“Um, yes? It’s Monday, which means Oscar is bringing in a whole bunch of people for wildfire training today. I know I look terrible, but I doubt Harrison will notice.” Sophie shrugged with a nonchalance she was far from feeling. She’d hoped that having a weekend apart would help ease the sting of his final words, but it hadn’t worked. All the ice cream and brandy in the world wouldn’t change the fact that Harrison had ripped her heart out of her chest, stomped it into the dirt, and then walked away.

I could have taken all of it—except for the walking away.

“Actually, he probably will notice, but I don’t care. I hope he thinks I look like garbage. I feel like garbage. He made me feel like garbage. The least he can do now is face the steaming heap he created.”

Lila opened her mouth to protest again, but Sophie forestalled her with a glare.

“Well, Dawn?” she asked, her tone falsely bright. “You’re the expert when it comes to this sort of thing—is it cutoff jean shorts? A see-through tank top? Pasties with tassels on them? What does one wear to work with a man who destroyed all one’s chances of happiness?”

“One could always ask one’s sister to go to work in her stead,” Dawn suggested gently.

Sophie set her face, remembering all the things Harrison had said about her—that her strength came from the safety net her family provided, that her bravery had never been really tested. “No, thank you.”

“We wouldn’t mind,” Lila said. “If you’re not up to the task of facing him, it’s just as easy for one of us to finish up. In fact, I think it’s in our employee handbook.”

“It’s true.” Dawn cleared her throat with a false sense of authority. “After sleeping with the client, dog trainers are allowed a two-week leave of absence, at which time one of her sisters solemnly promises to finish the job, no questions asked.”

“No, thank you,” Sophie said once again. She didn’t know how to make them realize that their kindness, though to be expected, was only making her feel worse. It proved how right Harrison had been, how easy her life was compared to his. How could someone like her possibly understand what it cost him to open up? How could she know anything about real strength?

Everything she had, she owed to the people in this room. Everything she was, was built on the promise that their love for her would never falter.

“It’s nice of you to offer, guys, but I was aware of the difficulties when I took this job. I made the decision to get involved with Harrison knowing the risks.”

“Oscar will understand,” Lila said.

“No one will think any less of you for staying home to nurse your broken heart,” Dawn added.