Page 130 of Friends Don't Kiss

“Got an alarm on my phone. I was on my way to the Select Board meeting. Few minutes ago, someone was inside 420.”

“Oh no—that was me. I broke in—well, didn’t break anything. I just let myself into the weed store because we had an emergency. Emma had a physical emergency and I had a mental emergency. I left you twenty dollars in ones stuck under the register.”

“Oh good.” Millie sighs. “I was on edge. I could use a smoke too.” She laughs.

“Why were you going to the meeting tonight?” I ask her.

“No particular reason. Just being a good citizen.”

I shrug. “Why don’t you just stay with these two, then?”

“Excellent idea. Except I’m getting us gummies, so we can stay inside. You’ll drive us home, grasshopper?” Millie asks. “Or should I say, sweets?”

I smile at her. “I’ll come back to drive you guys home. Wish me luck.”

“What’s up with her?” I hear Millie ask as I get to the door.

“Eh, it’s about to get real for her,” I hear Emma reply as the door shuts softly behind me, leaving me alone in the dark, lit by the moon reflecting on the snow.

Walking to my car, I have only the sound of my feet crunching the snow to drown my thoughts.

The meeting room fills up as residents file into Town Hall. Cassandra, Lynn, Noah, and Colton are already seated, talking in low voices among themselves. The high school media team has their camera set up, ready to stream the meeting into the homes of residents who are too old or sick to take the short drive into town.

In the back, next to the macarons I dropped off earlier, there is pizza, pies, juice, and hot cider attracting a sizable crowd and giving the whole thing a festive air. Too nervous to eat anything, I take a seat in the front row, next to Maddie, and pick at my cuticles.

A ruffling sounds at the back of the room, voices rise before falling as people take their seats. I don’t need to look back to see who just came in. Walking right by me in through the center aisle, Owen takes hurried steps toward the long table where the board sits, clutching a thick file under his arm.

The board members straighten their chairs, and Colton calls the meeting open. As he sweeps his gaze over the audience, his eyes latch onto mine for a beat. A small smile, quickly suppressed, floats on his lips, then he turns his gaze away to remind those in attendance that they should address the board, not each other, when expressing their opinion on any topic.

He does a quick read of the agenda, then Cassandra says, “Why don’t we deal with the two variances, so the applicants are free to go if they want to?” She looks at me, and at Georgie Richardson, who’s sitting three chairs down from me.

Colton frowns. Looks at Georgie, then at Owen. Looks at me. He brushes his eyebrow with the back of his thumb.

“That’d be the right thing to do,” Owen says, looking at Colton.

forty-eight

Colton

Owensaysunderhisbreath so only I can hear him, “No way in hell is her case going before Georgie’s. I don’t trust you yet, Harper.” In case I was too slow to realize what this is, the asshole clarified it for me. All along, that was his plan. When he came to see me in my office, booking a fake service for his car—I mean, is this guy for real? Where does he think he is? Backroom deals central?—assuring me the town needed a guy like me on the Select Board, someone who’d know when todo the right thing?

“I can’t believe this shit,” I mutter.

Owen can go to hell. I don’t need a deal. I’m done trying to keep the peace for some bullshit, petty zoning rules that only make sense to the handful of people who passed them without anyone questioning it.

My beliefs are only valid in a vacuum. I never tried shoving them down someone’s throat.

And what’s more, I have no problem playing favorites with Kiara.

Sheismy favorite.

My everything.

And she deserves everything.

I’ll vote in favor of Kiara’s project, and I’ll oppose Owen’s. And what’s more, I’ll argue in favor of Kiara’s.

“I’d like to make a motion that Colton Harper should recuse himself from the vote,” Owen says in his sickly unctuous voice.

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