Chapter 17
ON FRIDAY MORNING, I WAS TEMPTED TO CHECK on Fair Winds after Valerie and Junior left for the day.
It felt strange having a little kid there, especially with all my parents’ trinkets and treasures from their travels.
Relax, I told myself as I buckled my seat belt and turned over Brigitta’s ignition.
You’re being overprotective. Valerie promised Junior would be on his best behavior.
But you saw him bring in a bag of cheese puffs! another part of my brain fired back. He’s going to get them on the furniture, and they’re going to stain—
I slammed on my brakes at the end of the driveway. I’d almost driven straight into the front gate. Get it together, Audrey.
Get it together.
Get it together!
Henry was already in the quad, iced coffees in hand, when I got to school. “This doesn’t look like Rise he’d probably go back to calling her “Pinks” by lunch.
“Okay, so you’re back to being friends,” I heard myself say, inexplicably pissed. “But I’m your girlfriend, Hank. I might be more like eight to ten minutes away, but still, I’m your girlfriend.” My heart thudded in my chest. “You could’ve called me.”
Then I shoved my iced coffee at him and walked away.
I AVOIDED HENRY FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, mostly because I was embarrassed. I might’ve been his girlfriend, but I was not his girlfriend. Who cared if Ellie drove him to school? I definitely shouldn’t.
And wasn’t that what our whole ruse was about anyway? Maybe it missed the mark for Griff and me, now that he’d asked Kenzie to prom, but for Henry…
If anything, I owed him a congratulatory iced coffee.
Speaking of…
Griff found me after gym as we were walking back to the locker rooms. Our last unit of the year was pickleball. Everyone found it funny how seriously Griff took it, even our teacher.
I mean, it was pickleball.
“Hey, Audrey.” He flashed me a smile. “How’s the bank account?”
“Growing,” I quipped, though my chest tightened. No one had booked Fair Winds after I raised its nightly rate.
He held out a fist for me to bump. I hesitated before knocking my knuckles against his.
Was I irrationally annoyed with Henry? Yes, but I also couldn’t stop thinking about running into Griff at Ottimo…
and talking about prom. He’d seemed a little off after finding out that Henry hadn’t promposed to me yet.
Was he second-guessing asking Kenzie? Or at least kicking himself for not waiting until Henry had asked me?
It kind of felt that way.
“My parents get home in nine days,” I added, not wanting to dwell too long. “I just need to squeeze in a few more guests, and then I’ll be all set.”
I sounded more confident than I felt.
But my heart sang with determination. I was closer to attending the Blue Ridge School of Glass than I’d ever been; all my hard work—glassblowing, catering, and Here-to-Stay hosting—was going to pay off. I’d make sure it did.
“Thank you, Griff.” I smiled and reached out to give his arm a squeeze. “Without your help, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Really? I could hear Henry, and picture him with a skeptically raised brow. Has he really been indispensable?
“You’re welcome!” Griff said. “And hey, I have another idea…”
“Are you going to make me guess?” I laughed when he didn’t say more.
He shook his head. “But I can’t tell you here.” He gestured around. “It has to do with your current venture.”
“Ah.” I nodded, appreciative that he knew not to mention Here-to-Stay at school.
“We can talk later,” he said. “Are you going to homecoming tonight?”
“Of course,” I told him. “Homecoming” was the Constellation catering crew’s affectionate nickname for the season-opener party Caroline Hopper threw at the beginning of every summer.
It was always a ton of fun. This year’s venue was an upscale restaurant called Swan, right on the water. Attire was semi-formal.
“Cool,” Griff said, then rocked back on his heels. “Henry driving you?”
Yep! I thought, but swallowed the word.
“Actually, no,” I said lightly. “I don’t think so. His car didn’t start this morning, and he’s not sure when it’ll be fixed, so it looks like I’m driving.”
“No, you’re not.” Griff grinned. “I’ll drive you.”
My heart leaped. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I’ll grab you, then Chen.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said coolly, tucking a sweaty lock of hair behind my ear. It had fallen out of its tiny ponytail. “He lives closer to Ellie than he does to me. I’m sure she’d be happy to drive him.”
“Perfect!” Griff winked. “I’ll see you at six-thirty.”
Then he pushed through the boys’ locker room door, heading for the shower.
“Are you shampoo-then-body-wash?” I blurted before he disappeared, remembering my dream/nightmare featuring Griff upstairs in the shower. “Or body-wash-then-shampoo?”
“Body-wash-then-shampoo!” he called back.
Huh, I thought as the door swung shut.
THERE WAS AN UNFAMILIAR CADILLAC PARKED outside Fair Winds when I got home from school and walked over to casually check on things. “You must be the hostess with the mostest!” someone called as I squinted through the Caddy’s windows and saw a booster seat in the back.
My eyes snapped up to the balcony, where an elderly woman stood. She had short white hair and wore a green-and-white geometric-print tunic.
Junior’s grandmother, I surmised.
“Yes, that’s me,” I replied. “I’m Audrey, and…” I searched for a reason to be here. “I was wondering if Valerie needed anything?”
“Val’s not due back until late,” her mother said, slowly starting down the stairs. I suddenly felt bad that Fair Winds didn’t have an elevator. “I’m Susan, her mother, and my husband, Rich, is upstairs with Gregory.”
