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Sofia felt her cheeks heat up. "I didn't say—"
"You didn't have to," Jocie said. "You and Gabby have been glowing since you got back. I know you don't want to talk about it yet, and that's totally fine, but you can't hide it. You're so happy that you even look at Kevin like he's the greatest thing the world has ever created."
"I look at Kevin like that?"
"Yep. You look at him with all sorts of sparkly love in your eyes, which wasn't there before your little trip to Oregon."
Sofia sighed. "Dammit."
Jocie raised her brows. "That's bad news?"
"Oh, Jocie, it's so complicated. And Eliana said I needed to stay away from him, because paparazzi and fans love to take pictures of him, and I could get caught up in any of those photos."
"Oh…" Jocie frowned. "I guess that's true. But if you love him, isn't it worth fighting for? You walked out on him last time, so you're going to do it again?"
"I'm not walking out on him—"
"Mom!" Gabby hurried up. "Keegan said he'd take me for ice cream after the party. That's okay, right?"
"Keegan?" Jocie glanced at Gabby, then at Kevin, then at Sofia. "Holy crap! That's—"
Gabby grimaced, and Sofia slapped her hand over Jocie's mouth. "Ssh!"
Jocie nodded and pushed Sofia's hand away. "Holy crap, though! He got that makeup on so he could be at your party without anyone knowing it was him?"
"I'm sorry, Mom," Gabby said. "I wasn't thinking—"
"No, it's okay." Sofia was relieved actually. It was so difficult keeping secrets from her best friend. "We can trust Jocie." Jocie had been through hell and back with her ex, and she knew about dangerous men.
"Totally," Jocie agreed, watching Keegan with new interest. "No wonder you look at him like you're in love with him! And no wonder he's so happy. You guys are all so adorable together. Yay!"
Gabby grinned. "He's awesome."
"I can see that." Jocie beamed at Gabby. "I'm so happy for you, baby. And I'm so proud of you for stealing your mom's car to go after him. Sometimes a girl just can't listen to her mom."
"Jocie," Sofia said, trying not to laugh. "Seriously? She totaled my car."
"For a great reason! You definitely weren't going to take action, and see what you would have missed." Jocie pulled Gabby into a big hug. "Anytime you want to disobey your mom, you go right ahead and do it. You have great instincts."
"Thanks, Jocie." Gabby hugged her back, and stuck her tongue out at Sofia, which made her burst into laughter.
"Gabby," Keegan called out. "Want to help me bring more coffee cake in from the kitchen?"
"Yes!" She beamed at Sofia and Jocie, then took off, jogging over to Keegan as he waited for her. He nodded at Sofia, then followed Gabby into the kitchen.
Jocie sighed. "That might be the sweetest thing I've ever seen. He's literally wearing about fifty pounds of makeup and prosthetic so he can be with you tonight."
Sofia bit her lip. "But how does this work long-term? He can't wear makeup all the time."
"Find your ex and have him killed."
Sofia blinked. "You actually sounded completely serious there. That was a little terrifying."
Jocie grinned. "I didn't mean that, but it's tempting, isn't it?"
"Maybe a little," Sofia agreed. "But seriously. I don't know how anything can work. I'm not going to move down there, and he's not going to move up here, and how would we work it anyway? Besides, how do I even know he's as good a guy as he seems? I barely know him—"
Jocie hit her with a Christmas dishtowel. "Sometimes you talk too much. Stop trying to talk yourself out of something great. If he turns out not to be your true love, at least you tried. And if he does, well, then you'll owe your kid for the rest of your life for stealing your car."
