Page 54 of Restless Ink
Roxie reached out and gripped Thea’s hand. “What about Dimitri? I know he’s not far from your thoughts when it comes to what Molly’s trying to do. What areyourplans when it comes to him? Are you going to tell him what you think could be happening with her?”
“I think I need to.” She sipped again. This time, the tea had cooled enough that she could taste more of the peppermint she loved. “Damn it,” she whispered into her mug. “How did this get so complicated? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does if you’re a spoiled brat who pushes at people when you don’t get what you want.”
Thea winced. “Every word you just said is true in retrospect, but she’s always been so nice to me. We’ve been friends for years, have supported one another, have held one another when things got hard. We might not have similar friends other than Dimitri, but I thought we had more than what she’s reducing this to.” If that’s what Molly was doing. Maybe Thea was overthinking everything because she hadn’t been able to sleep. Maybe things weren’t as bad as she thought.
“People grow out of each other. Sometimes, you can’t help it.”
The way her sister said those words, she had a feeling Roxie was talking about more than Molly, but Thea didn’t pry. Not when she was trying to deal with her own messes.
“I just need to think some more about what’s really going on with Molly and what’s true versus what my brain thinks is happening because I’m confused. As for Dimitri?”
She let out a breath, unable to voice the words.
“As for Dimitri?”
“I love him.” She whispered the words, a little startled she’d said them at all.
“I know you do.” Roxie’s words jolted her.
“How could you know when I haven’t been able to think the words?”
“Because I see the way you look at him. And the fact that this whole thing with Molly is making you think about you and Dimitri—together and separately… You’re not sad that you might not have Molly in your life. You’re worried about the choices you made to be her friend and the choices you’re going to have to make to keep Dimitri in your life.”
Thea’s brows lifted. “That’s very insightful for someone who used to get Backstreet Boys and NSync mixed up.”
Roxie narrowed her eyes. “It was only the backup ones. I knew Brian and Lance. They were the only two that mattered.”
“Sure, honey.” That made both of them laugh, and Thea unwound just a little and finished her tea with her sister, relaxing just a bit more when she hadn’t thought she would be able to.
Roxie hugged her hard before she left, kissing her on the cheek. “Talk to him, Thea. He’s yours. You know? Don’t run away because you’re scared of what could happen with Molly. She’s…well, something is wrong with her. You know?”
“I do.” And that was the problem, wasn’t it?
“Thea? There’s a delivery here, but I think it’s wrong.”
Thea looked over at Lucy, her staff member, and frowned, glancing at her phone. It seemed they were early, or she would have been back there to take care of it. “I’ll go check it, but why do you think it’s wrong?”
“It looks like a different brand or something. I don’t know, but I figured you should be the one to take care of it.”
“Thanks, Lucy. I’ll head back.”
“No problem, Thea. Hey, Roxie.”
“Hey, Lucy,” her sister said with a smile. The Montgomerys were a fixture at their businesses, and everyone knew each other decently.
“I’m going to go deal with this guy,” Thea said, frowning.
“I’ll go with you,” Roxie said. “You know how they try to intimidate the little lady sometimes. Having two of us might help.”
As Thea understood, she nodded before heading to the back where the delivery man was trying to unload cases of flour. The wrong flour. The far more expensive flour that was out of her budget and not needed for her particular recipes.
“Hi, I’m Thea Montgomery, and I own Colorado Icing. Where’s Wyatt, my usual delivery man?”
“Out sick. I’m here with your order. Your girl who came out here earlier wouldn’t sign for it, and I don’t have all day. I’m running behind thanks to Wyatt’s lazy ass.”
What a charmer.