Instead of thinking about the new, hollow space in her chest that she’d
just discovered, she decided to focus on how good it felt to have helped
someone. What she’d done in that hour had made a huge difference to
Shannon, and if it worked out, she was glad. She hoped Amelia was able to
find a school where she could thrive. Making a difference. Helping out.
Being part of something. It felt awesome.
That was the high she decided to chase. The only one she’d let herself
think about.
Chapter 11
June
June had tried hard for three days to banish those images of Arabella
holding a baby. It was the most ridiculous thing, but of all the things, she
wasn’t thinking about their time at the lake, little yellow bikinis, midnight
talks under big trees, or kisses on sandy beaches. Now Arabella smiling at a
baby who wasn’t even hers was firmly entrenched in June’s mind.
She’d done everything she could to get it out, but she couldn’t be
distracted. She wondered what Summer would have to say about that if she
told her, but she certainly wasn’t going to do that. There was an uneasy
truce between Summer and Arabella, and June wasn’t going to flip the
switch and plunge them all into total chaos by mentioning that she might
have a small crush on her employee.
She could admit it. It was a crush.
The most unlikely, terrifying, odd crush.
But crushes went away, didn’t they?
On her way to the morning marketing meeting, in which she wouldn’t be
able to escape Arabella’s pre
sence, June decided to look up the meaning of
crush. As soon as she read the words on her laptop screen, she felt instantly
better. Crush: defined by intense feelings, infatuation, generally for
someone entirely inappropriate. According to the internet, crushes were