“No, but I never should have left with him. It was wrong.”
“Maybe,” she shrugged, linking her arm through mine, “but I’ll get over it. I’m a big girl.”
“Still,” I sighed, “I’m a shitty friend, and I give you full rights to punish me until the end of the week for doing such a horrible thing.”
“Well, I’ll consider it, but let’s see what the fallout is first. The town might punish you enough.”
Snorting, I pushed the door open to the diner and strode in, only to stop in my tracks when every head turned to stare at me and the noise level went from bustling to as silent as opening night at the opera just as the show started.
“Move,” Cheyenne hissed.
“They’re all staring,” I murmured out of the side of my mouth.
“Yeah, and they’re going to stare even more if you don’t take your seat.”
Scurrying to the back of the diner, I snagged the last booth available and pulled my sunglasses from my head and shoved them back over my eyes.
“Yeah, that’s really subtle. No one will stare at you now,” Cheyenne retorted.
“Shut up. I’m trying to hide from the world. Don’t mock me.”
Cora hurried over with a pot of coffee in hand, grinning from ear to ear as she turned over our mugs and started to pour. “It’s like you’re a celebrity this morning.”
“Don’t remind me,” I grumbled, already sick of this day.
“What’s the word around town?” Cheyenne asked.
Scooting me over, Cora took a seat beside me. “Well, the rumor mill says that Bailey went home with Archer last night, but when he didn’t satisfy her, she drove out to Liam’s to get something more fulfilling.”
“Oh God,” I thunked my head on the table. “That makes me sound like a whore.”
“Oh, that’s just one version,” Cora grinned, her older face wrinkling with how wide she was smiling.
“Ooh, give us the juice!”
“Excuse me,” I snapped at Cheyenne. “A little sympathy. It’s your friend being gossiped about.”
“I’m just butt hurt because you slept with my man,” she said, sticking out her tongue.
“Didn’t sleep with,” I stressed. “This woman didn’t get laid at all last night!”
My face flamed red as heads swiveled in my direction. The whole diner was on pins and needles now, listening to every last detail they could gather.
Cora lowered her voice so only the two of us could hear. Not thatthat stopped Roger Fleming from peeking over to the back of his booth to get closer.
“Well, the other version is that you were so devastated by your breakup with Liam that you couldn’t um…perform with Archer,” she said hesitantly. “After that, you went out to Liam’s and begged him to take you back. He threw you out of his house, into the mud, and Archer had to drag you out of there while you begged and pleaded for Liam to reconsider.”
That was a little more on point, though embellished in places.
“Well, it seems that everyone in this town needs to mind their own business,” Cheyenne said, getting louder with each word until heads turned back to their own tables and pretended to ignore us once again.
“Thanks, Cora.”
She smiled happily at us, getting up and taking her pot with her. “Any time. Are you ready to order?”
“Not yet,” I muttered, still reeling from the gossip that was spreading like wildfire.
“Well, it could have been worse,” Cheyenne winced. “At least they’re not spreading the rumor that you’re pregnant.”
