“Gracie,” Paisley says, a cool arrogance settling over her expression—like she knows exactly how this is going to go. “Just the person I was hoping to talk to.”
My brows climb my forehead. I’m not sure what I expected when I saw her again, never letting myself think too much about it. In fact, she has never really lingered in my thoughts at all. She might have played a big part in what happened, but her actions say more about her as a person than they do about me.
I knew we would run into each other eventually. Sterling Creek isn’t a big place, and even though Paisley left town, her family lives here. She was always going to come back, but I never imagined her having the gall to approach me like this.
When I don’t say a word, she turns to look at Esther. “Give us a minute. Gracie and I need to have a…girlchat.”
She hesitates, her eyes bouncing between the two of us. “You sure, honey?”
“Go, Mom.”
Esther’s mouth presses into a thin line, but she doesn’t argue, turning and making her way across the room to a free table.
Paisley watches her go before her stare skips around the bar, taking note of who’s here. I wonder if she’s looking for Braxton, her attention lingering on the table where Bridget and Nolan are. She looks back at me just as the bartender finishes making the drinks I ordered.
I thank him before he disappears to help someone else, picking one up. “Hope you don’t mind,” I tell Paisley. “I would offer you one, but…” I shrug. “I don’t want to.”
She lets out a quiet scoff, shaking her head. “We can be civilized, can’t we, Gracie?”
I take a leisurely sip. “I suppose that depends on your definition of civilized.” Paisley takes another step closer, and I cough, scrunching my nose up. “Sorry. Your perfume—” I wave a hand in front of my face. “It’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
Her cheeks fill with color. “That’s not—This isn’t—” She closes her eyes, pulling in a deep breath. “Sterling Creek is my home,” she says. “It’s the place I was born, and where I grew up. I know that your relationship is over, but that’s not really my fault.”
“Of course,” I agree smoothly, and shock flares in Paisley’s eyes. Her mouth opens and closes before her expression firms.
“My family has been friends with the Newports for over twenty years. Now, because of you, they’re no longer speaking.”
“That’s an interesting perspective,” I drawl. “I had no idea I had so much power.”
Paisley ignores me. “Now, you may not understandhow towns like Sterling Creek work, or even families in general, but you can’t keep forcing your feelings on other people.” Amusement fills me at the idea of her telling me not toforcemyself on anyone. It must show on my face because she grits her teeth, eyes flashing with anger. “It’s selfish, when you think about it,” she says reasonably, but she can’t quite hide the edge of tension under her words. “You’re destroying two decades of friendship and history just because your feelings got hurt.”
I blink, genuinely surprised. “Is that what I’m doing?” I muse.
Paisley’s expression grows tight, her foot tapping out an impatient beat against the wooden floor. “You know exactly what you’re doing,” she snaps. “It’s not my fault, or my family’s, that you couldn’t hold on to your boyfriend.” Something cruel flashes through her brown eyes, her mouth tugging into a cutting smile. “Braxton and I have history, and now you know that you can’t compete. It’s better for everyone if you just quietly bow out, like you should have from the start. Stop making this aboutyou.”
The silence falls between us, heavy with the weight of Paisley’s expectation, but I just sigh as a body sidles up beside me, Bridget asking curiously, “What’s going on here?”
I slide her a look. “I was just telling Paisley how brave she is,” I say, tone dripping with mock amazement.
Her mouth parts in shock, eyes bouncing between Bridget and me. “What?—?”
“I wouldn’t call her brave,” Bridget mutters, throwing a dark look at Paisley.
“Well, I think she is.” I pointedly glance around Benson’s, clocking the man himself coming to stand on the other side of the bar—probably sensing blood in the water, and the feeding frenzy about to start. I look back at Paisley with a sly smile. “She came back to the scene of hercrime.” I widen my eyes, fluttering my lashes dramatically. “I wouldnever.”
Paisley jerks her head back. “C-crime?”
“That’s right,” Bridget snaps her fingers, just as Esther reappears at Paisley’s side, her expression worried. Before she can say anything, Bridget continues, “I heard she sexually assaulted someone. I guess that explains why she skipped town so suddenly, huh? I mean, coming back here is one thing, but I don’t think I would ever show my face in Sterling Creek again.”
Esther lets out a sharp gasp as I hum out an agreement. “Especially knowing thateveryoneis talking about it.”
Paisley’s face is a picture of horror, swiveling around to gauge whether our conversation is being overheard. When she finally faces me again, her voice is a low hiss. “I didn’t sexually assaultanyone.”
I pretend not to hear her, clucking my tongue as I keep my eyes on Bridget. “Imagine if a man had planted a kiss on an unsuspecting drunk woman like that.”
“He would’ve been arrested,” Bridget says, and I bob my head, fighting back a grin when one of them squawks.
“Definitely. Raewyn told me that they were considering pressing charges, but the public shame felt like a fitting punishment. I mean, Paisley left straight after it happened, so she obviously knew she was in the wrong.”
