Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Charlotte beams like she’s overjoyed to have found me sitting here. Her hair is styled to perfection and she’s wearing a matching lavender workout set. She’s come to this coffee shop with her own reusable Stanley thermos in tow. Her name is etched onto the side along with a cascade of hearts. She doesn’t have the lid on it; it wouldn’t fit what with all the whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and pink-striped straw.
“Oh hi, Charlotte.”
“Hi, Madison! Are you busy?” She’s eyeing me like she’s not quite sure what I’m doing. After all, I’m still hunched over my computer at an awkward angle.
I think fast and keep my ear pressed against my keyboard, narrowing my eyes and acting like I’m listening for something. “Could have sworn it was making a funny noise…” Then I shrug. “Oh well, stupid technology. What do you need?”
She steps closer and pulls out the chair at my table. If she sees my eyes widen in panic before I rein in my reaction, she doesn’t let on. She tilts her head to the right and looks at me sadly. Her face is the watery-eyes emoji. “I just wanted to apologize for getting in the middle of you and Sawyer. I feel so bad.”
Sawyer told her about our fight?! Are they really that close?
Then she continues, “I could sense the tension at Cruz’s party, and I just hate that I might have caused any problems.”
Oh. So maybe Sawyer didn’t tell her…she’s just thoughtful enough to pick up on the awkwardness. A bit of my annoyance with her slips away. Up until this moment, I had a bone to pick with this woman, but now I realize maybe she’s not the enemy I thought she was. She seems nice enough, pink and bubbly. Could a person who orders eight parts whipped cream to one part coffee really be that conniving? I’ve never seen an adult consume so many sprinkles in one sitting.
She shrugs apologetically, continuing on, “It’s just that I thought Sawyer deserved to know all the horrible things you were doing behind his back.”
WHOA. Somehow while delivering this bomb she keeps her expression sympathetic. It’s like she wants me to know she’s on my side, really, I just need to understand her point of view.
“It wasn’t like that,” I insist with a defensive laugh. “I know you were listening to my conversation in the bathroom at the restaurant and it was inappropriate of me to carry on in a public place like that, but I really wish you had come to me first before taking the tale to Sawyer. It’s actually really silly that it’s blown up into such a big thing.”
She laughs and shakes her head like, Silly me. “Oh, so you didn’t accept a date with Sawyer just to toy with him?”
I swear her usual happy-go-lucky expression has hardened with the accusation. But then she sips innocently from her pink straw and it throws me off.
“No.” I frown. “Not exactly…”
“But you did have a plan with Kendra, right? I mean, I have pretty good ears. I know what I heard.”
Okay, I’m not making this up. There’s definitely a layer of snark underneath her chipper tone.
“I’m sorry, are you his lawyer or something?”
This gets a big, vivacious laugh. Then her hand touches my arm. “No. Madison. It’s all good. I just wanted Sawyer to have all the facts. He’s such a special guy, and I don’t want to see him hurt by somebody like you.” Okay, ouch. “Anyway, I better run.” She stands, taking her jug of whipped cream with her. “I’m making lunch for the firefighters down at the station—it’s so important to give back to our community—and I don’t want to be late. Bye!”
I stare dumbfounded as she walks out of the coffee shop, tossing a little wave to the barista as she goes. Her lavender skirt twirls around her. She’s a fairy, a princess—NO. She’s a deceitful little shrew!
Back at the Wildflower Weddings office, chaos has given birth to disaster.
In the time I’ve been at Golden Harvest, the internet guy hasn’t fixed our WiFi issues. In fact, it looks like the space has been dismantled and wrecked even more than when I left, and instead of helping put things to rights, the internet guy is eating lunch with Queenie and Marge. The three of them sit together on the couch with chicken salad sandwiches and jalapeño chips.
“—and then I told Tony, you either change your ways or get outta here. It’s not good for me or the kids,” Marge explains before grabbing a few chips off her plate. “And it worked. He got his act together.”
“So you think I should give Sarah the same ultimatum?” the internet guy asks.
“If you care about those kids, you better,” Marge insists. “You can’t let Jason and Cason grow up in a house with all that fighting.”