Dallin brought both hands up. “Okay. I can take a hint.” He was smiling a mirthless smile, but his laugh was bitter and his eyes seared.
Her heart pounded, and she had to force herself to slow her breathing. “I’m not in a place in my life where I can—”
“Just forget it. I’m sorry, okay?”
Yeah. Real sorry.
They finished the balloon arch in silence.
“Don’t be mad.” Tory held her phone close to her chest, as if shielding Mabel from something scary. They were lounging around Tory’s apartment the next evening. Liam had gone to visit his mom after church, so the women decided to get together. Someone had suggested a board game, but no one had actually pulled it out and set it up yet.
A ripple of warning eyes made the rounds among Tory, Mabel, Anjali, Hannah, and Cady. Nothing was to be said to Ruby about Weston’s planned proposal. The group had wondered if hanging out together in one united front made it easier to not let any of the plans slip. Time would tell if they could pull all of this off.
“What is it?” Mabel asked. The whole day had felt off to Mabel, so it wouldn’t be any surprise if weird things continued to happen.
“Do you want to just…see it? Or do you want me to show it to Anj first so she can help you process?”
“What’s going on?” Mabel asked, reaching for Tory’s phone. “Why the drama?”
Tory moved the phone back and away, even standing from the couch so she was out of reach. “I always get Facebook group notifications, you know? So it was kind of interesting to see one pop up with a familiar face.”
“Who?” Mabel tried again to reach for her phone. “Will you just—?” She sighed and took her phone out of her pocket. “I’ll look myself. It’s probably in the Silver Plum group.”
Tory gasped and handed her the phone. “Here. I didn’t know how you’d feel if you saw it. And it’s fine.”
It took a second to compute what she was looking at and why Tory would be so concerned. The top of the post read,Commissioner Jorgenson awarded Bartlett’s Citizen of the Year.But it was the subheading that tripped her up.Silver Plum resident there to support.
The Silver Plum resident in question? Zane Taylor. There he was in the photo, his arm around a beautiful willowy woman with dark hair and luminescent skin. He was smiling, leaning toward her like they were sharing a joke. On the other side of the woman stood an older couple holding up a large trophy.
It wasn’t just that he had his arm around her. They could have been trying to squeeze in together, and, to be fair, it looked like everyone in the photo had an arm around another person. But it was the look in his eyes and the familiarity they shared—that’s what stung.
Who was she?
Mabel was back in junior high, in the library, feeling that rejection pounding in her ears. Feeling the loss.
Her eyes skimmed the post, but her mind wouldn’t focus on the words.
The women crowded around. “Oh, that’s probably the daughter of the citizen of the year, Liza Jorgenson—Carolina Jorgenson, the post says,” Cady said.
Hannah looked it up on her phone too. “It says all attendees made contributions to Bartlett’s water commission. I wonder if Zane actually did that.”
Mabel wondered if her friends knew about her and Zane. Not what they’d always sensed, but the budding, real relationship. It was still so new, and she’d asked Ruby to not say anything yet.
“I have to admit that’s a killer dress she’s wearing,” Tory said then she placed a hand on Mabel’s cheek. “But you would have worn it better.”
“It’s Silver Plum who needs the money, I’ve heard,” Anjali said and then glanced at Mabel.
“They sure look cozy, though,” Ruby murmured, her brows forming a straight line just above her eyes.
Anjali swatted at Ruby. “How can you tell that in one photo? Maybe the photographer said something funny and they were laughing at that?”
“I was trying to sympathize with Mabel,” Ruby insisted. “It might be a little off-putting to see a photo like that. I’m just trying to support her.”
“I don’t think it’s that big a deal,” Anjali said. “He was roped into going, right? And probably roped into donating. What has he said about the night?”
Mabel chewed on her lip. “Honestly? Not much at all. I asked, and he said it was fine but that he would have rather spent the evening with me.”
“See?” Cady said. “He would have rather been with you. It’s all good.”
