Page 20 of Almost True
“Well listen, if you need something to do before she arrives, we’re having a girls’ night in at my friend Quinn’s. We’d love for you to join us if you want to meet a few locals who are trustworthy and, in my opinion, the very best people on earth.”
“Wow. That’s a hard sell.”
She grinned. “You have a full life and a ton of people who love you, I’m sure. But I know what it’s like to come to Silverton and feel like it’s a new beginning, but also a kind of… reckoning. Those kinds of moments are best served with guacamole, margaritas, and friends.”
I chuckled and she took a step back, continuing before I could say anything.
“I won’t take any more of your time, but I’m going to text Anthony the details and you can let me know if you’re up for it or not. Your call. And no pressure, ever. Good to see you!” She turned and speed-walked away.
And speak of the devil, Anthony was calling. Since he was my right-hand man and a dear friend, too, I always answered.
“I’m heading back soon. He didn’t try to murder me.”
The silent beat before he spoke told me just how much he’d liked my joke. “Ha. Look at you with your humor. But I’m actually calling to say I just received all the information for your landscaping via e-mail.”
His question came through loud and clear. I answered with a little ache in my chest. “Yeah. He… suggested that.” I didn’t want to say Aidan had rejected me or the possibility of anything. But there it was, clear enough even without my spelling it out.
“Ah. Well. I’ll send these on to you, and you can review them. He proposed starting Wednesday if we can approve at least forty-eight hours ahead. Mentioned knowing you were anxious to get the project completed.”
I thanked him for calling and wandered back toward my car. I rarely drove in LA and never did in New York, but I’d made Brad promise me that when all of the stalker business was resolved, I’d be allowed to drive.
Allowedto drive. With a huff and more than a little disappointment, I crossed the street to my car and slumped inside. I stared unseeing out the front window until someone walked past, and I came back to myself.
Sarah’s words hit me.It’s a new beginning… and a reckoning.Wasn’t that the truth. Add to that getting held at gunpoint and seeing your life melt away in a meaningless work-obsessed haze, and I’d had a full-on life-changing event.
I supposed the after-action review herewasthe reckoning. Here I sat in the middle of it. And as much as I’d typically failed to summon even the slightest interest at meeting new people in a truly social capacity versus professional networking, right about now, talking about my personal crisis and getting to know some other locals over margaritas sounded… perfect. How else would I change the way I’d been thinking and feeling about my life, the reality that’d been forced into my consciousness thanks to Korry Taggart, if I didn’t do something different?
* * *
I rang the bell and glanced back at my car. I could still escape. I could also go in there, decide I hated it, and leave immediately. No problem. This was no problem. I had an escape hatch, and it wasn’t as if I didn’t know someone in there. I knew Sarah. She wasn’t psycho, wasn’t going to treat me like I was some oddity to be observed, wasn’t about to ask me for a job.
“Hey, Maddie, right?” A vaguely familiar blond-haired woman gave me an easy smile as she swung the door open wide. She wore jeans, a cropped T-shirt, and looked to be about my age. “I’m Quinn Darling.”
“Of course. I knew I recognized you.”
She arched a brow. “Yourecognizedme?”
I shrugged. “I heard about you from a friend, and then my assistant kind of fell down a rabbit hole and became obsessed with you. We watched the video of you and Miss Mayhem singing like twenty times. Big fans.”
She grinned. “Well, please contain yourself, because Mayhem herself is in residence tonight.”
I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. This woman was one hundred percent not impressed with her very fancy friend and certainly not with me either. Then again, who would be impressed with anyone if they were engaged to a billionaire?
I hung out with what many might call “high society” often—growing up at family events, and now as an adult in my own capacity. The feeling of wanting to be connected to—that someone wanted to add you to a harem of contacts they could use when the time was right—never ended. Of course, some places were safe. Usually, Juliet managed to host less mercenary things full of nice people. I’d managed it a time or two but still never felt comfortable.
Quinn Darling’s up front, unimpressed vibe proved refreshing. It was genuine, and not put-on like she wanted to make apointabout not being impressed. She was simply herself, in her home, with her friends.
For fear of being silent too long, I said, “I think we may have met once, but as long as you don’t mind me crashing your girls’ night—”
“Please, we’ve been dying to meet you since you blew through town years ago and didn’t show your face. I’m just glad you’re okay.” She gave me a meaningful look.
Somehow, I’d forgotten that her fiancé would’ve told her everything because he, too, had been held at gunpoint. Granted, he’d put himself in that situation, but it’d been rather heroic.
“Thanks. I’m…” What was I? “I guess that’s partly why I’m here.”
Both her brows rose this time. “Well, I’m thinking that’s a story you’re going to need to tell us with a margarita in hand and only one time. Dahlia’s running late, so come get yourself a drink and some food while we wait.”
Inside, I saw Sarah’s familiar face, Callaway Rice-Saint AKA Miss Mayhem’s very pregnant form on the couch, and Sadie.Huh.Weirdly, I kind of knew all of them. I mean, of course I didn’tknowany of them, but it was more than a small relief to see that they were familiar faces. In a time when so much felt foreign and unknown, this tiny discovery brought me a wealth of comfort.