I offered her a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Susan continued her descent. “I hope you don’t mind that Valerie gave us your gate code, but things were getting a bit loud at home and I didn’t want to disturb our neighbors.” She laughed and shook her head. “Our grandson has quite the imagination.”
I tried not to wince at the thought of the breakables upstairs. Like the gorgeous white pitcher from my parents’ trip to Tuscany when I was in middle school. Right now, it sat on the credenza, just begging to be accidentally knocked over.
“No problem,” I told Susan, then gestured to the house. “I have a few things to do before going out later, but please text me if you need anything.”
Susan smiled. “You’re Monica Barbour’s daughter, aren’t you?”
My heart stopped. Wait, Susan knew my mom?
“I used to manage Bedtime Stories once upon a time,” she explained when I didn’t answer.
“And I still stop in every now and again. It’s become an even more wonderful store.
Julie, my successor, was so excited when she hired your mom, and I can see why.
She’s such a gem—so personable, helpful, and capable.
It sounds like every publicist in publishing has her email for tour stops, and my oh my, those window displays…
” She trailed off as if she didn’t have the words.
Gorgeous, whimsical, and captivating, I thought.
“My mom is the most talented person I know,” I said, realizing it was true. She got shit done while also making her corner of the world beautiful.
Susan smiled. “Fair Winds is such a lovely place.”
Please don’t ask if my mom knows about Here-to-Stay, I prayed. Please don’t ask, please don’t ask, please don’t ask!
And, more importantly, please don’t tell.
“Grandma!” Junior appeared on the balcony. “The timer’s going off, but Grandpa’s in the bathroom.”
“I’ll be right there, sweetie!” Susan called up, then said to me, “We made peanut butter cookies. I was going to leave some on your doorstep later, as a thank-you.”
A shiver went up my spine as I flashed back to the Fishers’ brownies waiting for me on the welcome mat. “That’s really nice of you,” I said, “but I’m allergic to peanuts.”
I was also a big fat liar, but after that wild night at Henry’s, I didn’t think I could accept any more gifts from guests.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Susan said at the same time Junior impatiently stamped his foot and whined, “Grandma…”
“Gregory, that’s not polite,” his grandmother said with a sigh. “Thank you again for your hospitality, Audrey. Your mother would be proud of you.”
My ears perked up at her words.
Would, not will.
“Thank you.” I smiled at her. “I hope the cookies are delicious!”
HENRY TEXTED ME BEFORE I STEPPED IN THE shower, but I didn’t respond until after my bathroom had clouded up with steam and I smelled like lavender. Tess brought my car back to life, the message read. See you at 6:15?
Thanks, but don’t worry about it, I wrote back. Something came up so I’ll drive myself.
He hadn’t mentioned Ellie driving him to school, so I didn’t need to mention Griff, right? He’d find out later. Right before hitting Send, I added:
I might be a little late.
Because Griff was almost always late. He’d said six-thirty, but I didn’t expect him to show up until 6:45 at the earliest.
Henry didn’t respond for five minutes. Is everything okay?
Fire alarm went off in Fair Winds after baking cookies, I wrote, hoping I wasn’t jinxing things. See you there!
Then I stared at our chat for several seconds, half waiting for Henry to reply and half wondering what the hell I was doing.
Like clockwork, six-thirty p.m. came and went, but I was pleasantly surprised when my doorbell rang at approximately 6:39. “Wow…” Griff said when I opened the door, his eyes widening a little. “Audrey, you look incredible.”
“Don’t I?” I winked. I was wearing a cocktail dress my mom and I’d found on a rare shopping spree together.
The dress illustrated the night sky: black sequins with a silver-beaded crescent moon, stars, and clouds.
I shined in the lamplight. “You look great, too,” I told Griff, who was dapper in a navy suit.
Vineyard Vines ties weren’t my thing, but I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw his was covered in pickleball paddles. Really?
Griff offered me his arm, ready to escort me to his car, but my smile slipped off my face when the passenger window rolled down. “Audrey, where did you get your earrings?” Kenzie called out, because Kenzie was in the front seat. “I love them!”
“Oh, they’re my mom’s,” I said, touching one of the firecracker-shaped silver and gold earrings. They were Swarovski, and no, I had not asked to borrow them.
She smiled. “They look really pretty on you!”
“Totally!” someone else agreed, and I discovered Mia in the back seat. She’d wrangled her curly hair into a slicked-back bun for tonight. “You’re so on-theme,” she told me, pointing to my outfit.
It took me a second, and then I pretended to groan. Constellation catering and my nightscape dress went hand in hand. “Oh my god, it was a complete accident.”
“Buckle up, ladies!” Griff said once he was behind the steering wheel. “You three are precious cargo…”
Kenzie and Mia giggled, but I couldn’t stop a chord from striking in my chest as I clicked my seat belt. When Griff had offered to drive me tonight, I thought that meant he’d be driving me and only me. This felt like a group date on The Bachelor.
I tried to shrug it off by asking to DJ.
“I know it’s been two years!” Mia shouted during the chorus. “But I still can’t believe this song is about Matty!”
“This one even sounds like a 1975 song,” Kenzie said. “You like them, don’t you, Audrey?”
I was only half listening.
Idiot, idiot, I thought, Henry running through my mind. We’re two idiots.
Weren’t we?