Chapter 15

Book club was a once-a-month excuse to pretend we still had the metabolism of a teenager as we gathered in Sofie's bookstore. She had the comfy armchairs circled around a table full of the treats each of us contributed. Maria's were the first to go, followed by Kim's apple pie. A few of Sofie's friends from Crestfield had decided to join us tonight. They only made it once in a while, but it was always entertaining when they did. They were big fans of Maria's and we were big fans of the apple-themed treats Kim brought from the orchard that her in-laws owned.

We enjoyed both as we fell in love with yet another book boyfriend. Our latest read involved a prince who was in love with the woman he could never have, and his enemies were circling to find any weaknesses they could use against him. But unable to deny his feelings, they began to see each other in secret.

Hannah slapped the arm of her chair. "You have got it all wrong. He was trying to save her by breaking her heart."

"If he'd just talked to her, they would have figured out the solution faster." Sofie protested.

"And she never would have nearly died," Beth added. "She only got lost in the forest because she was running and crying."

Kim nodded and picked up a slice of cheesecake brownie. "A dumb decision really. How many horror movies do we have to see to know that."

Maria rolled her eyes. "It's a romance, Kim. Stop bringing your true crime podcasts into it. Only happily ever afters here."

Shrugging, Kim looked at her phone. "Oh, Zoey sent me a picture." She showed us all a picture of her daughter with a pretty brown and white horse that had bows braided into the mane.

Maria groaned. "I want your life. Perfect kid, hot cowboy husband, and unlimited access to the best-tasting apples. I could make so many pies and tarts with those."

Kim beamed. "Knox has some single brothers if you're interested."

"Too long distance," Maria grumbled.

Crestfield was only an hour's drive, but in all the time I'd known her, Maria had refused to get in a vehicle unless absolutely necessary. She preferred to walk everywhere she could, and get her groceries delivered. I was pretty sure she didn't even own a car.

"Speaking of being jealous..." Charlotte's voice cut through the air, setting my nerves on edge as all eyes turned towards me, "Where did that ring come from?"

Truthfully I was surprised they'd waited this long to begin the interrogation. Charlotte had used more finesse than I thought her capable of.

"Nate gave it to me."

"Hockey Nate?" Gabby asked, her voice full of surprise. "He's the nicest guy, but I was under the impression he wasn't seeing anyone."

I realized then that she was the woman on the cover of the gossip rag with Nate. In all the times I'd seen her in person she'd kept her hair in a simple ponytail and tinted gloss. On the magazine, she'd been more dolled up and I felt like an idiot for not connecting the dots sooner. If I didn't know that Gabby was happily dating someone I'd feel pretty insecure.

Maria perked up, her jealousy of Kim long forgotten. "Oh, they've been flirting for months. Every time he came into the bakery he spent more time talking to Lia than he did picking out what to eat."

"He did not." I protested.

"The man gets the same breakfast croissant every time. He only pretends to ogle the display case, so he has an excuse to ogle you."

"Oh, I love that! But how did that turn into a ring?" Charlotte asked.

"What I say can't leave this room." They leaned forward anticipating the juiciest piece of gossip. "It's a fake engagement."

Beth sighed in disappointment. "Is that all?"

"Don't listen to her," Kim said, her eyes glinted with mischief, "She knows that sometimes fake relationships turn into something real."

"Kim," Beth protested. "That's old news."

Sofie cleared her throat, "We're talking about Lia."

Kim mimed zipping her lips shut.

Hannah began to fill them in on the drama with the press, Maria had them swooning over the moments at the bakery, and the only thing I offered were details of what happened at the salon. Sofie rattled off books it reminded her of, while Beth swooned over the Super Dad shirt and started plotting how she'd make one for her husband.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax in my chair.

"Why aren't you on cloud nine?" Kim asked me while the others talked amongst themselves.

"I'm just bracing for the inevitable."

"Which is?" she asked.

I started counting off the things wrong with my life. "I'm in mountains of debt, I lost the job at the salon and flower shop. And the best relationship I've ever had is fake. It has to end."

She looked like she was considering my words, "Okay, starting from the top. Is there any debt forgiveness program you can do?"

"I'm stuck with the student loans until they're paid off or I die."

"So you need more income. Have you thought about starting your own salon?"

"That's my dream," I looked at Maria lovingly, "I like working at the bakery, but I love doing hair and helping people feel pretty."

Maria smiled, "I know. I've always known the bakery was just a temporary stop for you. But you still better help me decide on new flavors."

"But I still don't have money. So opening a salon isn't possible, and all the salons have told me no after seeing Erin's video."

"What about Crestfield?" Beth asked. "There's a little salon there, but they get a lot of high-end clients. It could make the commute worth it."

Crestfield was a strange cross between small town and high society. From the stories they shared I knew that a portion of the community treated their houses in Crestfield like their own version of the Hamptons. Then there were people like Kim who just ignored the rich class and went about their lives.

Kim nodded. "They do a lot there and I was just helping them with the website. Want me to give her your info?"

"I'll take all the help I can get." Except Nate's money. The idea of taking the money he offered in exchange for dating him gave me the biggest ick factor. With things busier at the bakery, a refund on a plane ticket I'd canceled, and no rent due, I was able to make the minimums on my bills this month, and should have enough for next.

"Which leaves us with the best relationship you've ever had." Maria said, "Are you sure he doesn't want things to be real?"

