I cringed. “Yeah, that maybe wasn’t my best idea.”
“I don’t know.” Quinn shot me a grin. “It seems like it’s turned out okay so far. Your new grumpy boyfriend scared your weird, overzealous ex out of town, at least.”
“That was definitely a perk.”
“If I were you, it would’ve scared the hell out of me to have him suddenly show up after breaking things off.”
“It…wasn’t my favorite.”
“Well, thank god you’ve got Atlas,” Quinn said.
“And he’s not messing around.” Alicia shrugged into her coat before grabbing her bag. “After that whole thing went down, I heard he was storming all over town with his rage face on.”
I breathed out a laugh. I’d seen that rage face a time or twenty. “He’s a bit like Laurel in his overdramatics.”
A soft smile tugged up the corner of Quinn’s lips. “Bet that makes your house pretty entertaining.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I mumbled, following Quinn and Alicia as they headed toward the waiting room.
“What’s all this about, by the way?” Quinn gestured to me, flicking her finger up and down. “You never change before you go home.”
I cleared my throat. “That’s because I’m not going home. I’m meeting Atlas at the Harvest Festival.”
“There’sanotherfestival?” Laurel groaned from her perch on the couch, a textbook spread out in her lap. “How many freaking festivals does one town need?”
“I don’t think we’ve found the limit yet,” Alicia said, flipping off the lights.
“It’s true.” Quinn shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to do a lobster costume festival next.”
“So stupid,” Laurel mumbled, shaking her head.
“It might be stupid, but you’re stuck going to it,” I said.
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at me. “Seriously, Mom? I have so freaking much homework to do. I have an AP test on Monday I need to study for, a paper due in English, and flashcards I have to make for Spanish.”
I glanced down at my watch. I had ten minutes before I was supposed to meet my fake boyfriend to sell this to the town. The house was a fifteen-minute drive from here, which meant I’d be really fucking late. But forcing Laurel to attend this wouldn’t win me any points. And it definitely wouldn’t win Starlight Cove any points.
I blew out a long breath. “All right, I’ll take you home, but let me text Atlas and tell him I’ll be late.”
“I can take her,” Quinn said.
“I thought you were picking up Ford at the firehouse?”
“I can do both.” She shrugged. “Besides, maybe Laurel would like to enjoy some eye candy before she closes herself off to study. They usually wash the trucks at five on Fridays. If we hurry, we might be able to catch a show.”
“Sounds good to me.” Laurel slammed her textbook closed and shoved it into her backpack. “Let’s go.”
Alicia laughed, hooking an arm through my daughter’s and heading to the front door. “You better hurry. It’s agoodshow.”
“Are you sure this is okay?” I asked Quinn as we followed them. “This won’t mess up your plans for the night?”
She waved a hand through the air, dismissing my concerns. “Nah, it’s fine. Besides, making my husband wait tends to have fantastic results for me.”
I breathed out a laugh. “If you’re sure.”
“I am. You just go enjoy your date with your new man. And good luck.”
“What are you wishing me luck for?”
