Page 106 of Fauxmance

Hayden:Guess I'll just have to try harder for that #1 spot.

Me:Nah, you're good, Hayden Bartholomew. Talk to you later.

Hayden:Bye, Maggie. And just so you know, real or not, you're definitely my #1.

My breath hitched, wondering if he meant it, hoping he might.

And then another dang smiley-face came through.

Ugh.

As I looked up, Constance met my gaze. "Was that Hayden?" she asked.

I nodded. "How did you know?"

"Your face lit up when you checked your phone."

Did it?

"I figured it was either him," she said, "or someone calling to say you'd won the lottery."

I laughed. "I looked that happy, huh?"

She nodded. "You did."

Looking away from her piercing gaze, I noticed the time on my phone and nearly jumped.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Davenport," I said. "But I need to go. There's this soup kitchen calledThe Little Spoonthat I volunteer for. They're almost always short-staffed, and—"

"No need to apologize," she said then stood. "I'll see you out."

As we reached the entryway, I turned to her once more.

"Sorry again," I said. "I really enjoyed tea and talking to you. We should do it again sometime. Not that I'm trying to push myself on you or anything."

"You're not, and we should," she said. "The only thing I regret is that you didn't get to sample the food. My cook made us a delicious spread."

I glanced back, picturing the table in the other room. "Can I ask what happens to the leftovers?"

Constance gave a small shrug. "Whatever we don't eat, we usually throw away before it goes bad. Why?"

"We have a lot of families that come to the soup kitchen. They always like a nice surprise. But seriously, you don't have to. I just thought if you had extra—"

"Auggie," she called, and the butler appeared as if out of thin air. "Can you please make up a few boxes for Magnolia to take with her?"

"Of course, Miss," he said.

"You didn't have to do that," I said. "But thank you. I know the kids and families atThe Little Spoonwill appreciate it."

She airily waved her hand. "There's no way I could have eaten all that food alone anyway. It was nothing."

"Ah, we'll have to disagree again," I said, and when she looked at me in confusion, I grinned. "It was very much something, Mrs. Davenport."

"Constance," she said. "You may as well use my name if you're going to be seeing my grandson."

"Okay," I said as the butler came back with three big boxes of food. "Thank you again…Constance."

"Don't mention it. Thanks for coming, Magnolia. Drive safe."

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