Annabelle clipped up the front section of Sally’s hair and combed out the back. Sally had arrived at her sister’s salon about twenty minutes earlier to take advantage of the free cut her sister always offered. They’d booked it in the week before and Sally hadn’t felt like going, but she knew Annabelle would ask why and then she’d have to come out with the whole story. It was easier just to go along, and Sally hoped it might relax her. She usually loved getting her hair cut.

Grabbing her scissors off the counter, Annabelle started to trim Sally’s wet strands, taking off just half an inch as instructed.

Sally gazed at the mirror, studying the shape of her face and trying to avoid making eye contact with her reflection. She didn’t want to see inside of herself, because she knew all she’d find was utter turmoil.

Oscar loved her. At least that’s what he’d said, and she was struggling not to believe it. The look on his face had been so earnest and sweet.

“You seem quiet today,” Annabelle said. “Everything okay?”

A hair dryer started up just behind them, and Sally waited for Chantel to finish styling her client’s hair before softly answering her sister. She was grateful for the wait. She needed time to think of a good reason, but in the end she whispered the truth. “Oscar told me he loves me.”

“What?” Annabelle’s large eyes rounded, her smile radiant in the mirror.

Before Sally could tell her to calm down, Chantel came rushing over. “Don’t start without me.”

Hurrying her client to the counter, Chantel sped through the payment and led the lady out the door before running back to sit in the spare seat beside Sally. “Start from the beginning. What happened?”

Swallowing hard, Sally eased her eyes open, but kept them on her fidgeting fingers. “Oscar took me out for dinner last night…and told me that he loves me.”

“Holy heck!” Chantel giggled. “That is so sweet.” Her perfectly manicured hands curled around Sally’s arm. “I’m so excited for you.”

Sally managed a weak smile, but she couldn’t speak.

“I guess the question is why aren’t you more excited?” Annabelle raised her eyebrows before focusing back on Sally’s hair.

For a moment, all that could be heard was the clean snip of scissors cutting hair and Chantel’s barely veiled excitement as she kind of whined in her throat, desperate for more romantic news.

“You’re killing me here,” Chantel quickly snapped. “Would you hurry up and tell us why a gorgeous English guy confessing his love for you is a bad thing!”

“It’s not a bad thing. It’s just…” Sally sighed. “I saw Nate last night.”

Chantel gasped and Annabelle went taut behind her.

Sally caught her sister’s tight expression in the mirror and quickly glanced away. “He followed us to the restaurant…to…talk to me.”

“About what?” Chantel squeezed her arm.

“He wanted to know if I was happy. He seemed kind of sad and upset that I’d moved on so fast.”

Annabelle scoffed. “What was he expecting you to do, wait around until he got his act together? Please.”

Sally didn’t respond, her heavy heart weighing more than it usually did.

Chantel gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know you still love him, and you probably always will a little bit. But he’s never there, Sal. That’s why you broke up with him. And unless he showed up last night to say sorry and tell you he’s going to try, then you need to move on.”

“Did he say that?” Annabelle’s eyes rounded.

Sally shook her head. The lump in her throat hurt.

Deep down she knew Nate would never do that. Because he didn’t get it. He didn’t really understand why she’d left him.

Working too hard wasn’t exactly a sin. He no doubt felt completely abandoned by Sally…and now she was moving on to someone else.

Annabelle sighed and rubbed her shoulder. “Look, Oscar is here and he loves you. Those are two really good things. Why not just enjoy the now?”

Sally nibbled her thumbnail, something she hadn’t done in a long time. “Because I’m not sure.”

Annabelle smacked her hand and mumbled, “Don’t bite your nails.” Coming around to Sally’s left side, she let out one of the clips and began trimming that section of hair. “Oscar has been treating you like a queen, and I get that seeing Nate last night has thrown you, but come on, sis. It’s Oscar. He’s adorable.”

Sally wrinkled her nose. “It just feels so fast. We’ve only been dating for a little while and he’s already saying he loves me and inviting me to spend the weekend with him at the lake house.”

“No way!” Chantel squealed. “I love that place. With just the two of you, it will be so romantic!”

“Yeah, Dad offered it to him and he really wants to go.” Sally internally cringed. Dad had never once offered the lake house to Nate. It was reserved for family members and a select few only. She’d insisted Nate join them for a few family getaways, but they’d never had the lake house to themselves.

Her father obviously adored the idea of her and Oscar together. It should’ve made Sally happy, but it just felt like another weight bearing down on her.

