Page 58 of Stacked
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ANYA
I gave Robert one condition about appearing onGood Morning USA.Before we showed up on national television talking about our viral video and the romance it sparked, we had one person we needed to visit.
Gwen.
She might not understand exactly what was going on, but we owed it to ourselves and to her to at least try to loop her in on what had happened. She’d been incredibly kind to me, so important in my life, and she was too much a part of New Burlington to be kept in the dark about the float contest events.
Robert agreed, and Morgan swore she didn’t mind running the store while we made the quick visit to Gwen’s house. I thanked my friend several times before we set off, vowing to myself that I’d make sure I threw her the best bachelorette party—an event that was coming up in a few weekst and one I’d put off planning while I was so distracted with the Fourth of July contest. Morgan had really proven to be a loyal and caring friend, and I couldn’t thank her enough for all she’d done for me during an equally busy and exciting time for her. Most people would have been too distracted with their wedding planning to help the way she did.
“I’m sure all your fans will be deeply disappointed to find me here instead of you,” she said in the final moments before Robert and I climbed into his BMW. “I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces.”
I scoffed. “Fans? Hardly.”
“They’re coming.”
I shook my head. “We’ve been open for about an hour already, and they aren’t here.”
“They will be.” Morgan gestured to the store. “And when they show up, they’re going to love this place.”
Laughing, we said goodbye. Robert and I didn’t say much during the drive, which wound through New Burlington, cutting through the neighborhood near the high school, and past the country club before arriving at Gwen’s residence. After Robert pulled into her driveway, he turned off the engine and angled toward me.
“I hope we can convince her this is a good thing,” he said.
“She’ll probably be on board with it faster than I was.”
He took my hand. “You didn’t take a lot of convincing.”
“I’m still not totally sure I want to do it.”
“I could tell from your social media you’re not always comfortable in the spotlight.”
I raised my eyebrow. “You studied my social media?”
“I did. And your Instagram hardly has any photos of you.”
“Never got behind the selfie trend.” I wrinkled my nose. “Always felt kind of self-indulgent.”
Robert tightened his grip, moving his thumb back and forth across the top of my hand. “Yeah, I get that.”
“I should see what my following is now. I bet it’s exploded.”
