Page 119 of The Wedding Favor

“That woman knows my name.” She stuffed her notebook in her bag and paused. “She does not like me.”

I slid my phone into my back pocket and waited for her to finish. “Join the club.”

“This town is something else. Everyone knows everyone, don’t they? I asked about a dry cleaner in town while I was at the grocery store yesterday and the cashier looked at me all suspicious-like and said, ‘Why do you need a dry cleaners?’ I think that was pretty self-explanatory from the question.”

I laughed. “It takes a minute for new people to get accepted around here. Think of your first few years here as an interview of sorts.”

“A few years?”

“You’re right. That’s a little low. Maybe five to ten years.”

We slipped out of the classroom and through a side exit door. Someone shouted my name three seconds before a little purple blurb slammed into my side and started talking all in the same breath. “Hi, Iris. Guess what?”

“I have no idea, but nice tiara.” I adjusted the bejeweled crown. It was, of course, also purple.

“Thank you. Dad said to dress for the job I want.”

“I meant doctor or lawyer, not a member of the royal family.” Abe came up behind Hallie. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She tilted her head back and grinned up at him.

Yessica laughed.

“Yessica, this is Abe and Hallie.” I carefully avoided meeting Abe’s gaze. “Yessica is competing in the pageant, too. She just moved here. She’s going to be teaching at the high school in the fall.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, blushing prettily as she shook Abe’s hand. A surge of jealousy seeing the two of them next to each other rushed through me. There wouldn’t be any complications if the two of them dated, would there?

“You, too,” Abe said. He turned to me. “Do you have a minute?”

“I’ll wait for you right here.” Yessica grinned, her eyes darting from Abe to me.

Abe walked to a small group of trees between the parking lot and the baseball field, not too far away from where Hallie waited. We faced each other and I noticed how tired he looked. His hair was messy, like he’d shoved his fingers through it a million times.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted before he could speak. “I was a jerk. I wasn’t thinking about how all this could affect your life. I mean really, I’m nothing to you. I’m just… someone who watches your daughter.”

“No, that’s the problem,” he said, his voice low and fierce. He took a step closer. “You are something to me. I don’t want to pretend you aren’t.”

My breath caught at the intensity of his words. I wanted to throw myself in his arms. But I could feel the weight of twenty pairs of eyes behind me hoping to catch a piece of gossip like a dog at a barbecue. Jerks. Never mind that our sisters were determined to burn the town down over even a possibility of us.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Me neither.”

“Dad,” Hallie yelled behind me. “Can we go yet?”

Neither of us moved, his gaze holding mine. My chest tightened and that silver string tugged hard, pulling me to him.

Sometimes the most important things aren’t ever said out loud. This felt like one of those moments.

Clearing my throat, I took a step backwards. “See you tomorrow then.”

I turned and walked back to where Yessica was waiting. I could feel his eyes on my back the whole way.

Yessica grabbed my arm. “When were you going to tell me about him? I thought we were friends.”

We were friends? I guess we were. I had a friend who was not Gloria. Look at that.

“Why would I tell you about him?”

“Hell-oooo. That kind of chemistry between you and the super-hot guy? I want all the details. All of them.” She started tugging me toward the parking lot. “Come on. We’re going to go get dinner and you are telling me everything.”