Page 63 of The Accidental Beauty Queen
Susan fills the dead air by reminding me that the wedding invitations had already been sent out when I called everything off. We’d spent weeks returning gifts and writing apology notes. She says all of this as if I hadn’t been there, as if I hadn’t been forced to write the wordsI’m sorryover and over again when Adam was the one who should have been apologizing.
But no.
The decision to cancel the wedding was mine, and that made me the bad guy. Setting the record straight wasn’t an option. Ginny would have been crushed if she’d known she had any part of my breakup. I couldn’t put her through that. I’d been heartbroken enough for the both of us.
“Charlotte doesn’t like talking about all of this,” I say. “So it hasn’t really come up lately.”
“Of course it hasn’t. We just worry about her sometimes.” Susan gives my hand a pat. “That’s why we’re asking you about it instead of her. The poor dear.”
Poor dear?
My mimosa finally arrives and I grab hold of it like Hermione Granger reaching for a book of spells.
I’d like to blame the alcohol for what comes out of my mouth next, but since I’ve only taken a sip—more like a gulp, really—I can’t. My words are deliberate, and I’m completely sober. “Actually, sheissort of seeing someone.”
Dad drops his fork. Susan’s eyes go comically wide.
I take a furious sip of my drink. Is it really so hard to believe that I have a secret boyfriend?
My father retrieves his rogue cutlery and narrows his gaze. “I don’t understand. Why hasn’t she said anything?”
“Maybe it’s someone we know,” Susan suggests. Her hand flutters to her chest. “Oh, is it Adam? Are they back together?”
I nearly gag. “Gross. No.”
Dad frowns. “Who then?”
“Someone much better than Adam. More attractive in every possible way. Kinder. Smarter. Unbelievably charming.” I let out a wistful sigh, because yes, I’m thinking about my clandestine meetings with a certain dreamy pageant judge. “It’s a secret, though. So you can’t say anything about it. Not a word. Charlotte would kill me if she knew I’d mentioned it.”
“If he’s so perfect, why is he a secret?” Dad says flatly.
He doesn’t believe me. Of course he doesn’t, because we’re talking about me. Thepoor dear. I could probably tell him that Ginny had seven secret boyfriends—a different one for every day of the week—and he’d believe me in a heartbeat.
I grit my teeth. “It’s new. She doesn’t want to rush things.”
Also, he’s not technically her secret boyfriend.
It’s clearly wishful thinking. Gray sent me champagne and we kissed. Once. He’s definitely a secret, but the boyfriend part is iffy at best...
And there’s still the inconvenient truth of my actual identity.
Who am I kidding? Gray definitely isn’t my secret boyfriend. Hecan’tbe. I’d have to be an idiot to even speak to him again. The smartest thing to do would be to stay as far away from him as possible.
But that’s impossible.Literally. Because when I look up from my empty mimosa glass, he’s standing right there.
I blink, convinced I’m hallucinating.
“Miss Texas.” He smiles. “Good morning.”
My stomach flips. My heart hammers in my chest. Everything about this encounter seems real. Just in case, I glance at Dad and Susan. Both of their gazes are fixed on Gray.
It’s really him. And we’re really speaking. Right here, out in the open.
“Good morning.” I smile back.
“Hello.” He offers his hand to my father. “I’m Gray Beckham, one of the pageant judges.”
Dad stands and shakes Gray’s hand. “Henry Gorman. Nice to meet you. I’m Ginny’s father, and this is my wife, Susan.”