“I think you should do it,” Annabelle said.

Sally looked doubtfully into the mirror, suddenly wishing she hadn’t said anything.

Her sister caught her expression and laughed. “Come on, it’s a good idea. It’ll give you an overnighter with Oscar to really see how you feel. You don’t have to sleep with him or anything, just spend some uninterrupted time hanging out. If he drives you nuts by the time you come home, you can tell him that it’s moving too fast.”

“Or you can figure out that maybe Oscar is everything you’ve been waiting for.” Chantel swooned. “Either way, it’s not going to hurt.”

Sally made a face. “It’ll hurt him if we go away for a weekend and then I turn around and dump him.”

“Who said anything about dumping?” Annabelle lightly slapped her shoulder. “I said slow things down. He seems like a reasonable guy. You can just say you need to cool off a little. He’ll understand.”

“I don’t know, you guys.” Sally’s nose wrinkled.

“A weekend away at the lake house sounds delicious,” Chantel said, jumping up from her seat and sweeping the floor in preparation for her next client. “You should do it just to get out of Aspen Falls for the night. You’re not working, and you can’t deny that being by the lake will be far more peaceful and enriching then curled up in your room lamenting the way things didn’t work out with Nate.”

Chantel was right. The lake house always restored her soul. The smell of the trees, the sun glistening off the water…

Her heart had already thrilled to the idea, even if it was just the lake house that made her feel that way and not the man who would be accompanying her.

Biting the edge of her lip, she mulled it over while Annabelle finished cutting her hair. Chantel’s next client arrived, which gave Sally a little room to think.

Annabelle finished the cut, then blow-dried her hair. She always felt so beautiful when her sister was done.

“Thank you.” She fingered the ends of her golden locks while Annabelle bent over her shoulder and caught her eye in the mirror. “The lake house is a good idea. You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” Sally eventually whispered. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Annabelle’s smile was sunshine. Sally rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone before she changed her mind.

Oscar answered after the first ring. “Good afternoon, lovely lady.”

Sally smiled. His voice was so sweet. “Hi, I, um… well, I was thinking about the lake house idea you mentioned last night.”

“And?” His voice rose with obvious excitement.

“It’s a really nice idea. We could drive up tomorrow and…spend the night.” She swallowed and then quickly added, “There’s plenty of rooms, so you can have a whole king bed to yourself.”

She caught Annabelle’s expression in the mirror and cringed.

Sally closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t be offended, but she didn’t want the pressure of sex. If one thing led to another, then that was fine, but she could do without the huge expectation.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend my weekend.” Oscar was smiling, Sally could tell by the lilt of his voice.

With a relieved breath, she opened her eyes. “Great. So, do you want to pick me up tomorrow morning, then?”

“Absolutely. I’ll see you then, my love.”

“Bye.” She hung up and deflated in the chair.

“Wow, you’re like the queen of romance.” Annabelle’s sarcastic quip made Sally raise her middle finger. Her sister laughed and kissed her cheek. “Just go be happy. Forget about Nate and enjoy Oscar.”

Sally frowned at her sister’s reflection. “Why have you always been so anti-Nate?”

Annabelle spun Sally’s chair around and bent down to look her in the eyes. “I wasn’t at first. I thought he was tall and gorgeous. A little closed-off and he never really smiled around us, but I was willing to try because you liked him so much.” Annabelle’s eyes dipped to Sally’s lap, then she looked up with a sad smile. “But then you started to cry. He was never around, and I’ve spent too many hours watching you be miserable and listening to you miss him.”

“You guys never even gave him a chance,” Sally whispered.

“He didn’t give us much of one either.” Annabelle looked a little offended before pasting on a confident smile and touching Sally’s cheek. “Besides, you’re our Sally. We have to protect you.”

“From what? An amazing man?”

“He’s not a god, sis,” Annabelle scolded. “He’s closed-off and addicted to work. I still don’t understand why you stayed with him for so long.”

Sally’s voice dropped to a breathy murmur. “You didn’t know him like I did. I saw who he could be, and it stole my heart.”

With a little huff, Annabelle grabbed the broom and started sweeping up the floor. “Look, he may have stolen your heart, but he doesn’t know how to look after it. Oscar does. I know you may not want to hear that, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to. You can’t force Nate to be something he’s not. You need to let go of that pipe dream and move on with a reality that could be amazing.”

Sally lifted her feet so Annabelle could sweep under her chair. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she stared at the floor until her vision blurred and her heart started to crack down the center.