Page 173 of While You Were Trending

“Did you know Alex was divorced?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since it happened. Look up, please.”

“You didn’t think to tell me?”

“I didn’t think to tell you something that would’ve made you swim in even more unnecessary guilt? No. No, I didn’t think to tell you.”

“What else aren’t you telling me?”

“That I think Declan would stay if you asked him to.”

My eyes water, and I blink fast to keep them from ruining my face.

Mabel wouldn’t lie about this.

“I like him,” I whisper. “I like him so much it scares me, and I…”

Am not sure how to put what I’m feeling into words.

“You’d rather spend your life afraid of making another mistake in love?” She doesn’t look at me as she caps the mascara.

“No. Yes. Maybe. I—I have you and Pip and Olivia and Samantha and Dori and Heath and Cricket and Lav. And I?—”

“Deserve a relationship with a man who adores you too.” She squeezes my shoulder. “You don’t have to date him, Gin, but you’re doing yourself a disservice if you let fear dictate your decisions.”

I swallow hard, then I rise from the toilet to check my face in the mirror.

Eyes perfect. Brows perfect. Lipstick perfect.

My earrings are silver knots made locally by one of my favorite artists, and I have my favorite rings on three fingers.

My hair is a mass of curls spilling over my shoulders—no ponytail, because Declan said he doesn’t like my hair in a ponytail, which I over-obsessed about until I decided thatIlike to wear my hair down, so I’m doing it for me too.

If I were Mabel, watching me get ready for this date, I’d tell her the same things she’s telling me.

“Deep breath, Gin,” Mabel says. “A friend is taking you to see a drag queen who adores you.”

“We might stay overnight.” I’ve already told her a half dozen times, but I say it again.

And it’s not like we haven’t spent every night together for the past week anyway.

But here at the winery, we’re shielded from the outside world.

Being in a hotel—that’s in public.

Mabel hugs me tight. “You’re going to have a wonderful time with an old friend, and I can’t wait to hear all about it tomorrow.”

“Ginny?” Dori calls from below. “Declan’s here.”

I blow out a short breath while Mabel squeezes me just a little tighter.

“You’ve got this,” she murmurs.

I slip into my wedges, then head for the stairs.