I nod slowly.
“It’s a bit odd to me, too, but he came in here and, surprisingly, we had a conversation that didn’t suck. And then we decided to just hang out.”
“Alone. At your house. Just like that?”
Damn. Grace doesn't miss a beat. Did she interrogate her brother, too? Surely, he would have texted me with a warning of his answers, right?
I nod.
Think, Brooke, think.
Oh! I’ve got it.
“Yes, because we knew the town would have a reaction, and we wanted to just give it a trial run before everyone was talking about it.” I sigh. “But obviously, there is a nosy hawk that just flies around this town looking for the next victim to talk about.”
Shay snorts, while Quinn and Sadie laugh.
Grace, well, I can't quite make out what the expression on her face means.
While I wait for someone to say something, a thought occurs to me.
“How is it possible that you all showed up here at the same time?”
Shay clears her throat.
Sadie grins.
“Shay and Quinn were at the bookstore with me when Grace popped in and demanded we all come over here.”
“I didn’t demand anything. You didn't have to come.”
“Um, yes, we did. This was way better than asking her in the group chat. Everyone has been talking about it all day.”
“What?” I ask. “You’re the first to say something to me.”
“Well, yeah,” Quinn cuts in. “How is someone going to bring it up if you aren’t friends the way we are?”
I shrug. “By simply just asking.”
“Okay, go into the front of the bakery and see if anyone asks you. There wasn’t a single open seat when we walked in.”
“What? Really?”
Now, I know this place can get busy, but it’s rare that it's that full at one time. I guess I just didn’t notice since I’d been spending my morning between the kitchen and the office.
I shimmy past the girls and push through the swinging door to see exactly what they described. As I step through, the girls right behind me, almost every head turns to look at me.
Some start to whisper while others just smile.
“Wow. That’s weird,” Grace says quietly behind me.
“I have millions of followers, and not once have I stopped a room the way Brooke just did,” Quinn comments just as softly.
I roll my eyes and keep walking.
“Hi,” I greet one table.
“How are you?” I greet another.
