Page 71 of Prime Time Romance

I respect that.

There’s a coolish breeze coming off the water, but the sun is hot, and I start to sweat. At first, I blame the fact that I’m still clad head to toe in black, but I also suspect that my body doesn’t deal well with guilt.

I hold the reins with one hand and use the hem of my shirt to wipe my brow. The maneuver draws a curious glance from Luce.

“That’s an interesting outfit for a hot summer day. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you all in black before.”

I can’t read her tone. There’s nothing in it that hints to whether her comment is entirely about my clothing or if she suspects this is not my first introduction to her horse.

“Yeah, well, it’s been fifteen years. Maybe I’ve changed?”

She tilts her head ever so slightly, her eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe you have.”

“So…uh…do you always take two horses out for a walk?”

I watch her body language, looking for clues, but she gives away nothing.

“Sometimes.” She draws out the word. “But today was a special circumstance. Westley here”—she pets the black-and-white horse she’s riding—“got out this morning and took off. I’ve been out here looking for him all day.”

Shit.

I think a small part of me was hoping that Poppy’s prank didn’t play out the way that she hoped it would. That maybe Luce was never going to enter the pageant in the first place and that what happened this morning wasn’t as mean or as terrible as it came off in my head.

“So I guess you missed the pageant sign-up?”

She nods. “Funny how that happened. But I’ve decided to take it as a sign from the universe that it wasn’t meant for me this year. I mean, it’s not like I’d even have a shot at winning anyway.”

“What are you talking about? Of course you would.”

Luce was always one of the final five.

Luce side-eyes me as if I’ve lost my head. “Come on, Sloan. I’d make it into the top three at best. But the crown was never going to come anywhere near my head.”

“It might have.”

Luce rolls her eyes. “I know it’s been a minute since you’ve lived here, but there’s no way you’ve forgotten how things go. The crown always belongs to the gorgeous cheerleader.” She eyes my blond hair. “Maybe, once in a while, it ends up on the equally gorgeous but unassuming girl next door, but only after a life-transforming trip to Lois.”

I self-consciously tuck a stray strand behind my ear but stop as I suddenly pick up on her meaning. “This isn’t…It wasn’t for—”

“It’s fine, Sloan,” Luce interrupts. “You and I both know there’s a mold here in Carson’s Cove. You can’t help that you fit into it, just as I can’t help that I don’t. It is what it is.”

I open my mouth to argue but find I have nothing to say because Luce is right. There is a mold to this place. Young. Attractive. Flawed only in a way that still makes you likable. If you don’t fit into it, you’re assigned another role. Outsider. Trouble. Mean girl.

“So why enter, then?” It’s the piece that still doesn’t quite fit.

Luce pulls on her reins, and her horse comes to a stop. Buttercup does the same without a command. I watch Luce inhale, then pause, as if she’s choosing her next words. “Because I am a freaking force to be reckoned with,” she finally says. “But nobody around this place cares. I had this dream of getting up on that stage and making it to the question round, and when the emcee asked me why I wanted to be named Ms. Lobsterfest, I’d tell them about my farm. How I’m driving real change. Sustainable practices. Low environmental impacts. I could show people in this town how smart and accomplished I am. And for once, the right things would be celebrated. But today has been a gross reminder of how stuck this place is. It’s the same shit, over and over and over again. So maybe it’s time I learn my lesson and be grateful that at least I don’t have to put on a dress.”

I have loved Carson’s Cove for as long as I can remember. Spencer Woods was the boyfriend I aspired to fall in love with, and Poppy Bensen was the best friend I aspired to find. But now that I’m here, living through the makeovers and the pageants, I’m starting to rethink everything.

“Your farm sounds pretty great.”

Luce nods but doesn’t smile. “It’s incredible up there. You should really come and see it sometime…. If you haven’t already.”

I forgot in the last few moments what we did to Luce this morning. But now the guilt returns in a fast and furious wave. I open my mouth, still uncertain if I’m going to explain what happened or just skip to straight-up groveling, but Luce clicks her tongue, and her horse heads away from the water toward the big patches of beach grass in front of Sloan’s house.

I do the same, but Buttercup doesn’t move. “Come on, girl.” I kick. I tug the reins. I whisper sweet nothings into her big brown ears. It’s futile. The animal won’t budge an inch.

With nowhere to go, Luce’s accusations start to seep in, and I think back to the Carson’s Cove episodes, especially the early ones.