Page 14 of Love Expert

“She’s got a fight coming up.” Fox saunters across the store in heels and a cute little baby bump pushing her otherwise straight-up-and-down body into something a little curvier. She wears a body-hugging dress that stops six inches above her knees, and smells of somethingfruity and delicious as she comes to the counter. Her shoulder brushes mine, then her hand swings out and snatches the cupcake away from Eliza’s greedy nose. “No sugar for the champ. Chris worked hard on her training schedule, and cupcakes are absolutely forbidden until after fight night.”

“Y-you’re a fighter?” I search Eliza’s pouty expression, her bright blue Darling eyes, and her long blonde hair tied into two braids. “And you have a fight coming up?” I gulp. “Soon?”

“I love what I do, but Ihatewhen Chris controls my sugar intake.”

“I just told Maggie about Aria,” Alana announces.

Together, Eliza and Fox grit their teeth.

“Jeremy said he heard you and his dad arguing.” Eliza licks the tip of her finger, presses it over a teeny-tiny crumb on the counter, and eats the morsel shamelessly. “Then he said how they visited his mom’s grave, and Billy told Aria you were probably gonna call CPS on him.” She flashes a bright, beautiful smile. “Then he asked me what CPS meant.”

“Oh. My. God.” I drop my elbows to the counter and my palms to my eye sockets. “It’s me. I’m the monster!”

“Nah.” Fox picks at my cupcake, too. It’s communal now. “Ramone told us how Billy manhandled you at your place the night you got to town, so everyone basically figured you were entitled to a free jab at our second-favorite detective. Dude’s too grumpy for his own good. He needed to be slapped down a little.”

“Slapped down?” I stand tall again. “Slapping him down might mean telling him his lawn sucks, even though we all know it’s the best on the street. Slapping him down is teasing him about a booger stuck on his face. What I did was…” I exhale a nauseating breath. “Oh my gosh. I owe him a massive apology.”

“You don’t wanna do that,” Eliza snickers. “Billy hates dogs shittin’ on his lawn, the book club bitches, gossip… and sympathy. He hates those things equally. Rocking up to his house with wringing hands andI’m sorrysis literally the last thing you should do.”

“You probably should just take a dump on his lawn,” Fox inserts. “It would be less horrifying to that poor man.”

“It’s true.” Alana unlatches her baby and flicks her bra up in one smooth move, passing her daughter to Fox in the next, and fixing her top, all in under a second. Her process is so fluid, so practiced, as Fox pats the gas straight out of the infant’s little belly. “Believe it or not, but Billy isalwaysgrumpy these days. He doesn’t save it just for you. But also, you should know he’s smiled more this week than usual.”

“He’s…” I peer right and meet Fox’s friendly eyes, then left, to Eliza’s. Finally, I look back at Alana and gulp. “What?”

“Dude hates sympathy!Hatesit. Everyone in Plainview knows his business, and the book club bitches especially like nattering at him about how unfortunate his life is and blah blah blah. Butyoudidn’t know about Aria, which means you didn’t stare at him with those sympathetic eyes. Guess who he enjoys arguing with most of all?”

“That nosy neighbor of his,” Eliza taunts. “He comes into the gym several days a week for Jeremy’s karate classes. Usually, he sticks around for the hour, but he’d stare at his phone and do everything he could to avoid talking to literally anyone. But this week, he’s just…” She shrugs. “Smilier. And when Jeremy told the entire class about thebeauuuutifulMiss Sava living next door, Billy even joined in and clarified some of Jeremy’s rendition of the story.”

“He…” I’m done. I’m deceased. Someone dig a hole and put me in it. “I-I don’t get it.”

“Like, when Jeremy said Miss Sava’s probably a witch, but a good witch, since you’resoooonice, Billy said you were joking about that and you don’t cook anyone, since it’s against the law. When Jeremy said you and Billy didthe karateon the porch, Billy said there was no karate, just a giant foot in his mouth and his big meaty hands hurting you. He said he felt terrible about it, and then he lectured my entire class about how men should nevereveruse their karate to hurt a woman like he did.”

“Don’t go over there with a casserole and sympathy,” Fox tuts. “It’ll ruin his good mood.”

“Go over with a baseball bat,” Alana snickers. “Smash the side mirror off his car or something. Film it so I can watch.”

“I’mnotsmashing anything!”I massage my temples, a pained groan working its way along my throat. “You people are insane if you think I’m going to torment that man any more than I already have.”

“Shame.” Eliza steals another cupcake crumb and nibbles it off the tip of her finger. “Dude’s been smiling like he got lucky. First time in alooooongtime.”

“Tell us about you, anyway.” Alana leans on the counter and beams. “Twenty-five freakin’ years! What do you do? Who are your people now?” Her smile softens. “How’s your mom?”

“Mom’s…” I try not to let the bitterness eat me up on the inside. So I sigh instead. “She’s fine. I guess the downside to finding your soulmate when you’re twelve is thatifthat soulmate dies seventy years too soon, the pain kinda cripples the one left behind. She never really recovered, ya know?” Iwrinkle my nose. “She goes through the motions of each day, gets up, makes her bed, goes to work. She exists, but I feel like she’s just waiting.”

Alana’s brows pinch tight in compassion.

“Waiting to die.” I shrug. “Waiting until she can skip into the afterlife and meet up with him on the other side.”

“That’s so awful.” Fox’s murmurs. “Makes it hard towantto find your other half in the first place, huh? To give them your heart and hope it stays safe.”

“Which is why Tommy and Chris aren’t allowed too much freedom,” Alana declares. “They’ve gotta stick around for another seventy years, at least. I refuse to even consider a different outcome.”

“What about work?” Eliza asks. “What do you do? The grapevine is abuzz,” she snickers. “Because you’ve been in town for tenwholedays, and no one has seen you drop a resumé off yet. You too rich to work?”

I choke out a laugh bordering on desperate, then I cover the anxiety swirling in my belly with a smile, and since this is Alana’s store, I meet her eyes and flash my most convincing smile. “Funny that’s come up. I was coming in here to talk to the owner, anyway.”

“Oookay?” At Fox’s offer, Alana accepts her belly-popping baby and sets her diapered butt on the counter between us. “Did you hear the bit about how my business is circling the drain? If so, please don’t take offense when I politely decline whatever it is you’re selling me.”