Page 50 of Taylor

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.”

“Well, I don’t need your help!”

“Alice,” she said with a pleading look, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Excuse me, but I need to go to the bathroom.”

After grabbing her purse, she beelined for the hallway to slip into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her boring blonde hair was pulled back in a bun, making her face alittle too round. Her perfectly suitable green wrap dress was fine. She was fine. But why did she feel like screaming,This isn’t me?

Tempted to sneak out of the party and go home, she pulled out her phone... It was 11:30. She still had thirty minutes before New Year, New Me started. Maybe she could just go home and sleep.

“You can do this!” she told her reflection. “You just have to go out there and be a person for the next hour, then you can go home and go to bed.”

As she was finishing the last sentence, a woman walked into the bathroom. She was about the same height and build as Alice, and she had on a simple black dress, but her gorgeous red curly hair stole the show. She was beautiful. And she had just walked in mid mirror pep talk.

Alice hung her head in embarrassment coursing through her veins.

“Hi, I’m Kate,” said the woman who just entered the bathroom.

“Hi . . .” Alice mumbled and turned to leave.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve all done the mirror pep talk. I’m not always a huge fan of big parties like this,” Kate said warmly.

Letting her guard down, Alice chuckled. “Me either... They are so loud, and I always feel so awkward.”

“Same! If it were up to me, Wes and I would have just stayed home and celebrated that way.”

“Wes Darling? Wait . . . Are you Conner’s sister?”

Of course she was... The red hair gave it away.

“Yeah, I haven’t got your name yet.”

Before she could answer, the door opened and yet another woman more glamorous than Alice would ever be entered.

“Party in the bathroom,” she said before opening her purse and fixing her lipstick.

Alice had seen her out on the dance floor with Cash Hawthorn. She had recognized the beautiful woman almost immediately but didn’t say anything.

“Do I know you?” she asked Alice.

“Not officially, but I think your townhouse is right across from mine.”

While her voice sounded questioning of this fact, she was sure of it. She’d seen this beautiful woman coming and going. Not in a creepy way. Her desk just overlooked the parking lot, where several of her neighbors came and went.

“I think you’re right. Are you here with anyone?”

“No, I’m Coach Wagner’s daughter. I’m Alice,” she said.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Evie.”

And then the door swung open again.

“Wow,” said Sasha, taken aback by the number of women in the room. “I was wondering where everyone went,” she said with a soft chuckle.

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