Page 30 of Fauxmance

She nodded. "Your face has a pretty blush to it. Did you sleep well? Have any good dreams?"

Sometimes, I could swear my mom was psychic.

"Come on, Mom," I said, walking past her to the driveway. "Like you said, we should go. Jas has been texting non-stop. She needs us."

Mom chuckled and locked up behind her.

"She messaged me, too. Let's be real, though," she said. "Your sister could run this wedding with her eyes closed."

"True."

Once we were both in the car, I stared out at my little Honda.

"Thanks again for going to pick up my car," I said. "I appreciate you letting me sleep, but I wish I could've been there to help you change the tire."

"Yeah, about that," she said, "I meant to tell you. When Rhonda and I went to pick it up this morning, there was no flat."

My brows crinkled as she started the engine. "Seriously? I had one, though. On the back passenger side?"

Mom shrugged.

"Did you call AAA last night to have it fixed?"

"That would've been a great idea, but no," she said, and I frowned. "Magnolia, we came home and talked for two hours, during which time you regaled me with your exciting elevator adventure, and I told you about my full-on freak out here at home. After that, I was spent. I went straight to bed."

I couldn't wrap my mind around it. "But that doesn't make any sense."

"Honestly, Rhonda and I were grateful," she said as she pulled onto the road.

"What time did you go again?"

"Around 10:00 am."

"Crazy," I said. "And you're sure you didn't call anyone?"

Mom nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

The pieces weren't fitting together. Something was missing. I just couldn't figure out what.

"Maybe you imagined it," she said. "That's happened to me before. I ran over someglass,was sure the car would sink to one side at any moment, but it didn't happen."

"Maybe," I said.

But I knew I'd had a flat. Even Hayden had commented on it. Just before he left, he'd said…

My eyes widened.

Could he have gone back to change my tire?

The idea was absurd.

Yeah, sure, Maggie. The guy who was forced to be in your company for hours in a confined space was so affected by you that he'd gone back in the pre-dawn hours to change your tire. Because…what? He was worried for mysafety?

I gave a mental laugh.

Yeah, that was about as likely as little elves using magic to fix my car.

Mom was right. I probably had only imagined it.

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