“Greer!” Jill came up behind her on East Bay Street and nearly scared her out of her skin.
“What?” Greer had literally just finished throwing away her last Perfect Wedding albums.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that.”
“It’s okay.” Greer had already been feeling a little flustered, so she couldn’t blame Jill for her being on edge. The morning after Ford left town, she’d gotten rid of the Perfect Wedding albums at home, but she’d purposely ignored her newest ones, which she kept at work. Now, two weeks later, she was ready to purge her life for good of anything remotely associated with Perfect Weddings, so she walked up to Roastbusters and slid the bound books, ones she’d labored over with such love, into Pete’s trashcan.
She was done with fantasies of happily-ever-afters for herself for good. Instead, she’d continue laboring over them for other people. Their love stories—and the spirit of the house at Two Love Lane, which was infused with laughter and love—would keep her from being an utter cynic.
They started walking down the cobblestone alley to the house that had stood there over two hundred years.
“I was just coming to see you,” Jill said.
“Good. You’ve been avoiding me. I’ve been trying to get you to talk about this tech conference and whether you should go.”
“I know,” said Jill. “But I can’t think about that. I have business problems.”
They walked through the wrought iron gate, the one with the entwined hearts and secretly embedded lovers’ initials, then continued up the steps of Two Love Lane and sat on the new porch swing. They swung back and forth, and the rhythm, Greer hoped, was as soothing to Jill as it was to her.
“Tell me what’s going on,” said Greer.
Jill shrugged. “I quit Erospace.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I have to,” Jill said dully. “I can’t find enough clients.”
“You have to keep trying,” Greer insisted. “Maybe you should switch up your marketing practices.”
“I’ve tried.” Jill wiped away a tear.
“Starting up a business is hard,” Greer reminded her. “Have you thought about getting some partners instead of doing this by yourself?”
“No,” Jill whispered.
“Well, let’s talk about that. You need a support network. And I’m your biggest fan.”
“You are?”
“Apart from your family. What do they think of your issues with Erospace?”
“I’m afraid to tell them,” said Jill. “They know I’ve put all my savings into it. And the nonnas aren’t even sure they approve of what I do. They tsk a lot when I talk about it. So I quit talking about it.” She sighed. “I’m usually such a fighter. But I find I’m giving up so easily. It’s not the Mancini way.”
“It’s not,” said Greer, “and I think I know why Erospace is losing steam. Let’s go into my office. I have some news for you.” She’d spent the past two weeks seriously distracting herself from missing Ford by immersing herself in her job.
“I’m not sure I want news,” Jill said meekly when they got to her desk.
Greer turned to her. “You can’t keep hiding from your old boyfriend,” she said. “How’s Harry?”
Jill brightened. “Oh, he’s great. He went on a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, and—”
“I know you like him,” Greer interrupted, “but you shouldn’t be texting your boyfriend’s old bodyguard. He’s not the person you really need to talk to. Don’t you want resolution? I promise you—you’ll have way more energy to tackle your Erospace issues if you can iron out other areas of your life, including the romantic side.”
She should know. She was in a rut romantically herself. So she was focusing every bit of determination she had to make sure she was more successful than ever at Two Love Lane. No way was she going to fall apart on all fronts.
Jill hesitated, then nodded. “You’re right.”
Greer pulled up a file on Jill’s business baron. “He’s in New York this entire week at the conference. Let’s get on a plane, rent a hotel room. I’ll take you all the way to the door of where he’s staying or lecturing, and then you’re going to march in and say your piece.”
“But … what’s my piece?” Jill asked, her face pale.
Greer shrugged. “I don’t know. But it will come to you on the plane ride. That’s your metric, Jill. Maybe you’ve been using your flying phobia as an excuse not to face whether you want to commit to this guy.”
“That’s not fair. It’s a real phobia.”
“And if your love for him is real, it will come to a head, and you will choose one over the other.”
