Page 25 of Not Just Gal Pals

Jenny.

My pulse quickened as I clicked on her text.

Thanks again for coming out tonight. You were a huge help, and I had a really nice time 😀

Remembering George’s and Amanda’s urgings to use more emojis, I scrolled through the options available on my phone. Love heart. Nope, that seemed way too romantic. Smiley face. Nah, that didn’t really convey my agreement to her words. And then I spotted the thumbs-up emoji and smiled.

Perfect.

👍🏻

CHAPTER TWELVE

JENNY

It was Friday afternoon, and the welcome dinner for the bridal party and Amanda’s and Peter’s immediate families was due to start in less than two hours. I should have been focused on placing the name cards on the tables. Instead, holding Blake’s name card in my hand, I stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows of River’s Edge, Sapphire Springs’ fanciest restaurant located on the edge of the Hudson River.

But rather than admiring the spectacular views of the river and the red, orange, and yellow hues of the fall-foliage-covered hills behind it, I was reliving a montage of Blake.

Blake stepping out of the pond, looking like Mr. Darcy incarnate. Blake tenderly pulling hay out of my hair. Blake moaning over the apple fritter. Blake looking at me while I gently tugged the beanie over her hair. Blake laughing as we sat on the floor of the barn, eating way too many brownies.

A warm, trembling sensation appeared between my upper thighs.

Shit. I needed a cold shower or, at the very least, a cold shot of reality, so I opened Blake’s last message and stared at it for the umpteenth time.

I’d agonized over the message I’d sent her on Wednesday night for at least twenty minutes. Should I put an x or a 😄 at the end? Should I say I had a nice time or a great time? Should I delete the message altogether?

And in return, Blake had just sent me a thumbs-up. Not a “Me too 😄” or a “No problem, any time!” Just a thumbs-up. I didn’t know how to interpret it. To me, the thumbs-up emoji came across as a little passive-aggressive or sarcastic. Did it mean she didn’t have a good time? Or was I just reading too much into it? And why did I care so much anyway?

I scrolled up the messages. There was a definite theme to our correspondence. I’d send a text with a smattering of friendly exclamation marks and smiley faces, and she’d respond in well-punctuated monosyllables seriously lacking in warmth.

I sighed. Blake was such an enigma. I would just start thinking we were getting along really well, and then she’d send me a curt text or say something abruptly that gave me the distinct impression she didn’t feel the same way. It wouldn’t have been a problem—after the wedding tomorrow, there'd be no reason to see her unless I, god forbid, needed medical attention—except I couldn’t get her and that damn montage out of my head.

It had been a mistake inviting her to help with the gift bags on Wednesday night. Since she’d offered to help, she’d been the easiest option. But in retrospect, it had just fueled whatever was going on in my head right now.

I looked down at her name card in my hand. Amanda had placed us together on her seating plan for the welcome dinner as well, and I was struggling with a dilemma. I hadn’t shown Blake the seating chart for this dinner, so I could easily move us apart without offending her. But I had enjoyed her company the last few times we’d hung out…

The montage started again. I squeezed my eyes shut. Good god, make it stop.

I strode down the long table until I spotted Maya’s name card and swapped it for Blake’s. I let out a long breath. The montage stopped. Yep, that was definitely the right decision.

My phone vibrated. I picked it up, hoping no last-minute wedding issues had arisen. My stomach dropped. It was Serena.

Loving all the fall content this week! Keep it up. Any luck finding that hot lumberjack?

A vision of Blake in flannel, smirking at me as she caught me making out with the scarecrow, flashed into my mind.

I sent Serena the photo of me kissing the scarecrow instead.

Yep! We’re engaged 😜. Any news on the job front?

I’d been posting one photo a day from the farm, and they’d been doing pretty well. The outtakes video I’d posted on TikTok had actually been my best-performing post in some time. Given its success, I’d created another video featuring photos of me looking ridiculous kissing the scarecrow, which I’d post later tonight in peak time. Yes, I looked absurd, but people liked it, and I didn’t mind making fun of myself. I’d even gained a few hundred new followers, much to my relief. I hadn’t posted the Donna photos yet, though. While the farm employee had assured me Donna loved sitting on people’s heads, and she had looked quite happy perched up there, I was worried someone might claim it was animal cruelty. That was the last thing I needed right now. My phone vibrated again.

🤣 What a gorgeous couple. No new offers yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

I sighed. Hopefully Serena was right. Companies used to ask me to post sponsored content all the time, but no one had approached me for weeks. This did not bode well for my bank balance, especially since I’d cut ties with Ruff after the incident.

Exiting out of Serena’s message, I saw I’d received another message earlier that I’d missed. It was from Jeremy, the artist I’d dated in LA earlier this year—the artist who’d recently gotten engaged.