The Billionaire's Reluctant Partner.

o be normal. I was anything but. I didn't know how long I sat in my car outside my apartment building, my fingers clutching the steering wheel as if it was the only thing keeping me gr

ven though all I had was old milk and half a bottle of orange juice. "I don't know. Maybe yesterday?" "Liar." Tara shut the fridge door and turned me to face her. "Talk to me." I closed my eyes for a brief moment feeling tears brim behind them. "It's bad, T. Really bad." She sighed, pulling me toward the table and making me sit down. "Okay, start from the beginning." So I did. I told her everything. How the wedding disaster had sent my business into a downward spiral. How clients were running. How I was barely keeping things together. Tara listened, nodding, occasionally throwing in a few choice curse words directed at the stupid groomsmen that fought and the bride's mother. But when I was done, she just leaned back and studied me. "And Killian?" she asked quietly. I stiffened. "What about him?" I asked with a frown. "Oh, I don't know," she said with a shrug. "Maybe the fact that you saw your ex-husband after all these years, and you're acting like it didn't affect you deeply." I let out a dry laugh. "It didn't." Tara rolled her eyes. "Naomi." I shoved a hand through my hair. "Fine. Yes, I almost had a panic attack when I saw him again. Yes, it felt like someone reopened a wound I spent years trying to heal. But it doesn't matter now, since he means nothing to me anymore." Tara tapped her nails on the table. "Are you sure about that?" I looked away. Because deep down, I wasn't sure at all. Killian had been the one thing I had never fully recovered from. The one regret I still carried, no matter how much I told myself I was over it. But he had betrayed me, had lied to me about some many things that I didn't even know the truth anymore. And no matter how much time passed, I would never forget that. I grabbed a wine cooler and opened it. "I don't want to talk about him." Tara looked at me for a moment before nodding. "Fine. Then let's talk about Lancaster Luxe Events." I tensed. "Naomi, you need a plan. Fast." I took a slow sip. "I have a plan. I just need to-" "