Page 19 of David

The suspicion in her voice is noticeable.

“No. He was obnoxious.”

“You just said he’d bought you cookies.”

“He cut in line and thought buying me cookies would make him look better.”

“Did it?”

“No.”

“And yet you’re asking me if I know anything about him.”

I sigh.

“He looked familiar, although I didn’t think I’d seen him before. And he was strange. A little.”

“He’s not strange. Women swoon over him.”

“Women swoon over all of them. Why am I even talking to you about swooning over him? He’s not my type. And I’m not his.”

She laughs.

“Why are you laughing?”

“You’re talking like you don’t know how these things work. You have no control over what you like or who likes you. If you were, you wouldn’t have wasted your time with those…”

She stops abruptly.

“Say it. Losers.”

“Maybe they weren’t losers, but they surely weren’t time well spent either.”

“This is not about them. I was intrigued by him. David Moore. And this is just another reason to reconsider going to Thea’s wedding. I don’t want to run into him again. He had no idea who I was when he offered me those cookies. And I surely don’t want to experience some awkward moments at my cousin’s wedding. Truly, Mom… There’s no reason for me to go there. I’m not in a good place right now. And I don’t need to spend time with them to learn, yet again, that I’m adrift.”

“You do you,” Terry says, and I can tell from her voice how deeply disappointed she is in me.

And I can’t even blame her.

“Okay,” she says. “I need to go now. Let me know if you change your mind.”

We end the call, and I crash back, my arms crossed over my chest.

Staring out the window, I realize that this is such a nice time of the year to have a wedding. So, why can’t I just make myself go?

My mind shifts back to David Moore.

So, this is the man portrayed in her book—the one who paid a good chunk of money to have her body and helped her start her business.

What is it about her?

She had the most attractive men in the county and hadn’t even planned for all that.

It just happened.

I’ve heard stories.

And Mom knows a lot more than she lets out.

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