Page 119 of The Matchmaker Club

23

A New Deal

Moving on from Lucas proved to be impossible, since his fight with Rick was the only thing this damned town seemed to want to talk about. The tabloids only kept the drama alive. And of course they all wanted to know where he was and what was going on with us.

You two an item now?

When’s ya boyfriend coming back?

Heard they not sellin’ Cedar Gardens. You two gettin’ hitched?

It got to the point where I stood on top of a chair and yelled out all the answers in one go. Mack then gave me the rest of the day off.

Thelma tried to cancel our shopping day and push it for another time, but I refused. She only had so much time before the wedding, and I didn’t want to be the sulky broken-hearted maid of honor.

Thelma came out of the dressing room in the fifth dress. It was perfect, really. A simple but elegant cream-colored V-neck dress. The torso was fitted and the light and airy skirt came down to her knees.

“This is the one,” I said.

“Really?” She looked in the mirror, turning to see it from all angles. She squealed and did a little jump. “I think you’re right.” She held up her hair to see how it would look with the dress.

“Let me help.” I took out my own hair tie and managed a quick, semi-smooth bun.

“Since we’re having the wedding at your house, I was thinking of some kind of fall-themed hairpiece… maybe autumn leaves?”

I should have just been happy that we got to stay, but even thinking that made me miss Lucas even more.

“That would look really nice.” I tried to be cheerful, but I could hear the distance in my own voice.

She turned to me. “Hey, I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have done this today.”

I forced a smile. “No. We are not making this about me. This is your day. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.”

I rested my chin on her shoulder as I looked at her through the mirror. “Maybe not, but I will be. Promise.”

She squeezed my hand. “Ready for some lunch?”

“Sounds good.”

I managed to get through the rest of the day without brooding. I made an effort to only focus on my best friend, which helped a lot but took more energy than I thought it would. By the time I dropped her off, I was near exhausted.

My heart did a freefall when I saw a black Mercedes parked in front of our house. Any hope that it was Lucas flew out the window as I got closer, though. That wasn’t Beast.

Jack, probably.

I shifted into park and turned off the engine, but I didn’t get out right away. I took in a deep breath.

I can do this.

A breeze blew by, caressing my face and giving me a short burst of energy. When I opened the door, I heard some chatter coming in from the parlor.

Jack stood up, giving a sympathetic smile. “Ms. Reed. It’s good to see you again.”

“You can call me Taylor.”

I sat down in my usual chair while Lainey and my grandmother had the sofa.