Page 19

My phone buzzes in my hoodie pocket, and based on the incessant pace, it’s a phone call, not a string of text messages.

I pull it out to see Grace’s contact info across my screen. I flash Maribel an apologetic look. “Sorry, I need to take this.”

She leans back and waves dismissively. “Don’t mind me.”

Looking at the time on my phone, we’ve spent the last hour catching up. That’s exactly what I intend to continue doing more of, as soon as I’m off the phone with Grace.

“Josie’s phone. Home of the world’s best friend. How might I help you today?” I hold the phone to my ear, watching my old boss roll her eyes while Taylor covers her mouth to smother a laugh.

Grace lets out a confused sound. “I thought I was the world’s best friend? I pretty clearly remember offering to pick you up in my husband’s private jet last weekend.”

“Yeah, technically that’s your private jet now too, sweetheart. And while the jet gives off some serious BDE, I’m pretty sure I was the one who saved your life in an avalanche.”

Grace groans. “Ugh. Fine. I will let you continue to hold that over my head—for now.”

“Aww, thanks. So, what’s up with you on this fine Saturday morning? Shouldn’t you be getting maritally railed by your hot-billionaire-Daddy-husband right now?” I look over to see Taylor’s jaw drop again and her face turn a shade of red that matches her hair. Maribel leans forward, propping her elbows on the table and mouths details. I cover the speaker with my hand and wink. “Later. Don’t worry.”

“Ha. Ha,” Grace deadpans. “For your information, we already did that. Twice.”

I make an impressed face, even though she can’t see me. “Alright, girl. Way to rub it in.”

“You’re the one who brought it up, not me. Anyway, I was just calling to see if you’re doing alright and want to reconsider that extraction I offered? Still happy to send the jet to get you, or come down and join you in my van. I’d love to see Sisi again. I’ve been meaning to catch up with her after the you know…” Grace trails off, clearly referring to Sisi’s not-wedding weekend. “So really, it’s no big deal. Just say the word.”

I reconsider that offer. I still don’t have a firm date on when my van will be fixed or how long I’ll be here. Of course, that’s thanks to parts for my van being harder to find than the pointy-toothed, rabbit-eared doll I noticed Taylor had conspicuously clipped to her bag.

I look around the cozy bakery. It’s been nice catching up with Maribel today. Being stuck in Sterling Springs hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. Who knows how long that will last.

“Thanks. I’ll think—” I’m interrupted by a hollow tapping on the front window. I look up to see Sisi standing on the sidewalk, peering in with an amused grin. I wave, gesturing for her to come inside, because why not? The more the merrier.

The bells on the door jingle when it shuts behind her. There are now four of us in this tiny clown car of a bakery.

“Oh my god, there you are. I’ve been looking for you all—” I turn to face her, and she cuts herself off when she sees my phone. “Oh, sorry,” she whispers with a wide apologetic smile.

I lower the phone. “Just talking with Grace.” Lifting the phone back to my ear, I toss her a wink. “I just ran into your friend, Sisi, at the bakery. Putting you on speaker.”

I set the phone down on the table just in time for Grace’s enthusiasm to practically ooze out of the phone. “Sisi! I was telling Josie how I wanted to come down and see you.”

“Come on down. You know you’ve got a place to stay.”

Grace huffs a laugh. “I might just do that. In the meantime, keep Josie from getting into too much trouble. And speaking of her, you sure you’re good, Josie?”

“I’m good. Don’t worry about me. I’ll let you know if anything changes, but I should be able to have my van back before the festival.”

In the background, I can hear TJ’s deep but muffled voice, followed by Grace giggling. “Okay, well, if anything changes, let me know. Bye, ladies!”

“Byeeee,” Sisi and I sing in unison. I note the way Maribel shakes her head and watches us with a pleased smile plastered on her face. There were too many times to count where she would tell Sisi to let me get back to work, only to turn around and give her a free coffee or leftover pastries while the two of them would tease me about Sly. They were relentless about how we were basically attached at the hip. The only reason he wasn’t in the bakery every morning on the weekends during the school year—sitting at this very table—was because he was busy working on cars with his dad.

I tuck my phone back in my pocket. This unplanned trip down memory lane is leaving me with another realization. Keeping my past life in Sterling Springs secret from my present-day world with Grace might turn out to be more of a challenge than I thought.

I turn to Sisi, ignoring that thought because that’s not a problem I need to solve today. “You said you were looking for me. What’s up?”

“Oh yeah,” she says as if she did, in fact, forget she came in here for a reason. “What are you doing later?”

I give her a puzzled look. “Probably just hanging out at the motel? There aren’t really that many options for entertainment around here.”

What I don’t say is that I was planning on also working this afternoon, and by work, I mean filming content back at the motel. Just because my studio—a.k.a. my van—is decommissioned for the time being doesn’t mean my day job stops. I haven’t posted any new content for a bit, but I’m planning on it tonight.

She claps her hands together with a devious grin. “Perfect. Then you’re free to come to The Hatch with me tonight.”