Page 27 of Living Hell

Every eye at the table turned to Babette. It seemed I wasn’t the only one concerned with her plan. I could only hope it was better than Iona’s plan of pretending we were in love. That was unbelievably bad. How could I fall for a woman in a day?

“My conditions are that you two are planning to get married.”

It was worse than Iona’s plan. No wonder Babette was her agent, they thought alike.

“After one day, I fall in love and propose to her? You do realize how insane that sounds, right? Hate to state the obvious, Ms. Gotti, but this isn’t a Hollywood movie. That doesn’t happen in real life and it certainly doesn’t happen in a small town on the side of a mountain in Maine.”

Hollywood was like a parasite. Whoever went there got infected and they believed fantastical ideas would fool people.

“Not one day. Years.”

“Are you drunk? Is there alcohol in that coffee? I want no part of this.” I held up my hands and stood. “I’ll meet you back at the office, Olivia. Enjoy your hot chocolate.”

Olivia frowned but nodded. I felt an ache in my heart as I glanced at Iona. Even with that silly wig on, she was striking. More so than Olivia? My heart thought so, but that didn’t mean I wanted to live with her or fake marry her. I was so confused and angry and the best thing for everyone at the table was for me to leave.

That’s exactly what I did. I turned and marched out the door. Part of me expected—no, that’s not the right word . . . hoped—I hoped Iona would run after me. But as I glanced back on the sidewalk, there was no woman in a ghastly wig following me.

I shook my head and kept on walking. It was best she didn’t follow. I knew the smallest thing would set me off, and I didn’t want Iona to see that.

I heard a gasp and turned to see a woman pushing a stroller.

She stared at me and shook her head.

I did something that I normally never did. Instead of winking at the woman and going about my day, I decided to speak with her.

“Do you ever think the world is out to destroy you?”

“What?” She eyed her baby and I couldn’t help but notice her grip tighten on the handle of the stroller.

“Never mind. Just having a bad day. Sorry to bother you.”

I turned but stopped before walking away when she said, “We all have bad days. The old saying of sticks and stones is a load of crock. Other people’s words and actions can hurt us.”

I looked back at her and noticed the sadness in her eyes.

“But how do you get over that? Especially if it’s someone you care about?”

I had no idea why I was pouring my heart out to this stranger. A woman who probably thought I was crazy. But I felt better letting it out to someone who didn’t know me at all, which was rare in this town. Most people knew everyone who lived here. She must be new to town.

“You talk to them, like you’re talking to me. It’s not easy and you can’t assume they will react how you want, but I find that communication is the key to solving most problems.”

I smiled. “Thank you.” I glanced at her hand and noticed the grip had loosened on the stroller. I saw the ring and said, “The person who gave you that ring is lucky to have you.”

“I guess. Maybe he’ll realize that one day. I hope your day improves.”

“I’m Tyler, by the way.”

“Trisha. It was nice to meet you, Tyler.” She pushed off and strolled down the block.

“It’s beautiful weather for a walk. Nice to meet you, too,” I called and waved after her.

She was a reminder that not everyone was selfish and greedy. There was kindness on this planet, despite what I had experienced the past day.

Enjoying the weather and the surge of hope, I continued toward the office. But just as I turned the corner, I noticed close to ten people hanging out in front. And most of them had cameras.

The damn paparazzi.

Why do they care so much about me?

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