Page 128 of The Snowball Effect

“Come back for another bingo night!” Bea encouraged.

“Or the baking contest, so you can see your cookie recipe wipe the floor with Marcia,” Phoebe gleefully added.

Laughing, Regan reached out to shake her hand. “Deal.”

“Hurry back, Sherry. I’m going to hold you to that offer to teach us Omaha,” Bea called.

“And to bitch about Marcia!”

“I’ll only be a minute,” Sherry affirmed. “Get the cards.”

Amused, Regan looked around them to guarantee that they were alone in the hallway they were walking down before she asked, “What’s up with Marcia Weatherby?”

Sherry pursed her lips. “Oh, she’s always bragging about her grandson, trying to one-up anyone that will listen. She’s always got to be the best at everything. Incredibly obnoxious; we’re all here in the same place.” She shook her head. “I rarely even venture out to join in on group activities, and I’ve witnessed it a number of times.”

“Bitch,” Regan muttered, delighted. “This place reallyislike a dorm!”

Sherry laughed, patting Regan’s arm as they approached the lobby. “I really appreciate you coming by today. You didn’t have to check on me, though; I’m really fine. Just overdid it yesterday.”

Regan shrugged as she tugged the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. “I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to.”

Which was the truth. Not only because Emma had clearly been concerned for her gram, but because Regan really liked Sherry.

“Honestly, it was a good time. I don’t really know anyone else who’s available for a hangout in the middle of the day on a Monday, so this was great timing for me. Plus, you said yesterday that you’d always wanted to learn how to bake, so it all worked perfectly.”

Also the truth.

“And you wanting to bake the cookies in the community kitchen instead of in my suite?” Sherry arched a knowing eyebrow at her.

Guilelessly, Regan shrugged. “I like a bigger kitchen to work in.”

“Yes, either that or you have the voice of my Emma in your ear telling you that she’s worried about me making friends here.”

Holding her hands up, Regan confessed, “All right, that thought crossed my mind. But… I’d say it worked out?” She ventured, hopefully.

Phoebe and Bea had come across them two hours ago, just as they’d started unpacking the ingredients Regan had brought along. They’d paused, recognizing her from bingo, and had seamlessly invited themselves to join in.

Sure, Regan had come here for a multitude of reasons, and aiming to get Sherry more comfortable with her peers was a part of her halfcocked plan. But she’d had a genuinely fun afternoon, and had found that she’d been able to distract herself from theEmma, Emma, Emmaloop playing in her head. Ironic, since she’d been with Emma’s grandmother.

“It did work out,” Sherry agreed, a small smile curling at the edges of her mouth. “And… I appreciate it. I appreciate you coming all the way up here to bake with me, too. I–” She cleared her throat, her expression growing more serious. “I’ll be honest with you. While Emma worries about me, I also worry about her. Emma is so… closed-off. Perhaps that is pot calling the kettleblack, coming from me,” she admitted, ruefully. “I know where she gets it from.”

“I love how focused and hardworking Emma is; I’ve always been so proud of that. After her breakup with Felicity, though, it was almost like having any semblance of a personal life wasn’t something she was willing to do, again. Even though she didn’t want to discuss it with me – and I know, I wasn’t the friendliest to Felicity, so that was my fault – I was concerned.”

Regan was utterlyriveted. Because – true to Sherry’s word – Emma so rarely discussed her romantic life, at all. Even though she knew some minimal details about Felicity, she wanted to hear everything. She wanted every crumb of knowledge she could possibly get about Emma, wanted to soak it in.

Sherry breathed out a quiet laugh, waving her hand slightly. “I know she’d hate that we’re having this discussion, too. So, all I’ll say is – I really like you, Regan. I think you’re good for Emma. A little louder, more outspoken. You’ve been supporting her through Kimberly’s reappearance in her life – and she’s beenlettingyou. That says…” Sherry pursed her lips, shaking her head slightly. “That says everything to me. Plus, she never has anything but wonderful things to say about you.”

“Really?” Regan found herself asking, her stomach fluttering with the revelation.

She needed to hang out with Sherry more – first, with how she’d told Regan about Emma’s past crush on her, and now this?!

“She texts me all of the time about the updates about the shows you watch together and what an amazing cook you are, or the things you say that make her laugh. It’s… well, it’s really wonderful to see, that’s all.”

“It’s wonderful to hear.” As if the full-watt smile on Regan’s face didn’t reveal that! Her cheeks hurt from how wide this smile was.

Even if Emma didn’t reciprocate her feelings, Emma liked her as a person. As a human being. Enough that her gram could see it, and, yeah, Regan wantedmore. But this? It felt like a pretty big deal to her.

“Anyway, I should get back. Get home safe, and tell Emma I’m absolutelyfine,” Sherry stressed.

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