Britt hadn’t made it halfway through her scone before Maddie had bustled into the Coffee House.
Britt had downloaded a tracking app a few years back and added all of her close friends and family members to it. Whenever she had a hard time meeting up with one of them, she checked their location on her app. Also, should one of the people she loved run out of gas in the wilderness, she’d immediately be able to speed to their rescue. Maddie had the same app and had obviously used it this morning to pinpoint Britt.
Her erstwhile friend had ordered coffee and a thick slice of gluten-free lemon poppy seed bread. She’d situated herself across from Britt at a tiny round table adjacent to an exposed brick wall.
One might be tempted to think, looking at Maddie’s kind olive green eyes and innocent face outlined by chestnut brown curls, that she had no spunk. That conclusion would be way off base.
Upon her arrival at Britt’s table, Maddie had been suitably repentant about spilling the beans to Zander regarding Britt’s actions Saturday night. But she’d been wholly unrepentant when she’d demanded to know what was wrong with Britt.
In a weak moment of scone bliss, Britt had opted to tell Maddie about the kiss on the beach.
“I cannot believe Zander finally kissed you,” Maddie said. “That’s wonderful.”
“Eh.” Britt pulled an unconvinced face.
“You loved the kiss, didn’t you? I’ve always known that when you finally kissed him you’d love kissing him. I’m guessing that you’ve been out of sorts ever since the kiss because now you want more with him—”
“—Imightwant more with him—”
“—but you’re scared of risking the relationship you have with him and maybe you’re irritable because he hasn’t yet made some bigI’ll die unless you love me backsort of proclamation. You’renot fully certain of his feelings, and you’re not fully certain of your feelings, and you have no idea how to proceed from here.”
Britt chewed slowly. “You’re not completely wrong. Also, I’m a little ticked at him at the moment and he’s a little ticked at me, so factor in that complication.”
Maddie grinned. If rainbows could shoot from a person, they’d have been shooting from Maddie. She seemed not to care that her coffee was growing cold.
“I fail to see why this circumstance merits smiling,” Britt said.
“It’s just that I’m so happy! I’ve been waiting for ages for him to make a move.”
“It would be easier for me to date Reid. I’m leaning toward dating Reid.”
Maddie waved off Britt’s gloomy declaration. “No, you’re not. That’s just bluster. You and I both know that, yes, it would be easier to date Reid. A lot less messy, a lot less interesting, and a lot more shallow. Reid is not the one for you. Zander is the one for you, and now it’s your turn to be brave and love him back.”
Britt locked her lips together.
“Before Leo and I started dating,” Maddie said, “back when I was paralyzed by my own hang-ups, you confronted me about them. Remember?”
Britt took a desperate sip of cappuccino. She’d had a few straight-talking conversations with Maddie in an effort to pave the way for Maddie and Leo’s romance. “That was different.”
“How?”
“For one thing, I was right. You should be filled with gratitude to have me as a friend.”
“Filled.” Maddie freed a lock of gold-highlighted hair from her hoop earring. “I’ll have you know that I’m right, too. I’ve never been more right.”
“For another thing,” Britt said, “those times that I lectured you really did help you along with Leo.”
“Yes, and I’m about to return the favor.”
Britt tipped her head toward Maddie’s drink. “Your coffee’s getting cold.”
Maddie ignored Britt’s comment. “Remember when you didn’t make the soccer team our junior year?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Hear me out. We found out about that from Gretchen King, whom we hardly knew, because you didn’t tell us. And when we asked you about not making the team, you shrugged it off. You wouldn’t talk about it or cry or shake your fist at God or ... anything.”
“Good.”
