Page 37 of Pros Don't

Some of the things I thought about Holland are being called into question here, in his hometown. The more he opens up to me, the more I doubt my preconceived notions about him.

Mayor Witmore beams at me, and the entire café seems to lean in to get a better look at me. I glance down at my golf coaching ensemble, suddenly self-conscious.

“You probably already know this, but Holland rents the apartment upstairs.” Inez points toward the ceiling. “Is that why you’re here? Are you meeting him?”

“Oh, no! I came from practice, and I wanted to grab a coffee before I head back to Daisy’s.” AKA I’m stalling. “I didn’t know he had a place nearby, actually.”

The door to the café whooshes open, and Poppy, Rose, and Noli walk in together.

“Mallory!” Poppy greets me with a hug. “Have you ordered? Sit with us.”

There’s a flurry of activity as the Kasper sisters greet people and scooch chairs around a table near the front window of the café for the four of us. My shoulders sag in relief to see everyone has mostly gone back to their food and drinks, and no one is staring at me anymore.

I place an order with Inez and walk to our table, waiting for the Kasper sisters to join me.

“So…” Rose sits down first and clasps her hands on the table. “What’s new?”

I chuckle, taking a sip of my chai tea and hoping the warmth soothes the ache in the back of my throat. I feel a head cold coming on, and I don’t have time to get sick. “I saw you last night.”

“Lots can happen in less than twenty-four hours.” Noli joins us and smirks at me over the top of her drink.

I cock my head to the side.

Poppy plunks down in her seat last after stopping by the mayor’s table and talking to him for a minute. She leans in and drops her voice to an excited whisper. “You kissed Holland?!”

“What?” My cheeks immediately flush, and I know my eyes are doing the bugging out thing. I probably look like a cartoon character.

“Don’t worry. Holland and I were never serious, so I promise this won’t be weird,” Poppy hurries to assure me.

“No. It’s not that.” I lean forward. “How do you know I kissed Holland?”

“Cy posted a picture of the two of you in a golf cart on the town happenings social media page.”

“There’s photographic evidence?!” My voice goes up an octave. “This is bad. This is really, really bad.”

“Why?”

“Tell us everything.”

“It’s going to be okay.”

I glance around at Poppy, Rose, and Noli, and they look like they genuinely care.

“Guys, it was a kiss to prove a point.” I feel like a broken record right now, between my mom and Aunt Jo and now these ladies. “But if that picture gets out, production could come for me.” I feel suddenly sick. “Oh gosh. The money.”

“Okay, there’s a lot to unpack there,” Rose says.

“What money?” Noli asks.

“The five-million-dollar penalty for spoiling the show or doing anything to jeopardize the narrativeMEMis spinning around Holland.“ I drop my face into my hands.

Poppy whips out her phone. “I’ve got this.” She tap, tap, taps away and then tosses her cell on the table. “There we go. Handled.”

I cut her with an incredulous look. “What? How?”

She shrugs. “I commented on the post and pinned it to the top, letting everyone know the picture needed to stay under wraps.”

I groan. “You think people will actually listen to you?”

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