“What about it?”
“You don’t want to tell Josh, do you?”
“No.” The word came out as a whine. “I’m afraid to—you know, rock the boat with him. He asked me to marry him, I turned him down, and now Lenore has put her two cents in. I can’t…what if he’s upset when I tell him?”
“He’ll get over it. Honesty really is the best policy.”
“Ugh.” Riley set down her chicken salad on rye without taking a bite. “I’m not going to tell him.”
“What are you going to do when Lenore tells him?”
“Are you kidding? It’s none of her business, and she knows it. No way she’s telling him that she got up in my face and said I should marry him.”
“Why shouldn’t she tell him? I’m sure she thought she was just being helpful. And if now she’s afraid she might have stepped over the line, she’s going to want to come clean with him.”
“Lenore is not the kind of person who justhasto come clean.”
Macy was shaking her head. “I disagree. Seems to me like Lenore is making an effort to change her ways.”
“No. Seriously. She’s not going to tell him.”
Now Macy scoffed. “Well, it’s obvious you didn’t really want my advice.”
“Yes, I did!”
“Hey. It’s okay. It’s not a total loss. Even when you’re in denial, I love having lunch with you. Plus, the sandwiches here are great.”
“You don’t understand, Mace.”
“Oh, I think I do.”
“It’s just better if he doesn’t know.”
“Yeah. You go ahead and tell yourself that.”
“Sheesh, Mace. You’re brutal, you know that?”
“Hey. What are friends for?”
* * *
Riley knew that Macy was right. She called Josh that night and told him about her grocery store encounter with Lenore.
He took it well. “You know Lenore. She has opinions, and she’s more than happy to share them.”
“Yeah. I was only bothered by it because I thought I should tell you, but then I thought if I told you,Iwould be the one making trouble…”
“Did she upset you?”
“It’s fine. Honestly.”
“Do you want me to talk to her?”
“No, Josh! Please don’t.”
“Okay, then. You’ve told me. Do you feel better?”
“Not really,” she admitted. “But at least now you know, and we can forget this conversation ever happened.”
