Page 99 of Set It Right
But we were different people walking very different paths that just happened to cross this summer.
By midmorning, I’d gotten the hang of running the booth. I handed out change, tucked brownies into paper sacks, and explained that, yes, Phoebe’s lemon bars were as life-altering as they looked.
Eventually, Lily arrived to give Alice a break. She more so held court with everyone who stopped by than did any real work, but that was okay. She attracted attention, which made us money, and I was determined to make as much as we could for the library.
Two women approached the booth, and it took me a moment to recognize them. Melanie, I was most familiar with since I had to pass by her every time I visited Cormac’s office. The pretty blond I saw less often, but knew was Cormac’s ex, Victoria.
She really was pretty, and so well put together, I felt a little like a slob in my ball cap, no makeup, and a simple sundress. But that was unfair to us both. If I put in the effort, I could make myself just as presentable, and Victoria had done nothing to deserve my scrutiny.
It was just that I was jealous of her.
That was easy enough to admit. To myself, at least.
“Hi. Can I help you pick out a treat?” I asked.
Melanie scanned the table with a slight sneer, and Victoria pinned me with a hard look.
“Are you just here for the summer?”
“I—” Hadn’t expected that, so it took me a moment to respond. “Yes. Just for the summer. How about you? Do you live in Sugar Brush full time?”
She lifted her lovely chin. “Yes. I moved here two years ago. It’s my home.”
“It’s a great place to live.”
She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, her face inches from mine. I was too surprised to move away.
“We had a really good thing going, you know.”
My brows rose. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean.”
Her bottom lip quivered, and she quickly hardened it. “Cormac and me. We were good together. I thought—” She shook her head. “Then he ended it out of nowhere. Well, I feltlike it was out of nowhere, but Melanie told me you’ve been spending every second together. You’re the reason he broke up with me. It’s just…I can’t figure out what you have that I don’t. What makes you so special?”
My stomach sank, and heat crawled up my neck. I disliked confrontation. Even more, I hated the tremor in Victoria’s voice. I felt terrible she was upset, but she had it wrong.
“I don’t know anything about Cormac and you,” I said quietly. “Whatever happened between you had nothing to do with me.”
She crossed her arms and straightened. “I’m not stupid. One day, we were fine, and the next, you showed up and he told me it was over. And now you’re spending all your time together. I can do the math, can’t you?”
Melanie wrapped her hand around Victoria’s arm. “Come on. We don’t want anything here. There’s much better stuff at the other stands.”
They walked away without a backward glance, leaving my head spinning. What was that? How could she think…?
Lily touched my hand. “Are you okay, darling?”
I turned to her, my heart thumping. “That can’t be right.”
She rose from her seat, taking both my hands and squeezing them. “I think you’d better ask Cormac what’s right and what isn’t. He’ll tell you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “I should, but I can’t leave you here by yourself.”
“Hannah will be here any minute, and Phoebe is on her way. I can handle myself for a little while.” She placed her hand on my back, giving me a light shove. “Go. It’s well past time the two of you had this talk.”
To help Phoebe out, Cormac had volunteered to clean Sugar Rush’s kitchen, so when I burst through the back door, he was scrubbing the stainless counter.
“Hey.” His eyes swept over me, and I knew I had to look about as frazzled as I felt. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I took my cap off and squeezed it with both hands. “Is the shop closed?”
