Page 35 of Power Plays & Proposals

Hannah slapped the arm of her chair. "You have got it all wrong. He was trying to save her by breaking her heart."

"If he'd just talked to her, they would have figured out the solution faster." Sofie protested.

"And she never would have nearly died," Beth added. "She only got lost in the forest because she was running and crying."

Kim nodded and picked up a slice of cheesecake brownie. "A dumb decision really. How many horror movies do we have to see to know that."

Maria rolled her eyes. "It's a romance, Kim. Stop bringing your true crime podcasts into it. Only happily ever afters here."

Shrugging, Kim looked at her phone. "Oh, Zoey sent me a picture." She showed us all a picture of her daughter with a pretty brown and white horse that had bows braided into the mane.

Maria groaned. "I want your life. Perfect kid, hot cowboy husband, and unlimited access to the best-tasting apples. I could make so many pies and tarts with those."

Kim beamed. "Knox has some single brothers if you're interested."

"Too long distance," Maria grumbled.

Crestfield was only an hour's drive, but in all the time I'd known her, Maria had refused to get in a vehicle unless absolutely necessary. She preferred to walk everywhere she could, and get her groceries delivered. I was pretty sure she didn't even own a car.

"Speaking of being jealous..." Charlotte's voice cut through the air, setting my nerves on edge as all eyes turned towards me, "Where did that ring come from?"

Truthfully I was surprised they’d waited this long to begin the interrogation. Charlotte had used more finesse than I thought her capable of.

"Nate gave it to me."

"Hockey Nate?" Gabby asked, her voice full of surprise. "He's the nicest guy, but I was under the impression he wasn't seeing anyone."

I realized then that she was the woman on the cover of the gossip rag with Nate. In all the times I'd seen her in person she'd kept her hair in a simple ponytail and tinted gloss. On the magazine, she'd been more dolled up and I felt like an idiot for not connecting the dots sooner. If I didn't know that Gabby was happily dating someone I'd feel pretty insecure.

Maria perked up, her jealousy of Kim long forgotten. "Oh, they've been flirting for months. Every time he came into the bakery he spent more time talking to Lia than he did picking out what to eat."

"He did not." I protested.

"The man gets the same breakfast croissant every time. He only pretends to ogle the display case, so he has an excuse to ogle you."

"Oh, I love that! But how did that turn into a ring?" Charlotte asked.

"What I say can't leave this room." They leaned forward anticipating the juiciest piece of gossip. "It's a fake engagement."

Beth sighed in disappointment. "Is that all?"

"Don't listen to her," Kim said, her eyes glinted with mischief, "She knows that sometimes fake relationships turn into something real."

"Kim," Beth protested. "That's old news."

Sofie cleared her throat, "We're talking about Lia."

Kim mimed zipping her lips shut.

Hannah began to fill them in on the drama with the press, Maria had them swooning over the moments at the bakery, and the only thing I offered were details of what happened at the salon. Sofie rattled off books it reminded her of, while Beth swooned over the Super Dad shirt and started plotting how she'd make one for her husband.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax in my chair.

"Why aren't you on cloud nine?" Kim asked me while the others talked amongst themselves.

"I'm just bracing for the inevitable."

"Which is?" she asked.

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