More Than Anything (Broken Pieces 1)

“Yes, of course,” Tina said, lifting her phone and bringing up her sent-email folder to show Libby the press release she had typed up for the paper. The reporter she had spoken to last week had promised to save a spot for the short announcement. The woman had even sent a reminder four days ago. Tina swiped down her list of recently sent emails but couldn’t seem to find the one to the paper.

“I . . .” She frowned, confused. “It has to be here. I sent it on Monday.”

“Did you check the paper?” Libby asked, and Tina shook her head.

“I forgot to pick up a copy. I meant to get one, but it completely slipped my mind. But I sent it . . .” She paused, her stomach roiling with dread—the vultures at work again—when she noticed that there was something left in her outbox. She blinked a few times before reluctantly clicking on the outbox.

“Crap,” she muttered, feeling queasy as she stared at the unsent message. How could this have happened?

“Tina?” Libby prompted.

“It didn’t send. I don’t know why it didn’t send,” Tina said faintly.

“Oh, Tina,” Libby exclaimed softly.

“I should have double-checked,” Tina said. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, of course. It was a miracle people were actually showing up. She had been swamped the entire week leading up to the relaunch, and instead of creating a proper schedule for all essential tasks, she’d allowed herself to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that needed to be done. Things had started slipping through the cracks. Major things, through huge cracks.

“I’m sorry, Libby. First the banner, and now this.”

“It’s okay. People are coming in—it could have been worse.”

Tina couldn’t really see how much worse it could have been. Their entire promotional plan for the relaunch had gone tits up, thanks to her own incompetence. Tina’s thumb drifted to her mouth again, and she started gnawing agitatedly at the nail.

The door tinkled, and a couple walked in. They were holding hands and laughing but paused when they realized the place was close to empty.

“Hey. You’re open! That’s fantastic. Where is everybody?” the woman, pretty in a wholesome way, asked.

“Apparently resistant to change,” Libby said, and the woman’s eyes swung toward Tina’s friend. A smile lit up the other woman’s face, transforming her from pretty to beautiful.

“Hello, we haven’t officially met. I’m Lia McGregor. You’re Clara’s mom.” She walked toward Libby, tugging the handsome blond man along behind her.

“Olivia Lawson,” Libby said with an equally gorgeous smile. “But please call me Libby.” She held out her hand, and the other woman took it and shook enthusiastically.

Feeling a bit like the fourth wheel on a tricycle, Tina kept an awkward smiled pasted on her face. She guessed Libby knew the other woman from Clara’s day care. Typical. Libby had moved to Riversend just a couple of weeks ago after purchasing her decrepit house on the beach and already knew loads more people than Tina did. Libby was like the sun: people were just naturally drawn to her warmth.

“Really lovely to officially meet you,” the other woman, Lia, said. She gestured to the lean, good-looking man standing beside her. “This is my fiancé, Sam Brand.”

“Nice to meet you,” the man said, also taking Libby’s hand. Tina thought she detected an English accent—hard to tell with just a few words—and he had a wicked, sexy smile.

“This is the restaurant’s new owner, Martine Jenson. But everybody calls her Tina,” Libby said.

Oh good, acknowledgment at last. She thought Libby was going to gush over her new buddy all day. Okay, maybe Tina was being a little uncharitable. But she was already tense after everything that had gone wrong, and it was making her bitchy. Still, at least the couple was here and supporting the restaurant tonight, and Tina was immensely grateful for that. She tried to disguise her edgy impatience behind a warm smile and reached out to shake Lia’s, and then Sam’s, hands.

“Ooh. You’re an MJ too? That’s perfect,” Lia enthused. “Well, I’ve been excited about this new MJ’s, and I called my sister when we saw your doors were open. I know she and her husband will be along soon. She’s a little slow these days. Super pregnant. I know quite a few other people who said they were keen on trying the new MJ’s. Don’t worry: as soon as people see you’re open, this place will be filled to the brim very quickly.”

The evening was disappointing.

Nothing like the huge success Tina had been fantasizing about for months. She felt like curling up into a ball and crying her eyes out but kept a smile plastered to her face while she thanked her staff for their hard work and praised them for their excellent service that evening. It was the least she could do, considering how badly she had let them all down tonight.