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temper snapped Natalie straight. “You think this town will accept me as a business owner? I have to work twice as hard as every other person on this block as it is, and the shop’s not even mine.”
    “That’s bullshit and you know it.”
    “It is not and you know it.” She held up her left hand and pointed to her bare ring finger. “I don’t wear the right accessories to belong here, and I never will. And what about Noah?”
    “What about him?”
    “You and Mom had each other. I hardly see my son as it is right now. What happens if I’m running this place solo? When do I get to see him then?”
    “So hire someone. We can afford it. Dammit, Natalie. There are solutions if you just think about it for a while.”
    “Oh, so now you want to give the shop to someone who can’t think? Brilliant. Just brilliant.”
    “Don’t you turn this on me—”
    “You’re turning it on me! I’m trying to do what’s best for everyone, but you’re too stubborn to consider that maybe it’s time we sell and move on.” She was vaguely aware that the love songs constantly pumped into the shop were getting louder, which meant the customers could hear and the girls out on the floor were trying to cover, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t the bad guy here. She wasn’t the good guy either—that wasn’t a crown she would ever wear in Bliss—but Dad was way overreacting.
    “Do you have any idea what you’re asking me to give up?” he said.
    “You think I want to do this? That I want to walk away? I don’t have what it takes to make this shop work. You think I wouldn’t change that if I could?”
    “I think you quit every time anything gets hard, that’s what I think. Damn it, Natalie, when are you going to grow up?”
    Natalie pointed out toward the floor. “About five years ago, if you didn’t notice.”
    “I noticed.” Dad stalked toward the door, then turned back around. “Should’ve happened to Lindsey. At least she could take care of a child on her own.”
    Natalie sucked an icy breath through her nose.
    Despite everything, Dad still thought she was the same immature brat who’d ignored everyone’s warnings and gotten married because of a ridiculous idea that she could transform Derek into the man she needed her husband to be. She was an Aisle princess; he was a second-generation mechanic from a broken home. He’d been dark and dangerous and bold—no other man had asked her out those first two years after she graduated college. But he’d also shown a soft side, writing her poems and picking wildflowers for her. And she’d decided to save him from his sorry, non-Aisle existence, and finally fulfill her destiny of getting married in the process.
    Turned out, she was the sorry one.
    Still was. Probably always would be. Her own father thought so.
    She blinked back the cold sting of tears. “You know why I don’t want the shop? It’s because this town doesn’t want us. If they don’t want me, fine. But what about Noah? He hasn’t had a single playdate since Mom died. I had to cancel his birthday party because Marilyn made sure no one would come. I’m doing this for him.”
    “You’re doing it for yourself and using him as an excuse.”
    Natalie flung a hand out and wished she had a filing cabinet to hit. “That’s right. I’m the horrible one. Well, Dad, you raised me. So what does that say about you?”
    A tension hard as granite settled in the room. Natalie’s lungs seized. Dad’s forehead vein visibly throbbed. He lifted a finger to the door. “Get out.”
    Natalie deflated. There she went, screwing up thank you all over again. “Dad—”
    “I said, get out.”
    She needed to apologize, but he pointed harder at the door, his eyes shiny, his throat working overtime.
    She snagged her coat and purse and scurried out of the room before she could make anything worse. Amanda gave her a funny look, and Natalie realized her cheeks were wet. Noah barreled around the high register counter.