Maggie lifted a brow. “Ourfriend?”
“She’s my friend. And I think she secretly likes me.”
Maggie laughed, but she kind of thought the same. Not that she’d ever in a million years say anything like that to Polly.
As Joel opened the granola drawer and took out a bar, Maggie turned to see Ethan and Jay still talking. They stood close and their voices were lowered.
A text came through on her phone.
Polly: SOS. Any chance you can come and do a shift at Bloom for me? One of my girls called in sick.
Maggie: Be there in ten.
Polly: You are a life saver.
She moved over to Ethan and touched his shoulder. “Hey, I have to go. Polly needs me to help her at Bloom.”
“So I have to let you go?”
“Tragic, I know.” She smiled at Joel, then Jay. “I’ll see you both later.”
Joel waved, his mouth full of granola.
“It was nice chatting,” Jay called.
Ethan slipped an arm around her waist. When they reached the door, Maggie glanced behind her one last time. And that was when she saw it. Jay was looking at them—or more accurately, looking at Ethan’s arm around her waist—and the expression on her face wasn’t happy.
It was a mix of anger and jealousy and longing.
24
Maggie’s breath caught at the comment beneath her post. She’d posted it less than an hour ago, a graphic about why Bali should be on everyone’s travel list for the new year, and already a “Julie Hopper” had commented:Have you been there, Maggie? This would fit your picture-perfect life.
She swallowed, screenshotting the comment before clicking into the profile. And yep, it was private with no photo. She screenshot that as well and sent it to Ethan, already knowing it would likely be deleted by the time he saw it.
Then she dropped the phone to the kitchen counter and ran her fingers through her hair.
“Everything okay?” Polly asked, as she stepped into the kitchen.
“They commented on my new post.”
Polly stopped beside her. “What did they write?”
“A comment about my life being picture perfect.”
“And their name started with J?”
“Julie. Private account without a photo.”
“Argh. I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” She frowned at Polly’s white overalls. “I thought we were leaving at five?”
They were going to get the office at Bloom ready to paint, maybe even do a first coat.
“We are.” Polly glanced down at her overalls and tight navy tee underneath. “But these overalls are cute, don’t you think?”
“They absolutely are. Though I’ve never understood why painters wear white. Do they want all the paint splatter to show?”
