17
I walk aimlessly around the fairgrounds, letting the noise and color and dust blur into a background I can't quite focus on. Still doing my job. Still smiling. Still wearing the mask that saysOlive’s fine.
At one point, I hear Phern’s voice calling my name. I pretend I don't hear her and duck into the nearest tent, my chest heaving like I’ve just outrun something. It’s a vendor selling homemade baby items. Tiny onesies. Crocheted blankets. Knit booties. The sight of them guts me, fresh and deep. Because it reminds me that I might not ever get that with Liam. Not if he lets his father come between us so easily.
Tears sting the back of my eyes, but I blink them away and force my legs to move. I pick up a pair of tiny yellow booties—sunshine-bright, soft as a prayer—and without thinking, I buy them for Charlie and Sam. Because even if my world is shattering theirs is just beginning.
I slip the booties into my bag and keep walking, covering nearly every inch of the fairgrounds. Numb and hollowed out, my smile stretched too tight across my face.
And that’s when I see him.
Liam.
At the bar. Laughing. Talking.Flirting.
The woman he’s with is exactly the type I've seen him with before. Tall. Blonde. Busty. Everything I’m not. Everything I’ll never be. I watch frozen as she lays her hand on his arm, as he leans closer, grinning like he doesn't have a single care in the world. Like what happened between us was nothing. LikeIwas nothing.
The ground tilts beneath me, and for one awful, gut-wrenching second, I think I might be sick right here in the dirt. I turn away.
I don't run or cry.
I just walk. One foot in front of the other.
Because if Liam can pretend I never mattered, then maybe one day I’ll learn how to pretend too. But not today. No, today is about surviving and figuring out what in the hell I’m going to do.
I find Sam and Charlie in line for the BBQ tasting. Their faces light up when they see me, and before I can make an excuse, they plead for me to join them.
It helps being with them. Helps silence the storm raging in my chest. Almost. But my gaze keeps drifting. Scanning the crowd. Searching. Is Liam still here? Is he still withher? Or did they leave together?
Charlie bumps her shoulder into mine, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Hey,” she says, eyes soft. “Are you okay?”
I force a smile, the edges brittle.
“Just tired,” I lie. “It’s been a busy day. But I think I landed some good contacts for the ranch.”
Sam grins, tossing an arm around my shoulder like I haven’t just shattered into a thousand pieces.
“What would we do without you?”
I smile again. It’s hollow and mechanical.
“There are a million more of me out there,” I say, the words slipping out before I can stop them.
Charlie’s lips part like she wants to say something, maybe call bullshit, but before she can, Teddy ambles up, beaming like he’s already crowned himself the BBQ king.
“Well, what do you think of number three?” he asks, winking.
The entries are supposed to be anonymous, but Teddy has no problem bending the rules to ensure he wins.
“It’s delicious,” I answer honestly, clutching at normalcy with both hands. “Did I taste cinnamon?”
Teddy slaps a hand over his heart, mock-swooning.
“Bessie’s going to love you, Olive. Not many folks pick up on that.”
“It’s really good,” I say, meaning it—and also not.
