Page 91 of Book Club Confidential

“Very supportive,” Tessa said. “Highly compassionate.”

“I wanted to talk it out with him, but he got agitated. He thinks this is good news, because now I can enjoy myself in the days before the wedding. I can spend more time with our moms and friends and take as long as I want to find something new to do with my time, because I don’t need to work anymore. And Bryce thinks I’ll like being a stay-at-home wife.”

Tessa pulled her lips into an exaggerated frown. “Stay-at-home wife?” Did Bryce know her at all? Hallie would go bananas in a week without something to do. She never sat still, and everyone needed purpose, right? “What would you do all day?”

“I have no idea, but I’m not doing that,” Hallie said. “I can’t spend my thirties floating around on a raft in the pool, working on the perfect tan or managing the schedules of the landscapers and cleaning staff.”

“You get cleaning staff?”

Hallie shot her a withering look. “All I know is I have to get back to work before we’re married, or he’ll insist I stay home. To him, we don’t need the money, so why would I work? Tess,” she said, voice cracking, “I can’t just rattle around that big-ass house all day wondering what’s going on outside the gilded cage.”

Tessa bit her tongue against a myriad of concerns. Not the least of which was that Hallie apparently saw her future home, or marriage, or both, as a gilded cage.

Hallie lifted a stone from the ground near her foot and flung it hard into the water. “This is not the life I dreamed about.”

Tessa wrapped an arm around Hallie and pulled her against her side. She tipped her head against her friend’s temple. “You want to get something to eat?”

Hallie shook her head and lifted the apple from her lap. “This is all I need.”

“Okay,” Tessa said. She’d lost her appetite too.

They were officially halfway through their thirty-day quest to become the heroines of their stories, and two of them had been fired. Kate didn’t have a boss but would soon be out of an income when her following became too insignificant to garner brand deals.

“We’re really terrible at being heroines,” Hallie said, apparently thinking the same thing as Tessa. “I’m not even sure we’re cut out to be sidekicks, but it’s way too late to unspill this smoothie.”

Tessa held her more tightly, hating how much she agreed with those statements.

Hallie made a soft sound and jostled her, then broke loose and climbed to her feet in a clumsy rush. Her eyes went wide, energy suddenly soaring. “I have to go.”

“What? Why?”

Hallie walked backward away from Tessa, a crazed look on her pretty face. “I have an idea. I’ll call you!”

“Wait!” Tessa stood, brushing dirt from her pants. “Where are you going?”

Hallie’s gaze swept over the field, the patio filled with locals, the food trucks, and the small playground across the water. “Give me a couple of days. There’s a lot to do, and I’ve got to hurry! Tell Kate!”

“Tell her what?” Tessa called.

Hallie disappeared over the bridge toward downtown.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tessa spent the next two days improving and polishing her résumé, then sending it out to any job posting that remotely matched her interests. Trying to squeeze all of her experience onto one page fully reinforced how much she’d learned and accomplished while working at Hello, Marketing. Surely, she’d hear from the companies soon.

She’d sent a number of texts to Hallie since they’d parted ways on the bridge. Hallie consistently responded with short generic messages, and once she’d included a hastily taken headshot with the words proof of life and a bat emoji. Kate confirmed a similar experience, and the two hoped Hallie’s temporary absence meant she was finally working through her premarital concerns with Bryce.

Tessa sent text messages to clients whose numbers she’d saved in her phone. She’d even made a trip downtown to see as many of the shop owners in person as possible. Telling them she couldn’t work with them any longer proved far more emotional than expected, but everyone she spoke to accepted her vague explanation of needing time away from the workforce to realign her professional goals. She was certain they recognized her blatantly canned speech when they heard it. Still, they’d all wished her the best. Many even offered to write a referral letter if she needed one.

Unfortunately, the only advertising companies currently hiring were a long commute from Harbor Heights. And she didn’t want to move.

What else could she do when every bit of her education and experience was in marketing?

Maybe a better question was, What else would she want to do?

It’d been years since she last asked herself anything of the sort, and the vast possibilities scared her. Was this how Hallie felt? And what was she up to? Why had she disappeared?

Frustrated, Tessa made a light lunch at noon and called her brother.