Page 99 of The Snowball Effect

Emma’s stomach clenched again, and she made herself blow out a breath. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t real. Because Gram thought it was.

So, itdidmatter to her, what her gram thought of Regan. She wanted, she realized in this moment, very badly for Gram to approve of Regan. Becauseshedid.

Not to date, she mentally backpedaled. Given that Regan was straight. Yes, total straight-woman vibes all of the time. Most of the time, anyway. When she wasn’t being… odd.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything, really. Emma hasn’t told me all that much,” her gram tossed Emma another look, making Emma’s stomach sink.

Was this the moment? Did her gram doubt this… this sham? Was she onto Emma lying to her?

“I don’t mean offense,” Gram added, turning her attention back to Regan. She looked contrite.

But Regan waved her off, chuckling. “That sounds right; Emma isn’t much for sharing unless you make her.”

Gram laughed. Emma furrowed her eyebrows, “Hey!”

Because – she’d shared! She’d shareda lotwith Regan in the last few weeks. She’d told her about Kimberly, Gram, her book reviewing account, stories about her job, Felicity, her love of magazines, the Alton Fellowship, her feelings on their TV shows, and her insecurities.

Startled by her own thoughts, Emma nearly stumbled over her feet. She had shared a lot with Regan, and she hadn’t even noticed how much.

“You’re exactly right,” Gram confirmed, much to Emma’s chagrin. “I guess I hadn’t realized I was supposed to be asking.” Her voice took on that thoughtful quality as she tilted her head to the side and studied Regan’s profile.

It was the same look she wore when she was trying to puzzle out which was the best decision in a card game, and Emma couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out what she was thinking about Regan.

“Then again, youdolook familiar,” Gram murmured.

Emma stumbled over her own two feet, catching herself on the handrail that lined the hallway. The cold bolt of fear struck through her.

Oh. Ohno.

Regan shrugged, entirely unaware of Emma’s distress. “I get that a lot.” She brought her free hand up, tapping at her chin. “I’m from Newton – just outside of Boston. Born and raised there. Well, actually, I lived in Springfield – western Mass. – until I was seven. Then, we moved to Newton. I went to collegefor a year in Massachusetts, but… it wasn’t for me. So, I moved here because my best friend lived here.”

Emma was just as interested in Regan’s life story as her grandmother.

“Sutton,” her gram mused. Which made sense, as Emma had told her several stories that involved Sutton over the last couple of years. Usually quick mentions of weekend plans or tales about their adventures being teaching assistants.

Regan’s smile flashed over her face. “Yes! Exactly. Um, in the last year, I’ve really come to find that I enjoy baking.”

“She’s really good at it,” Emma added, remembering how vulnerable Regan had been when she’d shared that with Emma.

The pleased flush that slid over Regan’s face made her feel satisfied.

Her gram’s eyes lit up. “A baker! How would you feel about making a cake? Everly’s birthday is next Sunday, and the woman Kimberly hired for the cake and all of the desserts literally just canceled this morning – something about a family emergency, and she has to fly to Iowa? I was on the phone with her before you arrived, and she’s a mess wondering how to fill the gap on such short notice.”

Right. At the world’s most awkward family dinner, her mom had mentioned that Everly was having a pool party next weekend. An invite had been offered to Emma and Regan, but she hadn’t really responded.

“Oh,” Regan’s lips formed a perfect circle, and she looked thrown off for the first time since they’d arrived. “I’ve never really been responsible foran eventbefore.”

Gram shook her head. “Kimberly won’t mind; in fact, she’ll probably want to hire you even more because of it.”

Regan’s wide, dark eyes slid to meet Emma’s, her uncertainty clear.

“It’s all right if you don’t want to,” her gram said assuredly. “And it is very last minute.”

“No, it’s… I mean, it is. It’s not that I don’t want to do it, I just…” Regan blinked down at her gram before looking at Emma once more. Searching. Asking.

“If you want to do it, you should do it,” Emma said, trying to breathe through the knot in her stomach before it could really form.

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