Page 26 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

She took a step forward, but a hand clasped around her arm and she was suddenly being dragged backwards through the club. By Jo. Where had Jo come from? A moment later, they pushed into the women’s restroom and Jo blocked the exit.

“You okay?” Jo asked.

Allie folded her arms over her chest. “You saw him?”

Jo nodded. Of course she had. Why else would they be in the bathroom?

The door clunked forward into Jo, and in came Maggie May and Cecilia, laughing their heads off.

“Oh, hey, Jo. Allie,” Maggie May said.

“You’ll never guess who just showed up, with a blond bombshell, nonetheless.” Cecilia pushed around Jo, Maggie May following close behind. They stopped at the mirror, and Cecilia fixed her hair.

Allie rolled her eyes. “Tony, I know. I saw him.”

Maggie May giggled. “So that’s why Jo dragged you in here.”

Allie started to speak when the bathroom door swung open again. She didn’t get a chance to see who it was before Jo was shoving her into a stall and slamming the door behind the two of them amid raucous laughter. Maggie May and Cecilia were two of the silliest girls Allie knew—but they also loved a good laugh at the expense of awkwardness, and this was as awkward as it came. They didn’t mean to be cruel, but they were too young and self-centered to recognize their actions for what they were.

“Hello,” a soft female voice spoke.

Her cousins’ giggles died down but didn’t stop. “You’re here with Tony, right?” Cecilia asked.

Allie held up her hands, formed into claws. She was ready to strike and take Tony’s accomplice out. Jo shook her head, pressing a finger to her lips.

The woman spoke, surprise in her tone. “Yes, you know him?”

“He used to live in Harvest Ranch, the town over,” Cecilia said, “and worked for my cousins at their honey shop.”

“That’s right,” the woman said. “I think he told me that.”

“I’m Cecilia, by the way, and this is my sister, Maggie May.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” the woman said. “I’m Jenn.”

Allie was breathing so hard it sounded like a bear in a cave. She clamped her hand over her mouth so she could hear the rest of the conversation. He’d mentioned working for her. She’d bet he mentioned it—probably made it sound like he’d built the place from scratch.

“That’s a beautiful ring,” Maggie May said.

“Thank you,” Jenn said. “Tony spoils me.”

“How long have you been engaged?” Cecilia asked.

Jo’s eyes went bug-big, and she mouthed the wordengaged.

Jenn laughed. “Six months.”

The conversation continued, but Allie heard none of it. Six months? Six months? That meant that he’d proposed in October. When he’d still been engaged to Allie. She lurched for the door, but Jo blocked her, and the two slammed into the stall wall with a loud thud.

“No,” Jo stage-whispered.

“What was that?” Jenn’s nervous voice sounded like she was facing the stall.

“Rats,” Cecilia said. “Big ones.”

Maggie May burst into booming, and echoing, laughter.

“Oh,” Jenn said, her voice growing softer as she headed with clacking heels toward the door. “Well, I guess my makeup’s as fresh as it’s gonna get. Nice meeting you.”

---