“You’re still just as gorgeous. And I love you even more,” he said, and her heart softened to absolute mush. Horace had never been a charmer, which meant that every word he said was absolute truth. His genuineness was one of the things she loved most about him. He angled the phone back toward him and read aloud what she’d written.
“‘I was working in a soda shop when a group of rowdy summer boys came in for a drink. They were loud and raucous and ordered me about as if I were their servant girl. All except for one. He politely asked for a cherry cola, and when I gave it to him, he grinned. I was a goner. He came back every day that week—and spent a good chunk of his savings on soda.’”
Horace cut in then with his own commentary, “And I don’t even like colas.” She laughed like she always did at the thought of young Horace coming in every day to flirt with her.
“Then why didn’t you order something different?” she asked, even though she knew the answer. She loved this story.
“I couldn’t think whenever you got close, so I ordered the first word I saw behind you: Coke.”
They shared a secret smile, and then he continued to read:
“‘He eventually got up the courage to ask me to the new picture in town,Spartacus.’”
He glanced up with a puzzled expression. “We sawSwiss Family Robinson.”
She shook her head. “I distinctly remember the sign over the marquee. It was all lit up for the first time in months.”
“I remember the marquee. But I saw that picture with Joelle.” His baby sister. “And I don’t remember any lights.”
Irritation poked at her. How could he forget? The memory was so clear to her. The chill in the winter night air, how she’d pulled her jacket closer around her shoulders. No, wait. It had been summer.
“I’m sure you’re right.” He handed her phone back to her. “The best decision I ever made was following those guys into the soda shop.”
She blinked and the memory dissolved. She exited the app, unsettled for reasons she didn’t want to think about. “I’m putting this together for Eliana. I’m hoping our stories will convince her to believe in love again.”
His eyes lit up. “Oh, maybe Smitty and I can help. We did a good job with Julia and Logan.”
She gaped. “You two nearly ruined everything.” Were he and Smitty rewriting history now?
“But then we fixed it. Who are you trying to set Eliana up with?”
She didn’t want to tell him and risk him “helping” the same way he had last time. “Well,” she hedged, “the first step is to help her out of this ‘happily single’ mindset.”
He rubbed his hands together like an evil genius. “So we’re making her miserable.”
“No, of course not.”
He dropped his hands. “Yeah, as the words came out of my mouth, they felt wrong.”
“We’re trying to show her how a beautiful partnership can enhance your life, if you’re with the right person.”
“Like salt,” Horace said. “Just the right amount can bring out the best flavors of any dish.”
“That’s really insightful, Horace.”
“It’s something Smitty said once.”
Of course it was. She glanced at her watch. They’d gone almost a full minute without talking about Smitty, so it was long past overdue to bring him up again.
Horace continued, “He was talking about my golf swing technique, but I think the salt analogy applies here.” His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his front shirt pocket. “Oh, speaking of—Smitty!” He stood and headed to the office to talk.
She banged the back of her head against the couch a few times. Perhaps Smitty and Horace should share the story of whenthey’dfirst met. Or Horace and his golf clubs—the real love story.
She took a screen shot of her Instagram page, just how Samantha had showed her, and texted it to Eliana.
Horace’s laugh drifted down the hallway, leaving her feeling on the outside looking in. She had a meeting with the secret seven anyway. The turtle fundraiser games were on Saturday, and they still had a lot to plan.
When she arrived at the clubhouse, everyone was abuzz about hair colors.
