Chapter 18
INEZ
18
Little known fact—The Pancake Village serves the best mimosas in Starlight Falls. Don’t tell Nolan I said that.
It’s a cute little brunch place that’s famous around town for artfully slathering their fluffy buttermilk pancakes in layers and layers of chocolate, whipped cream and syrupy goodness. And in my opinion, their mimosa’s are unmatched. It’s all very fancy pants for Starlight Falls.
I’m so excited that Karli and her friends invited me to meet them here. I’m also a bit nervous to hang out with the girls. But most importantly, I’m relieved for an excuse to be out of the house while Nolan and Stella are enjoying some bonding time, rehearsing for her upcoming piano recital today.
When I get to the restaurant, I’m surprised to find I’m the first one here. I slide into a large booth near the front and I wait for Karli, Layla, Daphne, and Nicky to join me. Daphne also mentioned that her sister Ziggy is in town for a visit and I can’t wait to catch up with her. That girl is always a riot.
Before I can give in to the temptation to check the new emails on my phone, the girls arrive in a flourish, all cute and summery in their prettiest sundresses. There are hugs and squeals and more hugs as they crowd around me in the booth. Pancakes and mimosas are quickly ordered, and Ziggy pulls out her tarot deck.
“Will this really work to find my keys?” Layla asks. “You know I’m usually super skeptical about this tarot thing. But they’ve been missing for a while, and I haven’t been able to drive my car anywhere all week.” She turns to me, eyes wild. “Have you ever tried lugging around a twenty pound baby in a car seat, with no car?”
I chuckle. “I can’t say that I have. But if Ziggy can’t find them for you, I’ll come over and lead the search party.”
She cringes. “I’ll take you up on that offer if I have to.”
Ziggy is stoic as she works, shuffling her deck and slowly flipping cards over one by one.
“What does it say? What does all that mean?” Daphne tilts her head from side to side, pointing at the symbols spread out all over the table.
Ziggy rearranges the cards, frowning as she concentrates. Then she snaps her fingers and points at Layla. “The kitchen sink. No. No. The garbage disposal. Your car keys may be in the garbage disposal. Have you looked there?”
I’m about to laugh at such a silly idea, but Layla doesn’t seem to find it funny. She stares at Ziggy for a moment. Then she gasps and her jaw falls open. “Oh my gosh…”
“What? Are your keys really in the garbage disposal?” I ask.
Layla’s jaw is still on the table. “I…yeah, I think she’s right. The disposal was making this horrible sound a few days ago, so I stopped using it. I was going to see if Archer could come take a look at it, but I’ve been too busy walking my butt around town to figure out what was wrong with it.”
Karli leans back, taking a sip of her drink. “This is wild.”
“Tell me about it,” Layla says in agreement. “Apparently, I don’t need a handyman after all.” She looks at the fortuneteller. “Gosh—how’d they end up there anyway?”
The ominous way Ziggy eyeballs Layla, it seems like the cards gave her that answer, too.
Eerie.
Layla sucks in a breath. “Sky…?”
Ziggy nods, reaching across to give the single mother’s hand a squeeze.
Layla shudders, tears forming in her eyes. “My goodness. I can’t turn my back on that kid for a second. He’s at that stage where he’s getting into everything.”
Daphne rubs her friend’s shoulder and offers a sympathetic smile. “You’re a great mom, honey. Don’t you start doubting yourself.”
“Yeah. That’s just the way kids are at that age. They’re curious about everything.”
We all reassure Layla until her insecurities somewhat subside.
I turn to Ziggy as she puts her cards away. “You’re good! I’m going to need to keep you on speed dial.”
Looking quite smug, the psychic winks at me. “Call my hotline anytime, girlie.” She hands me a wrinkled business card.
After our breakfast arrives, our conversation largely centers around Karli’s attempts to balance newly wed life with her food box subscription business and her online classes to become a dietician. Then we also talk about Daphne’s plans for her wedding and Nicky’s job in the PR department of the Sin Valley Saints hockey team.
Then Karli turns to me. “So, tell us, Inez,” she says, when we’re sipping on our second round of drinks.“What was it like on the show?”
Before I can answer, Layla speaks up. “For the record, you deserve a gold medal for how you carried yourself. The way you gracefully handled the drama with all those catty women while still supporting them and fixing their metaphorical crowns along the way…I’d say that’s why all of America fell in love with you, why everyone was rooting for you.”
“Yeah, you rocked it. Us, mere mortals were pretty much in awe of you the whole time.” Nicky smiles.
The other girls nod in agreement.
“Everyone was rooting for me?” I struggle not to cringe. “It feels like the opposite now. Everywhere I go, people have snarky things to say to my face. I can’t imagine what they say behind my back.”
