“Too much. She still has one grandmother. In Florida. We’ve started to touch on it lately. I hope she knows she can talk to me.”
“You should ask her, Gemma. Looking back, I should’ve talked about losing Holland sooner but I just—”
“Couldn’t. Believe me, I get it.”
“Is that the reason for your shadows? Did you lose someone close?”
Her shadows? So, he saw what she tried to hide. Same as Haley and JoJo.
“Sort of, yes.” If losing oneself counted.
“And sort of no?”
She glanced back at him, smiling. “And sort of no.”
“Should I inquire further?”
“No, the movie is starting.”
JoJo passed out more popcorn, the buttery kernels making Gemma’s belly rumble, and passed around cold, dripping bottles of water from the ice chest.
Up front on the movie screen, the black-and-white images of theCasablancatrailer played.
“I’m looking forward to this. I’ve never seen it,” John said.
“Makes two of us.”
“Room for one more?” Scottie O’Shay emerged from a row of cars, wearing shorts and a blouse, her voice tentative but strong. Sure, she was an O’Shay. And a Blue.
“You came.” John stood as Cole gave Scottie a hand up. “Lovely. You remember Gemma.” He motioned for Scottie to climb over the first seat—which collapsed—and take a seat next to Gemma.
“This is some setup. Buck, I’ll need to know who did the work. Dad would love this.” Scottie sat next to Gemma, exactly where John directed her, and despite all internal warnings, Gemma was disappointed. She’d wanted to sit next to him but really, this was for the best.
Later, when she climbed into bed, she’d have a good talk with herself about crushing on a royal prince. The heir. The too-good-for-you guy from Lauchtenland.
Then she’d fall asleep and dream of his rolling accent.
“I hope you don’t mind me squishing in,” Scottie said with such sincerity Gemma liked her all the more. “Have you seenCasablanca? I haven’t.”
“Believe it or not, no. Sad for a former actress, isn’t it?”
“Here we go.” John handed Scottie a bag of popcorn and bottle of water, then motioned for Gemma to move over.
Move over? Which way? Toward Scottie or the side of the truck? She decided on the side of the truck, and to her surprise-slash-delight, John plopped down next to her.
Heaven help her but she felt a bit weak. She leaned forward to focus on the movie and to escape John’s presence and fragrance.
“Gunner, you all right, mate?” John called.
“Fine, sir.” He wadded up his popcorn bag and moved onto the next. Two down, two to go.
Then, at last, Bogie and Bergman were on-screen.
The front-bench couples cuddled, facing the movie. On the back bench, Buck and JoJo cuddled up. Scottie reclined with her long legs stretched toward the front bench, and while the space was tight, there was a good six inches between Gemma and John. Definitely no cuddling here.
Then Haley spotted Marjorie Wentworth, who’d been a good friend in high school, and invited her to join them. She crowded in next to Haley and Cole.
Then out of nowhere, Haley’s brother Seth and his wife, Noelle, climbed aboard the tricked-out truck.
