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Yet, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Emery just nodded “You think that if you leave now before things between you get more intense, then it won’t hurt as much as it would if he left you down the line”
I relaxed at her co of the situation “Exactly”
She gave e dose of encouragement, but I think it would make me too ”
In that ot my own probleotten out of Emery My curiosity, as always, was piqued What was it that she was hiding? I felt a kinship with her I couldn’t explain and my fear for her was that our kinship came from a similarly dark place in our pasts
God, I hoped not Emery Saunders seemed like such a sweet soul
“When do you leave?” she suddenly asked
I felt a pang inHartwell behind me “In a few days”
“You like it here,” she observed
“Very much”
“What do you like about it?”
That was so I found difficult to put into words Finally I said softly, “I feel at peace here”
Eave me a slow, sad smile “That’s why I like it, too”
The poignant led and Bailey was suddenly there, hurrying up the steps to the reading area Her eyes widened a little at the sight of E with me Emery immediately popped up from her seat
“Emery,” Bailey said with a soft smile “How are you?”
Emery returned her smile with a shy one of her own “Good, thank you And you?”
Bailey tried to hide her surprise “I’ood, too It’s nice to see you”
“Oh You, too”
Bailey threw herself down on the sofa besideherself down in the bookstore “Wow She actually responded to me”
I smiled as if to say, I told you so
She scowled at ht between you and Cooper?”
What the hell? How did she even know sohed heavily “I had the most intense make-out session of my life”
“Well” She ? The ‘ht?”
“No That’s not good I’ton in a few days”
Bailey narrowed her eyes on my face “Do you realize you never call it ‘home’?”
“What?”
“You never say, ‘I’ton home”
When I didn’t say anything, because I wasn’t sure what I could say, Bailey continued “I don’t think you’re happy there, Jess”
Not this again!
Was I wearing a neon sign that said, “I’ton and I’m incredibly unhappy!”?
“I’uy I barely know,” I said defensively and as a diversion tactic
It didn’t work
She glowered atold cake you want to eat but are denying yourself, Cooper is just the cherry on the cake”
“What?”
She sighed draood friend I really don’t want to lose I’otten really close you hardly ever talk about Wilton or about your job there Most people I know talk about their job nearly all the time or about where they live Not you, Jess It’s like it makes you sad to even think about it Soa doctor?”
Fearcoainst the sofa and started breathing slow and easy
“Jess, are you okay?”
I waved her off “I’m fine I’ll be okay”
Bailey waited patiently by otten over ave her the saiven Cooper “I don’t know if I’ood at o back”
She looked suddenly outraged “Even if you’re not happy?”
“Bailey, we aren’t kids anys that we don’t like That’s life”
“No, that’s being a s we don’t like, you’re right And a lot of people don’t have a choice They work crappy jobs and live in crappy homes because that’s all they’ll ever have and they don’t have the strength or the opportunity to reach for more But you’re not one of those people, Jessica You’re educated You’re strong You have friends here You have options You don’t have to work in a prison infirmary if you don’t want to You don’t have to live in a town you don’t like if you don’t want to So tell me this: why do you feel like you don’t deserve to be happy?”
I sucked in a breath, shocked as hell at her perceptiveness
I sed hard because now that Bailey knew I had a secret, it was game over in Hartwell for ations about my personal life I shouldn’t have been surprised when Emery just nodded “You think that if you leave now before things between you get more intense, then it won’t hurt as much as it would if he left you down the line”