“I got a new car, baby!”Lauren yelled.“I just got off the ferry.I thought I’d see if I could take you to lunch to thank you for all those rides.”
She gaped at her.“Right now?”
Annie’s mom appeared behind her.“Oh, go on.I’ll do lunch and naps.I’m good for it, I swear.”
“I don’t know – ”
Her mom disappeared, returning a moment later with her coat.
“I need to say bye to the kids,” Annie said.She popped her head into the house.“Leon, Noel!I’ll be back in just a little bit.”
They glanced up at her, then returned to their game of jumping on the couch pillows on the floor.
She went to the car and took a seat.“Lauren, this is so fancy!”
“I know!I’m honestly just looking for excuses to drive around,” she said with a laugh.
Annie nodded, her eyes drifting down the street toward Miles’ house.She hadn’t heard from him since she’d left so abruptly.He probably thought she was rude.Or he was busy picking out his future wife from the pile of Miss America contestants Bella had found for him.
“Uh, hello, are you okay?”Lauren asked.
Annie’s head snapped over, looking at her.“Sorry.”
“Long night?”
She shifted on the smooth leather seat.“Not exactly.”
“What’s going on?Is everything okay with Roy?”
Roy.She’d completely forgotten about him for once.
“It’s not him.I think…I have a crush on someone.”
“Shut up!Good for you.Who is it?”
Annie shook her head, smiling.There was no one else to talk about this to.Her head was overflowing with the events of the night.“Oh you know, the same guy every woman on the island has a crush on.”
Lauren gasped.“That firefighter dating guy, Mike?”
“Miles,” Annie corrected.“And yes.”
Lauren paused.“Did he mention anything about the lawsuit?”
“No, why?”
Lauren cleared her throat.“No reason.”
“I know the case was thrown out,” Annie said.“My mom told me.”
“Yup.Dismissed.There’s nothing else they can do,” Lauren said.
“You sound like you’re happy about it.Like you’re against the firefighter,” Annie said with a laugh.
She shrugged.“Listen Annie, it’s all well and good to help the local fire department or whatever, but why do you assume that the firefighters are right about this?Who are they to get in the way of a good business plan?”
Annie turned to her, blinking.Was Lauren serious?She couldn’t be serious.“Because it’s not a good business plan.It’s a monopoly.A pretty obvious one.”
Lauren kept her eyes forward.“That’s not what the judge thought.”
