Page 32 of His Hot Mess

His words cut through the silence like a rock chucked in a lake. Lucy and Graydon knew they’d walked into something when they’d stepped through the doors of my shop. Now that we were crammed together in this truck, I was pretending desperately to not know what that something was. The result was an overinflated air of silence.

“Logan’s our favorite carpenter,” Graydon said to me in the rearview.

I glanced at Lucy and furrowed my brow. Even from here I could see the stiffness in her back. Something had passed between the two of them. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was glad for the distraction from Chris. I reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked back and offered me a grateful smile, brushing her chin down on my fingers.

No matter what happened in this town, with this store, and with this manbeside me, Lucy and I would always have each other. We’d been close from the beginning, and even though she had someone else in her life now, she never forgot about me or left me out—at least not for more than the time it took to canoodle with her fiancé. I had to remember that she still needed me too. I vowed to get out of my own head at some point tonight to find out what was going on with her.

But when we got to their place, Lucy couldn’t seem to get out of the truck fast enough. I went to follow her but held back when I saw Graydon get there first, pulling her into his arms.

I sighed but smiled at the two of them. By the way they held onto each other it was clear whatever was going on wasn’t friction between them. For a moment I stood there as Graydon and Lucy leaned into each other. God, those two. I was surprised they didn’t start making out right there in the driveway.

“Um, I’m going to go in and freshen up before people start getting here,” I said.

It was still early—just before six, but already I spotted another car coming down the drive.

I went up to Lucy’s bathroom and splashed water on my face, considering, briefly, a shower. Lucy wouldn’t mind. But boisterous voices downstairs told me people were definitely arriving. I borrowed a little of Lucy’s makeup instead and ran her brush through my hair. Thank god for sisters.

By the time I got back down to Graydon’s giant lakeside deck where the barbecues were always centered, a few more people were there, including Cat Jones, who surprised me with a warm embrace.

“I’m so glad you could make it!” she said.

I wasn’t lying when I replied the same. Itwasgood that I’d come. I didn’t see Chris anywhere. Maybe it was possible to be here andkeep him off my mind.

Cat introduced me to her boyfriend Jake, who was tall and handsome and looked like he’d rather be out on a canoe or cutting down a tree or something. But he lit up when he heard I was starting a new business in town. While our businesses had little overlap—Jake ran a camp for troubled youth—he still had great tips and advice on local suppliers of stuff on my business plan, like office equipment, recruitment, and web hosting. I ended up typing a ream of notes in my phone. By the time the couple had been called off to other conversations—it was their build that was the focus of this barbecue after all, I was doubly happy I’d come, even if I hadn’t yet been able to see what was up with Lucy. And even though I kept looking sideways to see where Chris was—just so I could make sure to avoid him.

My hunger was in full force now, so I made my way over to the food table, where Graydon and Lucy had laid out a simple feast of burgers and salads while I’d been talking to Jake and Cat. Shit, I should have helped out. But they looked happy enough now over at the barbecue, laughing over something a guy next to them was saying.

Picking up a plate, I tried to concentrate on deciding what to load up on but found myself now pointedly looking around for Chris. We’d been here for over an hour. Where the hell was he? Had he decided not to come after all?

The unexpected disappointment at that thought was like a stone in my stomach. I immediately thrust it aside. I should be glad he’s wasn’t here. Then maybe I could actually relax.

“Looking for someone?” a woman’s voice came from behind me. I turned to see Graydon’s sister Casey, who I’d first met at the barbecue to finish the job Lucy and Graydon worked together on last year.

“Hey Casey!” I said, genuinely delighted to see her.

I had a serious friend-crush on Casey. She had been warm and welcoming to me from the first moment I met her. Plus, she was the very definition of boho chic, with her gauzy dresses, bangles, and oversized sweaters and hats. She was a couple years older than me and had her life together in a way that was more appealing—to me, anyway—than Lucy’s: she ran a hobby farm with actualalpacason it. She even drove a vintage red pick-up truck.

“I was just… wondering where Lucy had gone off to,” I said.

Casey bunched her brows. “You meanthatLucy?” She pointed to the barbecue where I knew Lucy and Graydon were standing just like a minute ago when I’d last looked over there.

“Right,” I said, flushing.

Thankfully, Casey didn’t linger on the topic. Instead she took my still-empty plate from my hand and put it down on the table. She took both my hands and looked into my eyes.

“So. Are the rumors true?”

For a moment my stomach flipped. What had Casey heard? Had she seen me and Chris together? Had Cat said something? No, she’d promised.

“W-what do you mean?” I hedged.

“Are you opening up a vintage store right here in Barkley Falls?”

I laughed, relief washing over me. The store. Of course Casey would be interested in the store. We’d gushed many times about our shared love of vintage.

“Yes! It’s true.”

“And you haven’t told me? I’mwounded,Sadie!”

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