Her face flushed. She swallowed hard, and her eyes narrowed.
Before she could say anything, I doubled down. “I didn’t realize I was so important to you, Jess.” I knew I was winding her up, and that was dangerous considering pissing off the enemy wasn’t likely to help my situation, but I couldn’t stop myself. Something about this woman just got under my skin.
“Right. Well, I hope you enjoy your first meeting,” she fired back. “If you can keep up, that is.”
Even if I could come up with something to say in return, I didn’t get the chance as she spun on her heel and slipped away through the crowd right as Tilley Beckett gave a five-minutewarning from her spot on the stage and asked everyone to find a seat.
I was still fuming as I made my way back to my seat, the cookie crumbled in the napkin I’d clenched in my hand.
Our whole life, Jess Anderson had made me feel like a piece of shit who wasn’t good enough, but we weren’t kids anymore. And I wasn’t trying to impress her anymore.
I was trying to save what was important. And she wasn’t only part of the problem. Shewasthe problem.
Jess
The community hall was packed. I’d attended a lot of community meetings over the years, and it felt unusual to have so many people packing the seats for a regular meeting.
“I can’t believe how many people are here,” I said to Trevor as I slid into the seat next to him.
“Not much else to do in this place.” He didn’t bother to glance up from his phone and whatever he was frantically typing.
“Do you want some cookie?” I held up the one chocolate chip cookie I’d managed to grab. Still, without looking up from his phone, Trevor snatched the cookie and, before I could say anything about sharing it, stuffed it in his mouth. I instantly regretted letting Preston Lyons have the other one.
Especially considering he’d been such a dick to me. Not that I was surprised. There’d never been any love lost between us. Even as kids, he’d had it out for me. I’d never forget the day he rode his bike through a mud puddle, covering me in mud and ruining the dress my grandmother had bought me for the spring concert at school.
He hadn’t even looked backward at me when I shrieked. Itwasn’t until I screamed his name that he bothered to turn around at all. I’d run home completely devastated and insisting that I couldn’t possibly participate in the concert with my ruined dress. But my mom wouldn’t let me stay home, and made me wear an old dress that was too small and clung to the tops of my arms oddly.
I’d been so mortified to stand on the risers with all my friends in their beautiful new dresses. It was the worst day of my young life. Especially when I saw Preston and the other boys laughing about it.
Replaying the memory from so long ago, my hand drifted to my hair and the fancy twists and curls Kat had piled on top of my head.
“A little dressed up for a community meeting, aren’t you?”
Maybe I should have pulled the pins out and tugged my hair into a ponytail before the meeting, but it seemed like such a shame to destroy all her hard work. Besides, I didn’t get dolled up very often, and I’d hoped Trevor would notice and let me know what he thought.
Of course, he’d have to look up from his phone for a minute. Another flicker of uncertainty flashed through me, but I pushed it away. I needed to focus.
“You don’t think all these people are here to object to the development, do you?” I put my hand gently on his arm, urging him to tuck his phone away and pay attention.
With a sigh, he got the message and clicked his screen off before looking at me.
“I’m not concerned,” he said. “People always tend to panic before progress. Especially small-town people,” he continued. “They don’t seem to understand the benefits of a project like ours. They can only see the negatives, and don’t stop to think about all the good it will bring. That’s our job.”
I bristled at the way Trevor always seemed to subtly put down the people of Trickle Creek, and by extension, me. “Idon’t think that,” I said. “I mean, the people here aren’t sheltered or?—”
“Don’t get defensive, honey. I didn’t mean it to sound that way.” He flashed his bright smile at me. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little distracted. I think the people of Trickle Creek are all very smart. After all, you’re from Trickle Creek, and you’re pretty smart.” He pressed his lips to my cheek, and my irritation with him slipped a little.
“This is all just a formality anyway.” Trevor picked up the printed agenda. “I’m sure we’ll just need to answer a few questions, have a vote, and we can move on with our plans. Get ready, Jess. Your sales office is going to be a busy place tomorrow. I hope you’re prepared for all the extra commissions you’ll be bringing in.”
Before I could respond, Tilley Beckett banged her gavel on the lectern at the front of the room. Whoever had thought it was a good idea to give that woman a gavel clearly hadn’t attended any of these meetings before. She took her responsibility as the head of the town festival committee a little too seriously. Apparently, that role extended to self-appointing herself in charge of community meetings, too.
I settled into my seat and tried to ignore my growling stomach as Tilley moved through the agenda. I had to admit, she did run a pretty efficient meeting, even if most of the time had been allocated to the upcoming festival. Then again, Trickle Creek did take their celebrations very seriously.
Finally, Tilley announced the next order of business, and it was our turn. I sat up straight when she spoke. “Next on the agenda, we have the vote for Timberstone Homes,” she said, reading from a paper on her ever-present clipboard. “The proposed development will be at the end of Granite Street on the land that has been previously lent to the trail society for access to the forest and trail system. We’ll hear first from Trevor Burton.”
I watched as my fiancé cleared his throat and stood up with a practiced smile. He looked around the room, making eye contact with as many people as possible as he spoke. I watched while townspeople returned his smile; some of the women even blushed a little. I knew the power of Trevor’s attention. He was very smooth and charismatic. The man knew how to butter up a crowd, and by the time he was done talking and explaining the proposed development, including all the benefits it would bring to Trickle Creek, multiple people clapped, and even a few cheers came up from the gathered crowd.
“That was amazing,” I said as he returned to his seat and gave me a satisfied smirk. He didn’t need me to tell him what a good job he’d done; he was a pro.
