“The pull he has over you. The connection that’s there. The way you include him into a conversation without even realizing it. You’ve become infatuated with this man, and it has nothing to do with work, Cara. When you finally stop denying the truth to yourself, just do me a favor and make sure he’s deserving of you.”

I had no response, but I gave a small nod.

“Oh, and one other favor, as a friend.”

Our eyes met.

“When you do, you know, decide to seal the deal… take pictures. Please? ’Cause that man is… damn.”

Laughter burst out from both of us and didn’t cease for the rest of the night.

It was good to have my best friend by my side once again even if everything in my life was lopsided.

She was my constant.

Melissa decided to prolong her stay by another day when she discovered I wasn’t kidding about having nowhere to stay beyond Roman’s.

“Nowhere?” she yelled loud enough for the entire hotel floor to hear.

“Well, there is this coworker who said I was welcome to crash at her place, but I don’t think it was an offer to move in indefinitely.”

“We need to find you a place and fast,” she said, already pulling out her phone and tapping away.

For a Midwestern girl, she was incredibly tech savvy and pushy. Something told me she’d fit in better in this city than me. Within seconds, she pulled up nearby apartments, complete with ratings, rent, and openings.

“Wow, I’m impressed.”

“Be more impressed when I can actually get you into a place. We have our first viewing in a few hours. These places go fast. Let’s get over to Tyler’s and start packing up your stuff. Maybe we can get in and out of there before the cheating dickwad gets home.”

“Good idea,” I said, thankful for once for Tyler’s grueling work schedule, which happened to include weekend hours.

And very late evening hours.

Good to know my bitterness was firmly intact.

After a wholesome breakfast of leftover pizza we’d somehow managed to cram into the small fridge along with whatever candy we hadn’t eaten, we packed up and headed out to my—Tyler’s apartment.

The tension was palpable as we drew near. I was so fidgety by the time we turned the corner that I was nearly jumping out of my own skin.

“Could you let us off here?” Melissa softly asked the driver.

He pulled over to the side of the street and Mel paid as I calmly waited, feeling like the worst friend on the planet.

She’d flown out here on a moment’s notice. God knew how much money she’d spent that she probably didn’t have. Plus, she’d blown off important classes, and she was probably now behind on hours and hours of homework.