Page 62 of Enchanted to Meet You

But the second I saw who was getting out of the cherry-red Mercedes coupe in front of my house, it felt like the sky had turned dark.

“Oh, no.” I ducked behind my curtains.

“Who is it?” Derrick didn’t duck. He just stood there in the window, staring at the woman who was flouncing down my front walk, her perfectly straight blond hair flowing gently in the breeze. “Is she from your homeowners association, or something? Did I need to get a permit from them first before installing these cameras?”

“How can you not know who that is?” I reached out to pull him behind the curtains with me. “It’s Rosalie Hopkins. She practically runs the WCW!”

“Oh.” He looked blank-faced for a second, then said calmly, “I’ve never met her.”

“Yeah, well, lucky you. What do we do? Do we let her in?”

“Of course we let her in. Why not? We’re not doing anything wrong.” He raised his eyebrows at me meaningfully. “Right now, anyway.”

“Funny. Very funny.” Although it was sort of funny. Rosalie, in her stylish ensemble of puffy vest, slouchy camel sweater, riding jodhpurs, and boots, did look a little like she was striding down my front lane to either lodge a complaint or welcome me to the neighborhood. There was a determined expression on her face, and a cellophane-wrapped basket of what looked like muffins inher hands. “Billy must have told her about you. What are we going to—?”

But it was too late. Rosalie’s knock was brisk. “Hello, Jess?” she called. “Hi, it’s me, Rosalie.”

“Coming,” I called. There was no point in pretending I wasn’t home. I was sure Rosalie had seen me through the window. Besides, she, like Billy from the day before, would have heard us talking through the door.

“Well, hello, Rosalie,” I said, giving her my biggest, fakest smile as I swung open the front door. “What a surprise. How are you?”

“Well, I’m just great, Jess! It’s good to see you looking so...well.” On the wordwell, Rosalie’s gaze strayed to Derrick, standing behind me with his drill, and stayed there.

“Thanks so much,” I gushed. “Won’t you come in? Rosalie, this is Derrick.” I didn’t bother telling Rosalie Derrick’s last name. I knew she’d have already learned it from Billy. “Derrick, this is my old friend from high school, Rosalie. Derrick’s visiting for a few days from the city, Rosalie.”

“Oh, how lovely.” Rosalie was quick to take in everything, from the tool in Derrick’s hand to his tattoo to his motorcycle boots. “It’s always nice to get out of the city this time of year, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Derrick said, casually swinging an arm around my shoulders. “The weather’s been just beautiful. Except for a little hail yesterday, right, sweetheart?”

“Oh, right, yeah, the hail.” Why did the way he saidsweetheartmake my heart stutter, even though we were in a fake relationship? Well, fake-ish. “The hail wasn’t so great.”

“Oh, that hail.” Rosalie shook her head as she swung her basket of muffins onto my coffee table, the autumn-colored cellophane crinkling like crazy. “Wasn’t that nuts? Bill told me whathappened to your car, Jess. Such a shame. You know he’s had it towed over to Hopkins, and they’re doing everything they can to get the dents out. And of course if you need a loaner until it’s fixed, well, you only need to ask.”

Wait. What was happening? Rosalie was actually being...nice?

“Um,” I said, confused. “Thanks.”

“And, here, Jessica, I brought this for you.” She pointed at the basket. “My world-famous pumpkin spice muffins with streusel topping. Ha ha, I say world-famous, but really it’s only my kids and Bill who love them. I hope you will, too, though.”

“Gee, thanks, Rosalie.” I looked through the orange-and-red cellophane into the basket. There really were a ton of muffins inside, each with a piece of raffia tied in a bow around it, along with a gift card with a gold rose on the front—Rosalie’s longtime chosen personal insignia. “How thoughtful of you. You really didn’t have to.”

She batted her faux mink lashes. “But Iwantedto. I just felt so bad for you. I know how much you loved that car. You’ve had it forever. Still, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe now is the time to test-drive something new. It’s always good to try new things, isn’t it?”

When she said “try new things,” she glanced over at Derrick.

Sothat’swhat this was about: a peace offering because she thought I’d finally moved on from her husband. Like I hadn’t moved on from Billy more than a decade ago.

But it turned out that wasn’t all she was talking about.

“I heard you’re a Reach for the Sky mentor for one of my Harvest Princess candidates.” Her smile was bright. “Gabriella Aquino?”

“Uh.” Rosalie had gotten her information wrong, but that wasno surprise in a town as small as West Harbor. Gossip here flew as fast as birds, and was about as reliable.

But I saw the quick warning glance Derrick sent me, and so I didn’t correct her. Besides, I was curious myself to see where this was going.

“I did sign up to be a mentor,” I admitted. “But I haven’t really had much time to—”

“Gabby’s such a darling,” Rosalie purred. “We all just love her to death.”