So, do we want a spa experience or a crazy Vegas experience? I can get that family suite in Vegas, and we can have all our spa stuff in the room.”
“Oh, god, that sound fabulous. Let’s do that.”
“You got it. I’ll set everything up and we’ll discuss it this weekend. I guess I should get to work.”
“You’re not at work right now?”
“Uh…no.”
I frown. Middle of the day and she’s lounging around? The reason she’s so good at her job is that she works her skinny ass off. The woman has issues with being a workaholic.
“You’re a little late to the office.”
“I worked from home this morning because I got up late. It was just easier.”
Got up late. Then it hits me. “Hmm, I guess you mean Grady got up early and made you late.”
“Shut up.”
I laugh. “You are so transparent.”
“You can’t see me right now, but I am flipping you off.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
She lets out a reluctant chuckle. I might envy her a little, but I am so danged happy about her relationship with Grady. They both light up when they are in the same room, and it warms my heart.
“Okay, I need to get to work and you need to drink your coffee.”
“Of course. Love you.”
“Love you.”
We hang up and I sit there smiling, feeling really great for the first time in a long time. I have a few more texts waiting for me. One from Everly and Becca.
Everly to Becca and Me: How about a girls’ night out tonight?
Becca to Everly and Me: Or in? We could stay in and it could be all girl things like superhero movies.
Yep, these are my friends. Other girls want romcoms, these girls want Marvel movies. Granted, I’m okay with it because of the beautiful men. But I kind of think we should go out. I need to be outside of this house and not here being all depressed.
There are a few messages from my family, including an apology from Jon, and then one from Travis.
Travis: The ball’s in your court now.
My index finger hovers over my phone, itching with the need to answer him. I hate to leave things unsaid like this but jumping in can lead to worrisome results. In this case, if I say yes right now before I am completely sure, I would end up getting hurt again. I look at the time of the text. He sent it late last night. I want to answer him, but I don’t have an answer. I need more time. I ignore him and my family and answer Everly and Becca.
Me to Everly and Becca: How about we go out to Wyatt’s, then movies at my house if we feel like it?
Syd and I can go there, just not together for a while. I don’t blame Wyatt for that rule because his bar was the location of our latest incident. But they make the best greasy burgers in all of South Texas.
Everly to Becca and Me: That sounds fantastic. Becca can be our designated driver if need be.
Becca to Everly and Me: Hey, maybe I want to drink.
I’m sure both Everly and I are rolling our eyes at the same time. Becca falls asleep after one glass of wine.
Me to Becca and Everly: So, you guys close up at six, right? Wanna meet there around six-thirty?
Becca to Everly and me: It’s a date.
Everly to Becca and Me: Yes!
Me to Becca and Everly: You are both standing next to each other and texting, right?
Everly to Becca and Me: WE BOTH PLEAD THE FIFTH
Becca to Everly and Me: See you tonight. *winky face emoji*
I’m smiling when I look at Travis’ text again but decide to wait one more day. Truth is, I want to talk to him, but I need some space. And as Syd says, he needs to sweat it out a little. I will text him tomorrow.
With that in mind, I decide to get some things done around my house before I head out tonight for GNO.
Chapter Eight
Travis
When dinnertime hits and I still haven’t heard back from Nancy, panic really sets in. I didn’t expect her to answer right away, but I hoped for…something. It’s an odd feeling not being connected to her. We might not get along all of the time, but there is always some kind of back and forth, mainly in texts. There’s been nothing today.
Of course, I know where she is. I’ve kept up with her movements through the Express. The LOLs have been reporting on her movements throughout the day, so I know she’s at Wyatt’s with Becca and Everly. Wyatt will keep an eye on them
and make sure no one bothers them. And it takes just about every bit of control I have left to keep from running into town and stalking her. At least by following along on the Express, I can claim it was just the normal thing to do. Ya know, seeing what my friends in town are up to.
And that makes me sad and pathetic. Beyond that really.
I’ve kept myself busy though. I worked on plans for the office, but I also finalized a deal for some land I’m buying outside of town. It is one of the few private parcels that has access to a private spring. I’ve been keeping my eye on it for a long time, making sure I waited to snap it up. I got it at a good price, and I can’t wait to start building on it. I’ve always wanted something like that. A little privacy, enough land to have a good-sized garden, a few horses…things like that. The private springs is an added benefit.
One of the reasons our founding fathers and mothers ended up here is the springs outside of town. They are known for their healing properties, but they have yet to be commercialized. People can go to them and, yes, there is a fee, but it is more like a federal park. Not too expensive and just enough for the upkeep. Having one on my own property is going to be perfect. All I need is a gigantic farmhouse built on it.
I roll my shoulders as I look out the front windows of the office. If I squint, I can see the lights from Wyatt’s. Even though it’s summer and we are a tourist town, we close down early. Other than the diner and Wyatt’s, most places close down by nine on weeknights. The Mason Jar—the BBQ place in town owned by Wyatt and Everly’s brother—does take out until eleven. We’re a sleepy little town and I like it that way.
Is she still there? The LOLs reported that all the girls were there by seven and since it’s already ten, I think that she might be home. She’s not a night owl, unless she’s partying with my sister. When we’re on location, we both end up in bed early because our days start right before sunrise.
My phone vibrates on the desk. I notice it’s Wyatt calling me, and I frown. I pick it up.
Love to Hate You: An Enemies to Lovers, Best Friend's Brother Romantic Comedy (The Fillmores Book 2) Page 7