“They’re all just jealous of you,” Daphne says, waving a hand dismissively.
“And their opinions don’t matter anyway,” Karli throws in.
“The production studio wants to interview me about my decision not to go through with the wedding,” I say with a cringe. “It’s in my contract. They’re sort of implying that they’ll sue me if I don’t sit down and speak with them soon.” I know I definitely should keep this information to myself—NDA and all—but I have so much on my chest. I really need someone to confide in.
Ziggy tilts her head to the side. “From the look on your face, I’m guessing you don’t want to do it?”
“I really don’t,” I confess. “They’ll manipulate the narrative. They’ll paint me as the bad guy. I don’t want to be the villain in this story.”
“I think doing an interview might be a good thing, a way to give your side of the story in your own words,” Nicky says. “People are curious about you. Once you satisfy that curiosity, they might leave you alone.”
“You really think so?” I ask her.
She nods. “And that would probably get the tabloid guy off your back, too. Once you tell your side of the story, there’s nothing left for him to dig up. There won’t be this big cloud looming over your head.”
I consider her words, rolling them around in my brain. Maybe she knows about this stuff. She does work in public relations, after all. This is her area of expertise, right?
Ziggy reaches across and squeezes my hand. “My hunch is that, the public will be on your side, as long as you tell the truth. You genuinely made an impression when you were on the show, and you have an authentic fanbase who want to support you.”
My hand leaps to my heart, rubbing at the ache I feel there. “It’s really reassuring to hear someone say that. I feel like I completely screwed things up, running away from everyone’s favorite bachelor the way I did.”
“Ugh. Vance Cavendish,” Karli starts. “That guy gave me a bad vibe. Is he really as dreamy as he tries to seem on TV?”
They all turn to me, ready for me to spill the tea. I shrug. “I don't want to crush your expectations, but he’s just not the guy that his management team has built him up to be. Not that he’s evil or anything. He’s just not perfect like everyone thinks.”
“What do you mean?” Nicky asks.
“He’s all right.” I shrug. “Obviously handsome. Rich. Famous. But it took me until the very end of the experience to realize that none of that mattered to me. He’s not a very genuine person, and the two of us just didn’t really…connect.”
“I don’t know,” Layla laughs. “For that kind of filthy rich, most women would skip the connection.”
I cringe hard. “I almost did, too. But I just couldn’t fake it. And I couldn’t stop thinking about everything I’d left behind, here at home in Starlight Falls.”
“Everything like what?” Daphne’s forehead crinkles with curiosity.
“Yeah, what’s everything?” Karli asks slyly.
“More like, who’s everything?” Ziggy smirks, like she already knows the answer. Good grief. Even Ziggy seems to know what’s going on in my life, and she doesn’t even live here.
These girls are something else. They have me tripping over my response. “Well, I mean…I guess…It’s just that…”
Karli cackles. “I think we know exactly who everything is.”As I struggle not to blush, Karli shoots me a grin that I can’t decode.
I cringe. “Am I that obvious?”
Nicky’s eyes twinkle with conspiracy. “Well, Ronan had his ‘theories’ about why you were holding back from that bachelor dude.”She leans in. “Hint—it had a lot to do with my boyfriend’s cranky twin brother.”
The girls giggle and I feel my cheeks growing hot. As much as I try to remain in denial, I’m just as transparent as can be. And slowly, my feelings for Nolan are starting to become clear to me, too. I can’t help the way I’m all tied up in knots over him.
The man bought me a dresser. He asked me to stay. And all I’ve ever really wanted in life is somewhere to belong. But Nolan never said he sees me as more than an employee. What if he only ever sees me as a friend?
I’m a fool.
Ziggy nudges me. “You want a reading?”
“Huh?” I startle, realizing I lost track of the conversation around me.
“You want a tarot reading? It might help,” she says quietly, staring at me with a knowing eye.
I shake myself back to the present. “Sure, why not?”
“Okay, let’s do things a little differently,” Ziggy suggests as she shuffles her deck. “Think of a question in your head. Think about it. But don’t tell me.”
“Okay…Hmm.” I don’t even know what to ask.
I’m beginning to realize that what I want is a life here with Nolan and Stella. So how do I move forward with exploring the opportunities that could be waiting for me outside of Starlight Falls? I think to myself.
Ziggy takes her time, like before, flipping over three cards. She taps her finger to her chin and then frowns. She looks up, meeting my eyes.
“Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe you don’t have to choose? Maybe there’s a way you can have both of the things you want?”
“Both…?” I whisper, a sense of overwhelm sweeping over me.
Ziggy nods, a soft smile on her face. “Both.”
That should be good news. But instead, it only leaves me more confused. Dammit.