Page 119 of Stealing Sunshine

She tries to smile, but it looks more like a wince. “I’m too embarrassed to tell you the entire story. But the short version? I was young and in love with a boy who wasn’t meant to be my forever.

“It was naive love, the kind where you thought the world started and ended with them before you had barely even stepped one foot into it. One day, I was sure I was going to marry my childhood sweetheart, and the next, I was coming home after my final year of university to learn the reason he’d cut me off months before was because he got someone else pregnant. We agreed to take a break while I was gone, but I shouldhave known better than to hope we’d be able to pick things back up afterward. Like I said, I was naive.”

My stomach sinks, the pain in her voice so evident it’s like I can feel it carving a hole into my chest.

“I’m sorry, Della. That’s . . .” I shake my head, unsure what to say.

She offers a weak smile. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. I’ve made peace with it.”

But has she? Because the haunted look in her eyes tells a completely different story. And who can blame her? I don’t know the whole story, and it’s not my place to search for more of it, but come on? From what Bryce told me, in addition to Della, my heart hurts for the young girl who was broken by the knowledge that the boy she loved had moved on with someone else and, worst of all, gotten her pregnant.

From the handful of times I’ve met Abbie in passing and spoken to her at school, it’s obvious she’s a sweet, kind girl. But how does seeing her every day at school make Delaney feel when it was a life with Darren that she had pictured for so many years?

I take a long, long drink of iced tea to clear the ball of emotion in my throat.

She laughs weakly, waving a hand through the air. “Please don’t pity me. I’m fine, truly. It all happened a long time ago.”

“I don’t pity you, Della. But I am sad for you. I can’t begin to imagine what that was like. How could you stay here? Cherry Peak is so small.”

“My life is here. My job and family. I wasn’t going to be run out of town because I made a mistake,” she says, tone growing sharper with every word.

I nod, letting it drop before I touch too raw of a spot.

“Well, on a bit of a happier note, I wanted to invite you to a pole class with me and Bryce this weekend. Obviously, you don’t have to come, considering Poppy will be instructing, and, well, she’s obviously Darren’s sister. But I thought it could be fun toget out of town and have a bit of a girls’ day if you were up to joining us? You don’t have to worry about being new to it or anything. So am I!”

“What day?”

“Sunday? We can pick you up on our way out of town?”

A contemplative pause. “They don’t mind if I come along?”

“Nope! When Bryce brought it up to Poppy, she seemed really excited.”

After I convinced Bryce that it was a good idea in the first place. It’s not that she didn’t want Della to come, but she didn’t see the appeal of losing time that was supposed to be just for us. Not to mention her worry about my tattoo. It’s been healing up well over the past couple of days, but she’s such a mother hen.

She was putty in my hands once I straddled her lap on the couch and kept her there for another hour, lips locked?—

“Alright. If you’re sure I won’t be third wheeling or anything,” Delaney says.

My grin is instant as I clap loudly. A few of the people around the diner turn to look at me, and I ignore them. If they wanted to dine in complete silence, Rustic Ridge wasn’t the place to choose.

The diner belongs to Kiki’s family, and they never meant for it to be a quiet place but one for families and happy chit-chat.

Speaking of Kiki, she comes rushing to our table with a plate in each hand. We move our drinks and napkin-wrapped cutlery out of the way for our food.

“A grilled cheese with a garden salad,” Kiki announces, sliding the first plate in front of me. The second is set in front of Della. “And a veggie burger with onion rings.”

“Thank you,” Della says.

I look up at my best friend. “Sit for a minute?”

“If you insist.” Kristen slides into the booth beside me and lets out an exhausted sigh. “How much of your lunch break do you have left?”

I check the time on my phone, a new text from Johnny flashing. “Twenty minutes.”

It only took three minutes to get here and another fifteen to get our food. Quick service is a bonus when it comes to living in a small town.

As long as we’re anywhere other than Peakside on a Saturday night. Then it’s like every person in town and two hours outside of it has come in for a drink.

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