Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“Yes, please.” Juniper nodded, and Mr. Ellis headed back to the grill. She turned to me excitedly. “My grandma made cupcakes, but my mom makes the best strawberry shortcake you’ve ever tasted. You have to try it.”
I winced. “Oh, I can’t—”
“Ballerinas don’t eat strawberry shortcake, honey,” Caroline said. “Or ice cream, or cupcakes, or anything that might put an extra ounce on their perfect little bodies.”
I sent up a silent prayer of forgiveness to Lina, because I was so fucking done.
“She doesn’t eat strawberry shortcake because she’s allergic to strawberries,” Hudson snapped. “Hence why I got her a brownie. She loves chocolate. And before you start in on any more of your bullshit, let’s just get this over with. Her birthday is March seventh. Her favorite movie is Titanic, which I’ve never really understood, but fine, I’ll sit through it again. She prefers Bloch over Capezio for pointe shoes. She’d rather watch sunsets than sunrises, can annoyingly taste the difference between different types of bottled water, and puts sugar in her coffee and milk in her tea. Oh, and she’s only indecisive because too many people tell her what they think she should want, and she likes to make everyone happy at her own expense. Is that enough for you, Caroline?”
I stared at him and struggled to find a breath. He remembered all of that? Word by word, he’d somehow stitched the wound closed that his unexplained departure had left. Not healing it, not even scabbing it over, but stanching the blood loss.
“You could have made that all up.” Caroline shook her head. “And you’ve been together for what? Two, three weeks? No one knows all of that about someone else.”
My blood boiled.
“Stop it!” Juniper shouted, slamming her hands on the top of the picnic table. The drinks rattled. “Just stop it, Mom! They haven’t known each other for three weeks, they’ve known each other for years.” She reached into her back pocket and threw a picture on the table.
I gasped at the photo. We were outside the Haven Cove Classic the day I’d won. Hudson’s arm was around my shoulders while I cradled the beautiful bouquet of flowers he’d brought me. Our smiles were bright and happy, and we looked so full of hope that my heart hurt. Those two had no idea what was coming for them in just a few short hours.
“They were best friends, and he never brought her around because he knew that you’d be like this to her, and now you are. And you’re ruining my birthday!” She stormed off toward a group of her friends, and our table fell into awkward silence.
Caroline deflated as she stared at the picture. Then she glanced up at Hudson with wordless apology before taking off after Juniper.
“Parties are so much more entertaining when you’re around, Allie.” Gavin winked.
Hudson snatched the picture off the table and shoved it into his pocket. “Juniper went through a box of my things.”
“Alessandra, I’m so very sorry.” Hudson’s mom’s voice sounded far away as I focused on the way Caroline dropped to her knees in front of Juniper.
Juniper nodded a few times to whatever Caroline said, and then hugged her mom tightly. Holy shit, Juniper had a mother who apologized. What a novelty.
This was a fucking disaster. All of it. Caroline didn’t just hate my family, she hated me. She was going to make life miserable for as long as I pretended to date Hudson, and drag everyone else down with me. And what was worse was that she was right. There was something off about us.
All our little scheme had succeeded in doing today was upsetting Juniper, when our intention had been the opposite.
“I think I’m going to go.” I stood up from the table, taking my plate and water with me.
“Allie—Alessandra.” Hudson followed as I threw my trash away and thanked his father for cooking. “You don’t have to go.”
“I do.” I nodded, then took my keys out of my pocket and started walking across the park toward Caroline’s house.
“Don’t give up on her.” Hudson kept up with me.
“I’m not.” I paused just before the entrance to Caroline’s backyard. “But today isn’t the day to force my presence on Caroline. You saw what it just did to Juniper.”
“Hudson! It’s time to do the cake!” Caroline called out, and I looked back to see her standing in the middle of the park.
“You should go.” I forced a smile.
“Don’t do that fake-smile shit with me.” It was practically a growl.
“Go.” I let the smile fall, leaving my face blank. “This is apparently a marathon, not a sprint. When Juniper opens her present—it’s a jewelry box—do me a favor and don’t let Caroline throw it away just because it has a little ballerina inside of it. It was Lina’s.”
“Alessandra,” he whispered, and I stepped out of his reach, retreating as quickly as my feet would take me.