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“Of course.”

“Thanks!” I chirped out, flopping back into my seat. Yes. This was good. This was very good. After the drama of the last thirty hours, girl time was exactly what I needed. A break from it all and a chance to forget, if only for an hour.

I sighed. If only everything were this easy.

25: That’s What She Said

We drove through a downtown district with people strolling along the sidewalks, cars buzzing past, and the glimmering windows of boutique after boutique on either side of us, until we pulled up in front of a shop with scrolling script: The Creamery. And I couldn’t help but notice as people stopped to look at the car.

Roger stepped out and around, opening my door. “Here we are, miss.”

I crawled out, watching as people whispered to one another, confusion and curiosity etched on their faces. “Thanks,” I muttered, distracted by the stares.

“Would you like me to wait for you?”

I blinked, trying to ignore the attention. “No, that’s okay. I’m meeting a friend.”

He smiled and gave me a quick bow. “Very well, miss. Message me when you’re ready for me to pick you up.” I nodded and watched as Roger stepped back into the vehicle and drove away.

“Buzz off, people. You act like you’ve never seen royalty before. Let’s go, get a move on.”

I recognized that voice—boisterous, rude, and loud.Edith. I spun around right as she encircled me in a bear hug.

“Hey, girly! Glad you could make it.”

I hugged her back as best as I could. She had her arms wrapped around my entire body, pinning my arms down. “Hi! Yeah, thanks for inviting me. I thought you were still mad at me.”

She let me go, a smile beaming on her deviant face. “Oh, I still think you’re making the biggest mistake ever, but who am I to judge? Lord knows I’ve made plenty of my own.”

“Oh really? Care to share?”

She wrapped an arm over my shoulders as she guided me forward into the shop. “Nah…I was sworn to secrecy. But it involved two guys, a pig, and a chicken.” The smile dropped from my face.

Oh god…

My eyes widened as images of all sorts of unspeakable things flooded my mind. Edith caught sight of me and started rolling in laughter. “I’m kidding! Oh my god, you should see your face! It was so good.”

Now I felt embarrassed, my cheeks coloring from the images in my mind.Damn, Edith.

She just kept laughing as she opened the door and led us in. “That was so rich. But dude, I don’t know if I should be offended or if I should be high-fiving you for your dirty mind.”

And now Ireallyfelt like looking for a table to die under. “I didn’t—”

Edith snorted. “Oh yeah,sureyou didn’t.”

Ugh…maybe meeting with her was a bad idea.

“Come on, newbie, let’s sit over there by the window. That way we can people watch the crazies.”

I wondered if she ever realized she was one of them. Because interacting with Edith was always an unknown variable. Sometimes she was a bull in a china shop, and sometimes she was a fox in a henhouse. And sometimes, well…sometimes she was just batshit crazy.

And I loved it.

Most of the time.

We took a seat at a quaint-looking white table with two matching white chairs. A quick glance around showed me a mostly white parlor with pastel blue and pink accents, scrolling designs painted on the walls, and imagery of swirling white, pink, and brown stuff in cups. There was a bar counter with stools lined up, mostly empty with only a few patrons, and several more tables set up for two and four.

“Hi! Welcome to The Creamery. What can I get you both?” I was surprised by the sudden appearance of a girl around my age, dressed in white shorts, a white t-shirt, and a little white hat with the name of the shop scrolled across it.