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Mechanically I followed her down the hall and back out to the noise of the pool outside.

I managed to stay another hour at the party before I hit my limit and had to make my excuses and leave. Exhaustion settled on me like a weighted blanket the second I got in my car. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was lay down and not speak for a while.

I walked through the door and didn’t see my parents, so I figured they were in the backyard tending the garden, so I went to check and then sent them both a text that I was back, and I needed some space.

Since I hadn’t eaten much at the party, I made myself a little snack plate and took it to the living room and put on an old movie and covered myself in a blanket, even though it was the middle of summer. It was times like these when I wished I had a pet. A dog or cat that would curl up on me.

I wondered if Ryan was still at the party. After we’d talked in the guest room, she’d hung out with our group, but she’d barely said anything. Questions about her had burned in the back of my mind, but I hadn’t wanted to be a pest, so I’d kept them all to myself.

Asking Layne was a possibility, but she might read too much into my interest in Ryan. Did Layne know about the kiss? I didn’t think so. Ryan seemed like she wanted to keep that between us and completely forget about it.

Only one problem: I was never forgetting about that kiss.

Someone knocked on the wall a while later. “Dinner’s ready, sweetie,” Mama said in a soft voice.

“Okay,” I said, levering myself off the couch. I’d gotten a second wind and was feeling back to my old self.

“How was the party?” she asked as we both headed for the kitchen to grab plates.

“It was good,” I said. “I had a moment, but it passed. I socialized and everything.”

Mama pulled me into a hug. “Good for you.”

“Thanks,” I said, hugging her back.

Mom handed me a plate and I filled my plate before heading to the dining room.

“Did you meet anyone new?” Mom asked as she and Mama sat down.

“Um, a few people,” I said. There was no way that I could leave out seeing Ryan again, but I had to bring her up carefully.

“That customer I spilled the coffee on was there. The party was actually sort of for her,” I said, carefully stabbing a spinach leaf and crouton with my fork.

“She was? What a small world,” Mom said.

“Yeah. I said I was sorry about the coffee and she told me she didn’t have any burns or anything, so it’s all good,” I said, cautiously looking up from my plate.

“Maybe you two could be friends,” Mama said.

“Maybe,” I said. Being friends with Ryan didn’t seem like something that was going to happen. She and I were from completely different worlds. Sure, we might interact at book club, but I talked to a lot of people there that I wouldn’t be friends with or have contact with otherwise.

“You never know,” Mom said.

Chapter Four

“I’m so glad you’re back,” I told Sydney when I walked through the door of Bluebird Pottery on Tuesday.

“Hello to you too,” she said with a laugh, tossing her dark curls over her shoulder. “The shop looks beautiful, and Mom is still alive and well-fed.”

“I made her eat lunch every day,” I said.

“You are an angel sent from above,” Sydney said with a laugh.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but thank you anyway,” I said. “Enough about me, how was your trip?”

I’d barely heard anything from her the whole week, and I’d just assumed she’d been too busy at the resort and with her love.

“You look like you got some sun.” Her skin was just a few shades darker.