Page 101 of Beautiful Harmony

Emma blew her hair off her sweaty forehead and set down the box she held. “Of course I am. What’s up?”

Rayna let the swinging door close behind her. She wore her Sneaky Leaks uniform and had a big wet mark across one thigh.

“Please tell me that’s just water,” Emma said.

Rayna laughed. “It is. Well, it’s toilet water, but it was clean toilet water.”

“Still gross,” Emma said.

“I was installing a new toilet at the Walgreens. A customer absolutely destroyed their other one.”

“Do I want to know how?”

“No, my friend, you do not,” Rayna said gravely. “Let’s just say that my Monday lives up to its name. So, are you back here hiding from stupid people? Because there’s currently only one customer in the store, and he is hardcore flirting with Cora.”

“I’m not hiding,” Emma said. “Mostly. The back storage needs to be organized and cleaned. I’ve been putting it off for weeks.”

“Ah,” Rayna said. “It’s almost five-thirty. You want to go for dinner after you close up?”

“Sure,” Emma said.

“Cool. The Whiskey Grill has a new special I want to try.” Rayna leaned against the shelving unit. “So, how are you doing?”

“Fine,” Emma said.

“Still selling the store to Caroline tomorrow night?”

Emma looked away from Rayna’s gaze, busying herself by straightening a stack of boxes. “Yes.”

“Even though you don’t want to.”

“I want to,” Emma said.

“Are you forgetting who you’re talking to?” Rayna asked. “You can’t lie to me, Emmy.”

Emma sighed. “Selling the store and moving is for the best.”

“For who?” Rayna asked.

“For me and Lucas. If I stay here, even if we return to being just friends, people will talk whenever we’re together. I can’t stay here and listen to the town talk about Lucas pity fucking me. Or even worse, make Lucas endure the gossip and mean comments.”

“Maybe you should let Lucas have a say in whether he even cares about that,” Rayna said.

“Of course he cares. Why wouldn’t he? No one likes to be thought of as a fool.”

“One, he isn’t a fool for loving you, and two, you won’t know how he feels for certain unless you ask him.” Rayna smiled at her. “Honey, you don’t want to sell the store, and despite everything currently happening, you don’t want to leave Harmony Falls. So, don’t decide based on your current feelings or Lucas’s. Especially when you don’t even know how Lucas really feels.”

Emma sighed and fanned herself with her shirt. “I feel stupid for wanting to stay. Even though people talk shit about me and my face, and now my relationship with Lucas, I still love it here. It’s my home, Rayna.”

“I know, honey,” Rayna said. “You’re not stupid, okay? And at the end of the day, do you care what anyone in this town thinks? You are an intelligent, beautiful woman with a thriving business, and one of the hottest guys in town is in love with you.”

“Lucas isn’t in love with me,” Emma said, reaching up to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

“Yes, I am.”

She froze with her arm in the air, staring wide-eyed at Rayna before they both turned to look at the door.

Lucas leaned in the doorway, the swinging door propped open with one foot and a gorgeous grin on his face. “Hello, ladies.”

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