Me:*winky face*
“Who’s making you grin like that?” Good ole Dad. Always on the hunt to wife me up.
“It’s just Hadley. She’s coming over for the game.”
“JustHadley?” It’s one of those statements that you know is actually a question.
“Yes,justHadley,” I emphasize back. It’s not just him. I can’t go anywhere in this little community of Juniper Grove without someone bringing Hadley Dawson up like we are a couple. When will they learn that we arejustfriends?
I look down at my phone and watch as three dots appear and disappear three times over.
When will I learn?
Chapter Two
Hadley
Thethrumofcountrychic music floats through the boutique.
My boutique, I smile to myself, wiggling my shoulders and flipping my hair.
Southern Grace Boutique and Gift Market has been open for three years now, coming on the heels of my region-wide jewelry company, Tease Jewelry, that I started five years ago.
And they say women who have alcohol-addicted mamas, who don’t know who their father is, and who have practically raised themselves with the assistance of grandmamas can’t be successful in life.
At least I still have this place and my company,I sigh. Lying and cheating ex-boyfriends come and go, but my company shall reign forever!
“Morning, boss.” Karoline Wright bounces through the front doors. Karoline is my college student employee who not only keeps this place on trend with social media but also pulls in all of her college friends.
“Coffee?” I ask, gesturing to my office in the back which hosts a simple coffee pot.
“You know I’m a tea kind of girl.” She laughs, holding up her cup from Books and Beans, the local coffee shop that has a quaint bookstore attached to it. “So, what’s the plan while you’re away for the next ten days?”
“Don’t remind me.” I groan, remembering the road trip to Mary Anne’s wedding in Virginia I had planned.
With Cheater Daniel.
Who is no longer my boyfriend as of three days ago.
I let Karoline in on that piece of information.
“I’m going to cut his—”
“Whoa, girl.” I throw my hands up in laughter, then wink. “Beat you to it.” Her jaw drops, but she catches my tease and shakes her head.
“Men.” She spits the word like it’s the nastiest of curses while her fists clench at her side. Before I can ask her what’s wrong, she relaxes and her face softens. “How are you?”
“I’m—” I don’t really know. I’ve never been cheated on before. Dumped? Yes, though rarely. But I’ve never caught my boyfriend in the act of cheating. I shove the image of the tall redhead who clung to his body like a leech from my mind. “I’ll be okay.” It’s the best I got right now. I’m trying to forgetthat Daniel ever happened. Tacos and the football game with Braxton and his dad last night helped to redirect my mood for a moment, but then the venom-loaded feelings came back as I lay in my bed and cried myself to sleep last night.
“Are you still going to Mary Anne’s wedding?”
“Yes ma’am, that’s the plan,” I say, trying my best to perk up from the sour thoughts.
“So, who are you leaving in charge?” she questions.
“You, duh,” I state. Shouldn’t she know this already? Karoline is top of her class at Juniper Grove University, the number one private school in the state of Mississippi. I’m still reeling over the fact she chose to work for my little business. She’s quickly become my right-hand woman since Mary Anne moved to Virginia a couple of months ago. I wouldn’t choose any of my other employees to run the store over Karoline.
“But what about when I have class? I can’t be here until two in the afternoon each day.” Oh, yeah. I sometimes forget that college students still have to go to classes. Karoline is not my personal magic elf who can be available at any given moment, though I sometimes feel like she is.
