Page 106 of Forever To Me

“Wait!” she says, holding up both hands. “Before you get mad, let me explain!”

I narrow my eyes to hide my amusement. “This better be good.”

She flashes a grin. “Okay, so… watching you and Walker do the whole ‘grumpy cowboy drives the stubborn redhead around town’ thing?It was like the cutest damn reality show I’ve ever seen. We all agreed it was best for… you know… morale.”

“Morale?” I sputter. “You kept my car hostage for entertainment purposes?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t love it.”

I open my mouth to argue, but before I can, the side door swings open. Cami walks in, carrying a tray of iced coffees, her eyes immediately lighting up. “Ooooh! What’s this? Trouble in paradise?”

Poppy cackles. “Oh, yeah. Violet just found out about the Walker chauffeur conspiracy.”

“Ahh.” Cami sets the tray of coffees down, picks one up, and sips it. “Yeah, that was a good run.”

I groan. “Wait—you knew, too?”

Cami shrugs. “Of course. The whole town knows.”

I sit heavily on the nearest rolling stool. “Wait. Are you telling me the entire town has been… watching us?”

“Watching is a creepy word,” Poppy says, already smirking. “We’ve been… encouraging.”

Cami nods. “And placing bets.”

I blink. “Bets?”

“Yeah.” Cami sips her drink, totally casual. “We have a pool going.”

“A pool.”

“Mhm. On when you two will finally get together.”

I groan and drag my hands down my face. “Oh my God. You people need hobbies.”

“Thisisour hobby,” Poppy says with a grin.

Before I can respond, the side door swings open again. Mack walks in, eating a popsicle like she owns the place. She stops, surveys the room, and grins. “Ah. The Walker and Violet bet.”

I point at her, not able to hide the grin this time. “No. Just—no. Go… do algebra or something.”

Mack shrugs. “I don’t need algebra when I can read body language.” She leans against the workbench, crossing her arms. “And yours screams ‘in denial’.”

Poppy howls. Cami almost spits out her coffee.

“How,” I demand, “did I become the main character of this small-town gossip?”

Poppy wipes her eyes. “Babe, that happened the second you showed up and started making googly eyes at Walker.”

I groan. “I do not make googly eyes.”

“You absolutely do,” Cami says, voice muffled as she opens a bag of Skittles she apparently brought for this event. “That thing you do when he walks into the room? It’s like watching a deer spot a predator and freeze. Only you look way thirstier.”

“Thirstier?” I choke.

“Bone dry, sweetheart.”

Mack hops onto the workbench, swinging her legs. “It’s true. I’ve seen it. It’s gross.”

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