Page 32 of My Best Friend Prince Charming

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Shannon

I reached into the large bin of rocky road ice cream and dug out two scoops for the older woman standing in front of me. I piled on the toppings of peanuts and chocolate chips that she’d requested. “Will that be all?” I asked. When she nodded, I took her bowl to the register and rang up her order.

“Shannon, come here,” Megan, one of the managers at Toppings, called me back to the kitchen, where customers couldn’t overhear our conversation.

She was holding her phone up for me to see. “Have you seen this?” Her screen displayed the picture of me at the falls with Ryker earlier that day that George had been talking about.

“I heard about it, but this is my first time seeing it.” A blush crept across my cheeks. I never thought my boss would be the one to actually show me the picture. How embarrassing. “Am I in trouble? I promise I didn’t know they were going to take a picture of me. I just wanted to go to the falls and have a fun day with Ryker.”

“Of course, you’re not in trouble. But I am worried about you, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Was I okay? I didn’t actually know. I thought I was, but maybe I was still too in shock to know any difference.

“Shannon?”

I must have been zoning out. I looked at Megan and smiled. “I’m doing just fine. The paparazzi are annoying, but I stay off of social media anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

I went back to the front and took a few more orders. When the store emptied, closer to the end of the night, my coworker Jessica pulled her phone out and scrolled through with a bored expression on her face. I got the broom and started sweeping behind the counter where we’d spilled a bunch of chocolate chips and gummy bears.

“Shannon, is this really you?” Jessica said, turning her phone screen to me. The picture of Ryker and me lit up her display.

I groaned inwardly. Was this my new reality?

“Well, that look on your face answers that question.” She zoomed in on the picture by sliding her fingers apart on her phone screen. “That’s a cute swimsuit. Where’d you get it?”

“Ugh. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“So, are you and Ryker an item now?”

“I don’t even know myself. How could I tell you?”

“How do you not know? You look like you’re together here.”

I winced at the kissing picture. I didn’t think I’d mind the lack of privacy, but now I was starting to question the sanity of that assessment. I had no idea what I was talking about.

“This picture is on pretty much every social media platform.”

“Are there any others?”

“Not that I can see. I guess they thought this one was plenty of evidence to tell the story they wanted to tell.”

“And what story is that?” I asked.

“That Ryker’s taken,” Jessica said matter-of-factly. “You’ve broken the hearts of thousands of girls across the internet.”

“That’s just weird,” I said, feeling strangely defensive. “They don’t even know Ryker. How can their hearts be broken?” I was the one with the heart on the line. They didn’t get to take that from me by cheapening my pain.

Maybe it was a mistake to start dating Ryker, if that was what we were doing. Ryker had called me his girlfriend to George. But he hadn’t officially asked me if I wanted to take our relationship to that level of commitment.

Was I an idiot to let myself think Ryker wanted me and only me? What chance did I stand with him spending tons of time with Gabi, a gorgeous movie star, kissing her on camera? Gabi probably had an entire team of makeup artists dedicated to making her look perfect.

Dad had cheated on Mom, and Austin had cheated on me with Tabby. My trust levels with the guys in my life were so low it was scary. How was I supposed to trust any guy after all that? I knew Ryker had spent the last ten years being loyal to me. Out of everyone I knew, I should trust him the most. But now everything was changing for him. He hadn’t spent the last ten years surrounded by celebrities who were interested in him. Was it possible that fame could change Ryker enough to betray me like Austin had?

How could I ever know for sure? Maybe I needed to end the nonsense between us before it went too far, and I let my heart be more vulnerable than it already was.

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