Twist of Fate Louise, Tia (read dune .txt) 📖

Sly moves to the chair beside me and pulls me into her arms. Heat fills my eyes as her hand slides up and down my back.

“It’s hideous timing.” She leans up to meet my eyes and smiles. “But Mom says babies always make a place for themselves. It’s going to work out, and we’re all here for you.”

Nodding, I squeeze her hands. “I want to go to LA and tell him in person. It doesn’t feel like it’s something I should say over the phone or in a text.”

“Definitely not a text. Can you get the time off work? What about your promotion?”

“My promotion,” I groan, shoving my hand in the front of my hair. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since that pink line appeared. “I don’t know how I can take it now.”

“Daisy, no!” Sly’s voice rises, and she’s on her feet. “You’ve got to take that promotion. It’s what you’ve always dreamed of doing!”

“Get real, Sly. I can’t manage a six-state region with a newborn. I’ll barely be sleeping.” Even as I say it, a cement brick is in my chest. “The promotion will have to wait.”

“Will it wait?” Her forehead creases, then she claps her hands. “I know! Hire a nanny!”

“I can’t afford a nanny.” Rubbing the pain in my head, I push back against Fear, my old enemy. “They’ll wait for me. I’m only twenty-three. I’ll explain to Spencer what’s going on and ask him to understand. If Miles thinks I’m so inspiring and talented now, just imagine how I’ll be in a year or two.”

My cousin looks worried, and I confess, I don’t fully believe the words I’m saying.

“Want me to go with you to LA?” Her voice is quiet.

“No. You have your own career to worry about. I’ll see about getting some time off in a few weeks and head out there.”

“A few weeks?”

“I can’t afford a last-minute plane ticket. Anyway, it’s not like the baby’s going anywhere.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Sly wraps her arms around my shoulders. “It looks pretty scary now, but I have a good feeling about this.”

“I’m glad you do. I feel like the dream was in my hands for a whole day, then Fate woke up and pulled the rug out from under me.”

“She’s a tricky bitch. That’s for sure.”

A sad smile curls my lips, and I rest my cheek on her shoulder. “Whatever happens, thanks for being here.”

“It’s what best friends do.”

Standing in the middle of the ancient, plank-wood storefront on the only main street in Oceanside Village, I picture where I’ll arrange the tables and larger items in the wide-open space as Wyatt Jones explains our agreement.

“These old buildings are a work in progress, but you know how it is being an antiques dealer and all.” He scrubs his nails in his scruffy gray beard and cocks an eyebrow at me. “Twenty dollars of every rent check goes to beautification, which includes exterior paint, greenery, maintenance of the parking area and the alley.”

“It’s a great space and very affordable.” I extend my hand. “I’ll take it.”

He grins, and we shake on it. Then I follow him out to where I left Aunt Regina’s Cadillac. The Bronco is in the shop, and I have to return my aunt’s car before I head over to Greenville to collect the “starter items” my dad picked out for me.

Of all the things I thought he’d be proud of, opening my own store has made him perk up the most—even more than me being named head of the Southeast region for Antiques Today.

“Being able to name valuable antiques and price them is a far cry from actually finding a long-lost item for a customer or completing someone’s collection. That’s where the real romance lies,” he’d said.

I just hugged him and thanked him for making it easier for me to turn down the job.

“Betty Pepper has the first store there,” Wyatt continues, pointing up the street. “It’s a small grocery, and she’s got a fellow out of New Orleans serving food, poboys mostly.”

“New Orleans poboys?” My eyebrows rise—I like the sound of that. “Does he have a name?”

“André Fontenot makes the food. I’m next to them with the hardware store, as you know, and this one here is Emberly Warren. She’s opening a bakery.”

He says it dismissively, but I’m quick to counter. “Specialty bakeries are very on-trend right now. I’m sure it’ll do well.”

He waves a hand. “Her family’s got money, so she’s not sweating it.”

I pinch my nose so I don’t laugh at his grumpy skepticism. “Well, I’m glad to be a part of the Oceanside Village CBD.”

“Here’s your key.” He hands me a set of keys. “The attic space is big enough for living quarters. Emberly’s renovating hers that way, but it’s hot in the summer. You’ll have to allow for a window unit. Keep that in mind if you use it for storage.”

Squinting up at the space above the shop, I nod. “Thanks for the tip.”

Hopping in the car, I don’t waste time heading back to Fireside. It’s not the Southeast region of Antiques Today, but I’m feeling energized about setting up my own store. I’ve got a good seven months before I’ll be too big and too busy to work full-time.

For now, I’ve got a lot of ground to cover… and a trip to L.A. to make. Ugh. Thinking about seeing Scout again, telling him I’m pregnant, floods my chest with anxiety. We had a fun time, but he never said it was forever. He had no problem telling me goodbye and moving on once he was in L.A.

I don’t know how he’ll respond to the news of a baby, and I have no idea how I’ll respond to how he responds. Dread turns to nausea whenever I think about it, so I don’t.

“It’s gay porn.” Mims Watson is in Aunt Regina’s kitchen holding out her phone when I enter. “My cousin Bruce sent it to me. He