Page 41 of The Talk Around Town

Emma had seen the death stares sent her way over the course of the meal. Stares that she’d ignored after the first five minutes, simply because she didn’t have the energy to waste.

“I mean, honestly. Pete Hammond? He’d have to be what? Eighty? She’s making a total fool of herself and she doesn’t even know it. The old man only asked her out because he felt sorry for her. It’s funny when you look at it. The idiot men in this town fell all over themselves to make that stupid list. When it came down to it though, none of them wanted to actually date her. That’s why they left it this long.”

Emma paused in applying her lipstick.

Another voice piped up from the stall beside Millie’s. “But I thought they all agreed to give her some time to get settled in first? Isn’t that what Gabe said?”

Emma replaced the lid of her lipstick and slid it silently back into her bag, listening hard.

“Yeah, but Gabe was just making excuses for them. I heard Steve tell Sally that he wasn’t really interested, but Steve was only going to ask her out to get lucky. You know what those city girls are like. They’re all trash. They’ll open their legs for anyone.”

Half-hearted giggles bounced around the tiled bathroom, ricocheting and thrusting into her heart each time they echoed back at her.

“That’s why Gabe didn’t want on the list, you know. He’s not interested in sloppy leftovers. Gabe told Ryan if he put his name on the list, he’d knock Ryan straight into next week.”

More giggles, louder this time. Emma’s heart staggered and stopped, shock racing through her.

Sloppy leftovers? Trash?

“You know it’s only a matter of time before Gabe comes knocking on your door, right, Millie? You two were meant to be together. He knows it. He’s just playing around while he still can,” another voice said.

Millie’s strident voice once again caught Emma’s wandering attention.

“I know. And I sure don’t have anything to fear from a stuck-up bitch like her. Walking around with her nose in the air, thinking she’s better than all of us, pretending she can’t swim to steal Gabe’sattention. He thinks she’s a joke. The way she manoeuvred him into helping her on that waste of a house is criminal. He doesn’t want to. He only goes to keep Darby and his mother off his back. Ryan would do her in a heartbeat. I say let him.”

Emma stifled the gasp that burst out, her hand hard over her mouth. Normally she wouldn’t credit a person like Millie with the time of day, especially when she knew the woman had it in for her, but her words rang with enough truth that Emma’s heart ached.

Emma hadn’t lived here that long, and Millie had known both Gabe and Darby since they were small. She knew them both well. Could that be why he’d been so determined to tell her he wasn’t interested? He’d made a point of coming over to her home and insisting that they be friends only after she’d made a fool of herself the first night she’d gone out with Darby. He’d been friendly since. But that didn’t mean he’d changed his mind, only that he was true to his word.

No. She wouldn’t let Millie get to her. She was doing her best to make Emma feel unwanted. The rest of the town had been wonderful, so welcoming and friendly. It was only Millie who was being horrible. She wouldn’t let her chase her away from her new home.

She grabbed her bag from the counter and wrapped her arms around it, waiting Millie out. If she had something to say, she could say it to her face like an adult.

A couple of the stall doors opened and Millie stepped out, followed by her friends. Pink flushes washed over their cheeks, then Millie raised a brow and stepped past her to wash her hands.

Millie looked pointedly at her in the mirror. “Can I help you?”

Emma straightened her spine and steeled herself. “You could start by not being so damned nasty to me.” She glanced at Millie’s friends. “I’ve done nothing to any of you. I’ve tried to be friendly. You have no right to speak about me like that.”

A smirk appeared on Millie’s mouth. “I didn’t say anythingtoyou. Not my fault you were eavesdropping on a private conversation.”

Emma grunted. “You can pretend all you like that you’re right, or whatever, but I won’t let you run me out of town. I’m here to stay. Get used to it.” Emma stepped toward the door, shaky but happy she had the courage to face Millie and her nastiness face-on. “Oh, and if you want to go out with Gabe so bad, just ask the guy out instead of playingchildish games. It’s not that difficult.”

Murmured agreement and several murmurs ofsorry, Emmareached her ears from the small group of women behind Millie, but Millie scowled defiantly at her in the mirror.

“Well, he’ll probably say yes. He didn’t seem too interested in talking to you tonight.”

Emma refused to let Millie see how accurately those words hit home. Hehadbeen quiet tonight. Diffident.

She held Millie’s gaze as long as she could stand, the whole time her stomach somersaulted and make her want to throw up. Her hands shook but she clenched them tight and breathed deeply, determined to get out of the bathroom before she lost her rapidly deteriorating nerve.

Did Gabe really think she was a joke? She really liked him. Loved his company. She felt so at ease when he was around. To think he might not regard her in the same way hurt like hell, regardless of her brave words to Millie.

She had to get out of there. Before the tears now welling in her eyes made their way down her face.

Chapter Seventeen

Gabe looked upfrom wiping the spilled drink off the bar.

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