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Eerie.
Layla sucks in a breath. “Sky…?”
Ziggy nods, reaching across to give the single mother’s hand a squeeze.
Layla shudders, tears forming in her eyes. “My goodness. I can’t turn my back on that kid for a second. He’s at that stage where he’s getting into everything.”
Daphne rubs her friend’s shoulder and offers a sympathetic smile. “You’re a great mom, honey. Don’t you start doubting yourself.”
“Yeah. That’s just the way kids are at that age. They’re curious about everything.”
We all reassure Layla until her insecurities somewhat subside.
I turn to Ziggy as she puts her cards away. “You’re good! I’m going to need to keep you on speed dial.”
Looking quite smug, the psychic winks at me. “Call my hotline anytime, girlie.” She hands me a wrinkled business card.
After our breakfast arrives, our conversation largely centers around Karli’s attempts to balance newly wed life with her food box subscription business and her online classes to become a dietician. Then we also talk about Daphne’s plans for her wedding and Nicky’s job in the PR department of the Sin Valley Saints hockey team.
Then Karli turns to me. “So, tell us, Inez,” she says, when we’re sipping on our second round of drinks.“What was it like on the show?”
Before I can answer, Layla speaks up. “For the record, you deserve a gold medal for how you carried yourself. The way you gracefully handled the drama with all those catty women while still supporting them and fixing their metaphorical crowns along the way…I’d say that’s why all of America fell in love with you, why everyone was rooting for you.”
“Yeah, you rocked it. Us, mere mortals were pretty much in awe of you the whole time.” Nicky smiles.
The other girls nod in agreement.
“Everyone was rooting for me?” I struggle not to cringe. “It feels like the opposite now. Everywhere I go, people have snarky things to say to my face. I can’t imagine what they say behind my back.”
“They’re all just jealous of you,” Daphne says, waving a hand dismissively.
“And their opinions don’t matter anyway,” Karli throws in.
“The production studio wants to interview me about my decision not to go through with the wedding,” I say with a cringe. “It’s in my contract. They’re sort of implying that they’ll sue me if I don’t sit down and speak with them soon.” I know I definitely should keep this information to myself—NDA and all—but I have so much on my chest. I really need someone to confide in.
Ziggy tilts her head to the side. “From the look on your face, I’m guessing you don’t want to do it?”
“I really don’t,” I confess. “They’ll manipulate the narrative. They’ll paint me as the bad guy. I don’t want to be the villain in this story.”
“I think doing an interview might be a good thing, a way to give your side of the story in your own words,” Nicky says. “People are curious about you. Once you satisfy that curiosity, they might leave you alone.”
“You really think so?” I ask her.
She nods. “And that would probably get the tabloid guy off your back, too. Once you tell your side of the story, there’s nothing left for him to dig up. There won’t be this big cloud looming over your head.”
I consider her words, rolling them around in my brain. Maybe she knows about this stuff. She does work in public relations, after all. This is her area of expertise, right?
Ziggy reaches across and squeezes my hand. “My hunch is that, the public will be on your side, as long as you tell the truth. You genuinely made an impression when you were on the show, and you have an authentic fanbase who want to support you.”
My hand leaps to my heart, rubbing at the ache I feel there. “It’s really reassuring to hear someone say that. I feel like I completely screwed things up, running away from everyone’s favorite bachelor the way I did.”
“Ugh. Vance Cavendish,” Karli starts. “That guy gave me a bad vibe. Is he really as dreamy as he tries to seem on TV?”
They all turn to me, ready for me to spill the tea. I shrug. “I don't want to crush your expectations, but he’s just not the guy that his management team has built him up to be. Not that he’s evil or anything. He’s just not perfect like everyone thinks.”
“What do you mean?” Nicky asks.
“He’s all right.” I shrug. “Obviously handsome. Rich. Famous. But it took me until the very end of the experience to realize that none of that mattered to me. He’s not a very genuine person, and the two of us just didn’t really…connect.”