Jill made a face. “I thought love advisors would be soft, gentle people.”
“Nope,” said Greer. “Not always.”
“What about your own love life?” Jill asked, a bit of accusation in her tone. “Twice I’ve tried to chat with you about it, at Harris Teeter by the produce section—but you ran away—and at Roastbusters, where you managed to change the subject. I asked Ella, too, and she told me you’re freezing everyone out.”
“Right now, we’re focusing on you,” said Greer, feeling prim and defensive. “And you can tell your sister my door at work is open at all times if she’d like to chat.”
“Except for the times you’ve had it locked the past two weeks, which she said you’ve done every day, pretending you’re too busy to talk.” Jill grinned fondly. “Hey, I’m just giving you a taste of your own medicine.”
Greer released the tension in her shoulders and shot Jill an apologetic smile. “You’re right. Maybe we can help each other. You’re unlike any client I’ve ever had, and I’m learning a lot from you.”
“You’re the best.” Jill gave her a hug. “I’d love to help you, too.”
“All right, then. I’m going to buy our plane tickets, courtesy of Two Love Lane, and you need to clear your schedule for the next two days. We’re headed to New York.”
Jill shook her head. “That’s so nice of you. I’m not exactly rolling in dough lately.”
“It’s fine. We have a slush fund for special emergencies. Someday, you will, too, at Erospace Designs.”
“Thank you for believing in me.” Jill smiled, but it quickly faded. “I’m so scared.”
“I know,” Greer said. “I’ll be with you on the plane. Before we go, we’ll practice my technique for making it through each flight without totally losing it, okay?”
Jill nodded and gulped. “I’m more scared of seeing him than going on the plane.”
“I’ll be with you almost every step of the way. But one thing I’ve learned as a matchmaker is, the last step is up to you and your man. I can only take you so far. We’ve been trying hard here to get Wesley and Serena back together, but at some point, only they can help themselves. Wesley thinks he’s jinxed. And Serena, well, she’s not interested in being with a guy who got such cold feet that he came on to his ex-girlfriend.”
“I can’t blame her,” said Jill.
“Nor can I,” said Greer. “But everyone is flawed. Every couple has problems. You just have to decide—the both of you—whether the love between you is strong enough to weather the storms.”
“I don’t want to be a quitter before I even try,” Jill said, sounding extremely doubtful. “In love or in business.”
“Come here.” Greer took her to the window and pointed out at the small glimpse of East Bay Street they had from Two Love Lane’s cobblestoned alley. “Look,” she said. “There’s a possible Erospace client in one of those mansions.”
“I hope so.” A faint, sad smile curved Jill’s lips.
“By flying to New York—not driving,” Greer said, “you’ll be taking your romantic destiny into your own hands. We’ll think about Erospace when you get back.”
Greer let the curtain fall back in place.
“I feel more hope about Erospace already,” Jill said. “I-I can’t believe I told you I might quit.”
Greer could see in the way she held herself straighter that Jill was serious. She walked her to the front door, they hugged tightly, she reminded Jill to pack, and she came back to her desk feeling hopeful for her friend.
Meanwhile, every day she had to face the truth that she’d tried to take her destiny into her own hands, and it hadn’t worked out. She’d told Ford she loved him, but he’d left her. It was a hard place to be. So hard.
But is it truly over? a voice inside her said.
What she needed to do was talk to her parents and find out how to face a reality that didn’t include true love. But how to go about it? How to admit to them that she knew something was wrong between them? Every day of her childhood she’d wondered what was missing in their home.…
She sat for a minute, sighed, closed her eyes. And remembered she had Charleston to support her. This city. It had given her so much. Her best friends. It had given her beauty. It had taught her that strength can come, can rise up amid the broken, the frightened, and the forgotten. Charleston had shown her that love can and does conquer all.
She could do this.
She picked up her phone. Dialed. “Mom?” she said, and started to cry.