Page 51 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

“Yeah. Sure you didn’t. Just like you didn’t mean the shit you said that night at Cora’s when the girls were trying to fix me up.” I didn’t know why I was getting into all of this right now. Or why I was letting his words bother me so much in the first place. It wasn't like he hadn’t made similar jokes before. And I joked right back. But for some reason, right now, with so much riding on the night, the idea of my best friend doubting my abilities—even when it came to dating—made me feel like crying.

“Riley.” He reached out and grasped my arms, right under the elbow. “I didn’t mean it like that at all. I promise you. Hey.” He pulled my arms gently until I looked up at him. “I didn’t. I know that’s the guy from the game and I know that he was flirting with you then.”

“You do?”

He rolled his eyes. “I mean, come on. Anyone who was watching could see the way you guys were checking each other out.” His eyes narrowed a little. “Obviously he was into you. All I’m saying is that you’re way too smart to be swayed by some off-island pretty boy.”

I took a deep breath and pulled my arms away. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what my deal is tonight.”

“You’re obviously under a lot of pressure.” His gaze remained fixed on my face. “Something happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not just nervous, you’re upset. I can tell. You’ve been off all week. Why?”

“We don’t have a shot at this,” I blurted out. “Its hopeless. They just picked us to improve their geographic representation.”

“What? That’s crazy—”

“No, Andrew, she told me.”

His eyebrows came down. “Who told you?”

I relayed the entire conversation with Chris and watched as his face got progressively stonier.

“Well, that’s just bullshit,” he said the moment I was done. “We’re not going along with that crap.”

I gaped at him. “You think we should drop out?”

“What? No! Are you crazy?” He flexed his fists, the way he always did when he was pissed about something. “We show that woman that she doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.”

“She’s seen the other towns, Andrew. I think she knows what’s she talking about.”

“She lives in New York,” he sneered. “What does she know about small towns? I don’t care how many of them she sees, that doesn’t mean she knows them. We’re not trying to win her over, Riley, we’re trying to win over regular Americans who will see something in this place when they see it on TV.”

“What will they see?” I asked, hating the uncertain note in my voice. He heard it, too, because he directed his narrowed eyes at me now.

“They’ll see a community that cares about each other. They’ll see people who care about their town and the ones who visit it. They’ll see a place were they would want to spend time. And then they’ll vote for us.”

He sounded so sure about it, so fierce. Almost like he could will it to be true with the sheer force of his voice.

“Hey.” He pushed on my shoulder, nearly making me trip. “I’m really surprised at you, Riley.”

“Why? And don’t push.” I pushed him right back; it didn't affect his balance in the slightest.

“I’ve never known you to back down from a challenge. You freaking love challenges! That’s your whole jam.”

“My jam?” I asked, smiling now. “Since when do you say lame hipster crap like that?”

“Since right now, apparently,” he said, grinning. “But I mean it. You excel at this stuff, Riley. When it’s the bottom of the ninth and the bases are loaded—”

“Okay, now you’re just being melodramatic.”

“Riley James, there may come a day when the courage of Lilac Bay falls—”

“Are we doingLord of the Ringsnow?”

He continued as if I hadn’t said a word, raising his voice now to be heard all across the square. “But it is not this day!”