Page 65 of Love You
Deb snorted. “Does anyone believe that?”
Darcy cleared her throat. “I do.” Everyone turned to her, waiting for clarification. Maybe she should’ve kept her mouth shut but she was sick of people thinking the worst of Win. It wasn’t fair but more importantly it wasn’t true. “He came over to my place the night it happened and told me everything. I don’t know about Dale having an affair but Win isn’t having one with Candace. That I know for sure. He was just being chivalrous by sticking up for her and got decked in the face for his troubles.”
Foster tossed his book at her and laughed. “You’ve been holding out on us, girl. That day I saw you at Tart Me Up . . . You knew all along what went down.”
Everyone’s eyes were pinned on her and she felt her face start to flush. “Yes, I did. But it was Win’s story to tell, not mine. But tonight I wanted to set the record straight.”
“Good for you,” Hannah said, and drilled Foster with a look. “It’s Win’s business, no one else’s.”
Foster snorted. “Aren’t you Miss Goody Two Shoes.”
Carrie Jo sniffed one of the corn chips and put it back in the basket. “Okay, now that we’re done with Candace, Dale, and Win, who else can we talk about?”
For the rest of the evening they gossiped, drank, and ate Hannah’s peach cobbler, which was delicious. Carrie Jo of course abstained because . . . gluten.
Darcy, who’d never been to Josh and Hannah’s house before, was given the grand tour. It was a darling Victorian with all the original millwork intact. Even the kitchen, which had been updated over the years, retained much of its 1800s charm. It was hard to see rough-and-tumble Josh Garner living here but Darcy supposed that his love for Hannah trumped living in a life-size dollhouse. And anyone could see that he adored his wife. All the Garner men loved their women with the exception of Win, who loved all women.
The memory of her and Win writhing in bed together surfaced and she pushed it out of her mind, focusing on the gathering instead. She’d hoped that living in Glory Junction would improve her social life and it appeared that things were looking up. This was the third event she’d been invited to. In February, there’d been Deb’s thirtieth birthday party. And last month, Colt and Delaney’s wedding. When she’d been married to Lewis her social life consisted of hanging on his arm at various business functions where she was mostly ignored.
The book club meeting—if you could call it that—had begun to break up. Darcy helped Deb and Delaney with the dishes and grabbed her purse.
“You don’t have to leave, Darcy,” Hannah said. “Josh probably won’t be home for a while. This is his regular night to meet his brothers at Old Glory. The three of us usually hang out together afterward and you’re welcome to join us.”
Darcy wondered if Win had gone to the bar with them and if he was there now. Hopefully, he wasn’t getting himself beat up again. “Thanks for the invite but I’m going to Reno tomorrow and want to get an early start.” After everything that had happened today she was feeling especially bold and asked, “So am I officially in the book club now?”
Deb laughed. “Such as it is. Yes, you’re an official member, which means next time you either bring the wine or make the dinner.”
“I’m happy to do either.” She was just thrilled to have friends. “How often do we meet?”
“When all the stars align, once a month,” Hannah said. “We usually do it here but sometimes we do it at Delaney’s house and once we did it at Deb’s.”
“I like the way you said that.” Deb beamed. “I always just think of the house as TJ’s but it’s mine, too.”
“And it’s beautiful,” Darcy said. “The house, the lake, your backyard are just gorgeous. The FlashTag folks were certainly impressed.”
“Thank you and I’m glad. I hope we get the account.” Deb filled Hannah’s dishwasher with soap and turned it on.
“Any news on that?” Delaney asked.
“Not yet. They have another company they’re meeting with this weekend so we’ll see.” She slung her purse strap over her shoulder.
“If anyone can get them it’s the aptly named Win, as TJ likes to call him.” Deb hopped up on the counter. “Leave it to the charmmeister. I’m sure he’s already knocked their socks off.”
He had indeed been charming and knocked their socks off. Though she hated to admit it, his improvisation had cemented the weekend as an indisputable success. But it would’ve been nice if Deb had acknowledged Darcy’s hard work too. She’d done just as much as Win to bag the deal and still had the blisters on her feet to prove it. Win might be the athlete and the charismatic one but she was the one who’d organized the entire weekend, booked the hotel and the restaurants, and shuttled everyone around.
Ordinarily, Darcy would’ve kept her mouth shut. Win was Deb’s family and Darcy was an outsider. But she was sick of always standing on the outside, looking in. Even in her own home—her parents’ and Lewis’s—she’d felt like a second-class citizen. Just once she wanted to be acknowledged.
“He was amazing,” she stammered. “You should’ve seen him ride the bull. Everyone was in awe. But I like to think I was just as instrumental as Win in showing them a good time.” There, she’d said it. She’d spoken up for herself and it felt damned good, even though she probably should’ve kept a leash on her tongue.
“Hell yeah, you were.” Deb got off the counter and topped off her wineglass. “TJ thinks you hung the moon. We all do. And you and Win are the perfect team. He’s good with the schmoozing and the physical stuff, you’re good with strategizing and coordinating.”
“You think so?”
“Uh, yeah. Everyone does.” Deb stated it so definitively that Darcy felt giddy.
“Thanks,” she said, her chest still swelling from Deb’s praise. “I guess I better get going.”
On the way home, she rolled down all her windows and set her radio at full blast.