That made me snort. "Oh please. We just text and hang out a little for the press. I'll never be good enough to date someone like him for real."

The room went silent as they all stared at me, righteous fury in their eyes.

"Don't talk about yourself that way," Maria said. "You are more than enough."

"So totally enough." Charlotte agreed.

"If I was enough I wouldn't have been fired and my ex wouldn't have cheated on me."

Maria's eyes narrowed at that tidbit. It was the most I'd ever shared.

Their patient gazes bore into me, each one silently urging me to open up. Shame and pain twirled inside me, wrapping around my heart like barbed wire. For too long, I'd carried this burden alone, suffocating under its weight. But now, faced with the compassionate eyes of my friends, I felt a flicker of hope stirring within me. I was tired of hiding, tired of pretending that everything was okay when it wasn't. With a trembling breath, I steeled myself to face the painful memories.

"I came home one night and found him kissing my cousin. They didn't even notice I'd walked into the apartment I shared with her."

"Please tell me you kicked him in the groin?" Hannah asked hopefully.

I shook my head. "No, I went to my parent's house and told them I'd left my textbook there. I couldn't go back to the apartment, or back to campus where I knew I'd run into them. When I got up the next morning I threw some clothes in a suitcase and caught the first plane out of there. I used the last of my student loans to get my apartment here and some cheap furniture."

"How long were you with him?"

"Eight years. We started dating when he was a senior at my high school, and then he convinced me to go to college with him. He mapped out our entire future together. I'd get my business degree so I could help manage his private practice after he finished medical school. Turns out he was cheating on me the whole time."

There were gasps around the room.

"No wonder you haven't wanted to date. That's a serious violation of trust." Maria scooted her chair closer to me. "You never confronted him?"

"No. I blocked his number." Shame overwhelmed me. "I'm such a coward."

Sofie placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I hadn't realized she'd left her chair. "You went cold turkey. That's impressive. We've all seen good women get dragged into a cheater's whirlwind. You got out of it."

"I'm not so sure of that. He married her."

"Shotgun wedding?" Gabby asked.

My mouth opened and closed. I hadn't considered that. "It did seem a little rushed from what my mom told me. And she did have a baby."

"You're better off without him." Sofie lifted her glass of apple juice in a toast. "And if you give me their info I know a guy that can make sure everyone knows what they did."

"There's really no need for that."

Kim held up her phone. "Lauren's on it."

Sofie frowned. "Dang it."

Hannah cleared her throat. "If Nate doesn't appreciate you, then he doesn't deserve you, Lia. But I don't think you have anything to worry about. He looks at you with the same smile he gets after winning a game."

I blushed furiously. "He does not."

"All in favor of going to a game to see if I'm right?" Hannah asked.

And like the wonderful friends they all were, they all lifted a hand. I glanced around at each of them, a genuine smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "You guys seriously rock, you know that?"

Laughter rippled through the room, dispersing the lingering tension like a gentle breeze, and we got back to discussing our latest read.

When Maria and I made it back to her apartment much later in the day, I was ready to fall into bed, or air mattress in this case. While her home was technically a two-bedroom, the second bedroom had a lot of boxes from Maria's grandmother that she hadn't gone through since her grandmother died. Feeling bad about how uncomfortable the couch was, Maria had bought an air mattress for me, and pushed all of her grandmother's things against one wall so I'd have a small private space.

I'd just sat down on my makeshift bed, when I saw a video call from my mom coming in. I smiled and accepted, I'd been meaning to thank her for the fudge.

"Hey Sweetie," Mom said. The camera was pointing up at her and my dad. It looked like they were sitting at the kitchen table in their house and about to eat dinner. "How is the job search?"

My cousin Haley had generously filled my parents in on my joblessness by showing them a clip of Priscilla firing me. It had taken me hours to calm my mom down. It wasn't until I'd distracted her by showing her my engagement ring that she'd stopped freaking out.

"I'm still looking, but a friend knows the owner of a salon and is going to give them my information."

"That's great. And what about your handsome husband-to-be? Did he get the fudge?"

"He did. He's been bragging about it to his teammates."

That put a big smile on her face. "I can make some for them too."

I reassured her that while that was a kind thought, it really wasn't necessary. "How have you been doing Dad?"

He grunted, and Mom filled me in on his latest doctor appointment. "He's been given a clean bill of health! He got to ring the bell today!"

"That's wonderful! I wish I could have been there with you."

When I had to cancel the plane ticket home it hurt a lot. I'd wanted to surprise both of them for Dad's last round of radiation, and I took solace in knowing I hadn't set them up for disappointment.

"Haley was there, and she brought us a cake."

The sound of my cousin's name didn't hurt as much as it had. Talking to my friends earlier had helped. "How is she?"

"Oh she's getting excited for the practice to open. Ted is going to do a grand opening with a ribbon cutting and everything. The pair of them have been working so hard to make their dream come true."

She carried on oblivious to the fact that I'd once told her about that dream, but it hadn't mattered until Haley wanted it.

"You don't say," I said.

"Oh don't sound so bitter for her success. You know she doesn't have support from your aunt and uncle."

Because they'd cut her off when they realized what a spoiled brat she'd become .

"I need to go Mom. I have to get up early tomorrow."

We said our goodbyes and I promised to be better at calling.