Page 107 of Fauxmance

And with that, I waved goodbye, got into my car, and drove away.

Turned out there was nothing to fear.

Underneath the intimidating exterior, Hayden's grandmother really was nice.

Who knew?

As I checked the time again and pushed the speed limit to get to the soup kitchen, I just hoped Joan and Izzy would be half as kind. I was running late. And I knew they'd have a tough time holding down the fort with just two people. Hopefully the sweets would make up for it.

Though again, that had nothing to do with me and everything to do with Mrs. Davenport.

Glancing at the boxes in the passenger seat, I smiled.

Hayden was never going to believe this. I had to text him ASAP. Doing the I-told-you-so dance wasn't out of the question either.

CHAPTER 20

The Little Spoonwas packed when I got there. Literally, every available seat was taken. I knew that despite the sweets it wouldn't be enough. Isabel was going to kill me.

When she came out of the kitchen, I was already apologizing.

"Hey Iz," I said, "sorry I'm late. I was—"

"Having tea with her highness?"

I stopped, taken aback. "Yes…how did you know?"

"Oh, I heard all about it," she said.

From who?

Shaking myself, I got back to groveling. "Sorry again. I lost track of the time. I just thought I'd be able to have tea and get here. Are you really mad?"

I waited for her reaction.

Isabel shrugged. "No, it's fine."

"Fine," I repeated. "So, you're not angry that I left you and Joan to deal with all the chaos? Speaking of, was she disappointed when I didn't show? I knew I should've set an alarm."

Isabel gave me a half-smile. "Look around, Magnolia. Does this look chaotic to you?"

Now that she mentioned it, I thought, glancing out at the room. No, it didn't.The Little Spoonwas full like usual. There wasn't one empty table that I could see. But everyone had food and drinks in front of them. Each person—adults and kids—looked like they'd been served. The overall atmosphere was content.

"Also," she added, "Joan might've been upset if you hadn't sent reinforcements."

My eyes shot to her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Isabel smiled. She was just about to elaborate when someone else came from the kitchen onto the main floor. If I'd been surprised before, it was nothing compared to now.

"Hayden?" I said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

He gave me grin. "Serving the spooners, Maggie. What does it look like?"

As he dropped off some food at a nearby table, I watched in amazement. The people thanked him, and he spoke to them briefly, hitting them with his charming smile. Whatever he said must've been funny because it made the little kids at the table giggle.

He came back toward us and crossed his arms.

"How's Gigi?" he asked.

---