Page 63 of A Thirst for Franc

“Wait. How the hell does Sherry know? She’s never even met her.”

“Rose showed her a picture on social media.”

“How does Rose know her name?”

“You know Rose. Girl missed her calling in the FBI. She can find anyone as long as she has an internet connection and five minutes.”

It was why Rose ran all of Vine Valley Vineyards social media accounts. She was the most tech savvy out of all of us as she grew up with the internet and didn’t even remember the days of dial-up.

“Hey, you two,” Addy said. She swapped out the boots she wore at the farm for a pair of sandals, and her navy-blue t-shirt was tucked into a pair of cutoff shorts.

“Cake?” Lainey asked.

“No, thanks.”

“I’m going to go pass the rest of this out before the meeting starts and things get crazy.” Lainey scooted around us with two plates in her hand.

“It was nice to see you at the farm,” Addy said.

“I feel guilty. It took so long to get there. I’m happy I finally did. You and your mom have a great operation going there.”

“It is on most days when the goat isn’t being a jackass and the pigs aren’t squealing their little heads off.” She bumped my arm with her elbow. “We should get a drink sometime.”

I froze. My lips parted, and while words should have come easy—a simple yes or no—they didn’t. The only woman I wanted to get a drink with was Quinn.

“Wow, that look says it all.”

“No, no,” I blurted. “I mean, it’s not like that. It’s just…” I didn’t know how to say I was seeing someone when we kept that to ourselves. This whole keeping it a secret bullshit was getting on my damn nerves. I was ready to say fuck it, storm up to the podium, and let the whole town know I was sleeping with Quinn.

“You’re seeing someone else.”

“Kind of,” I said. “It’s complicated. I guess.”

“It always is.” She smiled and forked a piece of cake into her mouth. “It’s Quinn, isn’t it?”

Surprise slammed into me, and I nearly fumbled the plate in my hand. Thankfully, I didn’t, and the cake was safe. “How’d you know?” I asked, done pretending like Quinn wasn’t the woman in my life. She was, and I didn’t want her to be my dirty little secret, just as she had feared.

“That day at the farm, I saw the way you looked at her. You never looked at me that way.”

“It’s not that you’re not beautiful,” I said. “You are. Very.” I remembered Quinn pointing out that very fact. “I was closed off to the idea of any relationship after what I went through.”

“But not with Quinn.”

“Somehow she opened my eyes.” I had no idea why it was Quinn, but I didn’t want to question it. If anything, I figured the universe placed her in my path, and I was grateful for that. For her.

“I’m happy for you,” Addy said.

“Thanks. And I know someone is out there for you. Someone better than me. Someone who can see all of you.”

“I hope so. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get to my mom.”

“Of course.”

Addy made her way through the crowd and stood beside Cindy. She said something to Cindy, and her lips turned down, but she nodded as if she understood.

My heart stopped as I realized I hadn’t told Addy not to say anything about me and Quinn. But then the panic seized, and a calmness came over me. I was done hiding. Quinn was right. It had been two days, but it felt like an eternity. I was with Quinn St. Clair, and I didn’t care who knew.

Craig, the high school principal and the head of this circus, took to the podium. He hit the gavel a couple times to get everyone’s attention, and I found a seat next to Lainey. She rubbed her hands together with pure amusement. “Here we go!”

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