He’d already seen it.

He grinned as he looked down at his hands and she knew that had been exactly what he was thinking.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

TUESDAY AND NATALIE settled at their table. “I’m not going to play around with some wussy little single margarita. I need a pitcher,” Natalie announced.

Since Nat rarely drank, this was a signal of a really tough week. “Uh-oh. Problems with Mr. Hurley?”

They’d been back from the mountains a few days and both Tuesday and Nat had been playing catch-up at work after their short absence.

They stopped talking long enough to order a pitcher of mango margaritas and their food before returning to their conversation.

Natalie’s face got all schmoopy with the starry eyes and softened mouth so Tuesday figured it wasn’t a Hurley-related problem.

“No, it’s a work thing. Grant time. You know how that goes. I’ve just spent a lot of time on math today and my brain is broken.”

“Gotcha.”

Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see Kelly’s number. “It’s Kelly. She’s coming out tomorrow afternoon to pick up some more pieces and wants to know if we want to get lunch with her.”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

Tuesday texted back the info and they signed off.

“This is so exciting for you.”

Chips and salsa were delivered with the drinks so they dived in. “She said something to me. When she came to the shop I mean. I’ve been thinking about it a lot since then. It’s actually something you said first so you can actually say I told you so here.”

Nat leaned in, delighted. “Yeah? Do tell. You know how much I love being right.”

“She said that the shop wasn’t a shop, it was a gallery. She said I should call it that.”

Natalie’s brow rose. “I could lord it over you, but there’ll always be time for that as you well know. So what I want to say instead is it’s about time you let yourself hear it. And so what do you think now that it’s totally clear I was right?”

“I need to point out, Nats, that your last sentence was sort of lording it over me.”

“So it was. I guess I’m petty enough to do a little I-told-you-so-ing after all.”

They both laughed, clinking their margarita glasses together.

“I called the guy who did my signage. He’s working on a bid for a new window and over-door design. Easton Gallery. That’s what I’m going to call it.”

Nat’s eyes went wide as she sat back. “Easton? Not Eastwood?”

When Tuesday and Eric had married, they’d decided to create a name fusing their last names—hers, Easton, his, Heywood—to make a whole new name. It had been a way to make a deeper commitment to one another when they were both still treading carefully after their reconciliation. Eric had mixed feelings about his last name as it was, but he wanted them to be proud of him. So his agreement to do it had been a much bigger deal than it seemed from the outside.

But that time was done. The person she’d been then didn’t exist anymore. Not in the same way.

“I’m not her anymore. It’ll be five years in a month. I’ve been without him almost as long as I was with him.”

“I don’t know, Tuesday. I think that’s kind of bullshit.”

“You what?”

“Don’t swivel your head at me. I don’t disagree that you should go back to Easton. I don’t disagree that you’re different than you were six years ago. If you want this to be your next new start, so be it. Own it. You get to move on with your life. You get to have a boyfriend instead of a lover. You get to introduce him to your parents and sleep over at his place. All that. You get to think about your future and let yourself accept that Eric is only in it as a memory.”

“Wait, so you call me out and say I’m full of shit and then you agree with me about changing my name back?”

“I think you’re full of shit to not just call it what it is. Look, you made me accept the truth a whole lot in my life. I’m doing the same for you. Just say you’re moving on and that going back to Easton would ease your heartache and let you step away from your past enough to truly enjoy your present and your future.”

The thing about a best friend was that they knew you. They saw your flaws, knew your crap, could tell when you’re avoiding a topic. They would steal your shoes but let you borrow theirs and a true best friend like Nat would let her avoid the truth until she was ready to face it. As she had for a very long while.

And it looked like Natalie felt right then was that time.

“I’ve backed off for years. Not going to now. You held on to Eric to protect yourself. He was your shield. You had all the heartache you could process and so he kept you safe as you got stronger. You’re ready to step away from being Eric’s wife. It will always be part of your history. But you don’t need him to protect you anymore.”

“This isn’t about Ezra, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“It is so. Not entirely.”

“Goddamn you and this truth-tea bullshit.”

“Whatever. You can be mad all you want. But I’m right and you know it. You don’t need a man to be whole. No. You didn’t need a man to be healed from losing Eric. But Ezra’s part of this. He’s part of why you’re taking more steps at long last. That’s not weakness. It’s merely a reason.”