Page 82 of Dear Ripley

Ripley

I’d been pacing the shop, getting nothing of any use done, since the minute I’d gotten here. The generous assumption would have been that the stress of the Ellie situation was what had me on edge. And it did, a little, but that wasn’t the reason I couldn’t stand still or focus on anything.

No, the thing that had me feeling like I was ready to crawl out of my own skin was the letter I’d left Alicia.

Morgan had caught me writing it, and I’d had no doubt she was going to fill Harlow in on it. She was never a morning person unless you needed her not to be. I’d been counting on those early hours to write the letter, leave it for Alicia, and slip away unnoticed. One sniff of scandal and Morgan was wide awake and ready for action.

It was incredibly annoying.

But, despite Morgan’s terrible intrusion, I’d finished and left the letter, and, depending on how eager Morgan was, Alicia might have read it by now. Alicia was never one to sleep in too late, but Morgan was never one to wait when she was itching to get gossip.

I shook my head, throwing and catching my pen repeatedly. I wasn’t sure when I’d become a source of gossip in Jackson Point again. There had been a time around the divorce when I’d been on everyone’s minds, but, in the years that had passed since then, I’d only really been a topic of conversation if someone needed flowers. I preferred it that way.

Of course, I hadn’t gotten into the dating scene, so there was nothing for anyonetotalk about. A few people had asked me, a year or so after the divorce, how my romantic life was going, or when I was planning on getting back out there, but a few, admittedly visceral, declarations of no interest were enough to shut that down, and people had eventually stopped asking.

There was probably something poetic about the fact that I was a topic of gossip again as soon as my ex came back to town. That was frankly annoying too.

“Good morning, dear,” Freddie called as they burst into the shop. “I have a chocolate pie for you this week.”

I smiled, the tense muscles in my back relaxing a little. “You’re a lifesaver, Freddie. Chocolate pie sounds like exactly what I need right now.”

They chuckled, setting down a glossy, rich chocolate pie on the counter, a perfect swirl of whipped cream in the center. “I had a feeling. Lots going on, lots of emotions, lots of history coming back up…”

For one moment, I thought they’d heard about Ellie being in town and everything that was happening with Harlow. It did seem likely, since Freddie and Edith were good friends, even outside of bridge, but I was also certain she was set on keeping the situation quiet in order to protect Harlow.

Before I could figure out a response that both asked for clarification and gave nothing away, they grinned and wiggled their eyebrows. “Are you and Alicia finally rekindling that old flame? I heard you were spotted together at Didi’s. We’ve all been waiting for it, you know? You always were a lovely couple.”

The relief at not having news of Harlow and Ellie getting out was quickly drowned by the panic at what they were saying. Of course, I knew news traveled fast in Jackson Point, and, of course, I should have known that Alicia and I being at Didi’s together wouldn’t go unnoticed, but I’d been so caught up in helping Harlow that I hadn’t fully thought it through.

Though, to be fair, I didn’t think anyone could have looked at that impromptu gathering and thought it looked like a romantic rendezvous, so why would that thought have occurred to me?

I forced my face into a neutral expression. “We were both there at the same time, yeah.”

Freddie chuckled. “It was more than that, from what I heard.”

“What exactly did you hear?” My heart pounded in my chest. This was really the last thing I needed on a day when Alicia was reading a letter that was filled with the most honest things I’d said about, and to, her in over eight years.

I’d come close to declaring that I still loved her. I’d thought about it. But it hadn’t felt right. We didn’t fully know each other right now, we had so many things to work through, we were trying to be friends, and friends weren’t supposed to bein lovewith one another… And I was scared. So this whole conversation with Freddie was really a risky move. If I snapped and yelled that I still loved her, the whole town would know about it before sundown…

“Oh, just that you were both enjoying some lunch together.” They leaned in, grinning far too much for how much turmoil they were inducing.

I frowned, shaking my head slightly. “Alicia was there getting lunch with Harlow. Morgan and I were standing chatting with them, and I stole one of Morgan’s doughnuts. I’m not sure that’s quite the scene you’ve had it described as…”

“Huh. Well, Mrs. Sylvester did avoid mentioning the other two, and it definitely did sound like a date when she told me…”

“I’m sure it did,” I muttered, darkly. Mrs. Sylvester was the worst gossip in Jackson Point, both in terms of accuracy and in damage done—as evidenced by this highly curated and selective version of events she’d shared with Freddie.

“But still,” they said, brightening again, “the fact that you’re talking to each other, and having lunch in the same place, sounds like progress. I’m sure you’ll be back together in no time.”

I deflated. “It was a stolen doughnut, not lunch, and I was really there to talk to Harlow. Alicia just kind of… happened to be there too.”

And did Alicia just happen to be there when I was writing her an almost-love letter this morning? Did she just happen to be reading it through a weird twist of fate when it wasn’t something I’d left for her specifically?Ugh.This whole thing was a nightmare.

Freddie laughed, moving to select the flowers they wanted for their husband today. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

I rolled my eyes. I loved Freddie, but they, like many people in Jackson Point, would not let it go once they got an idea in their heads. Especially if it was a romantic one.

In all honesty, I wasn’t sure how nobody seemed to have picked up on the Joel-Ekundayo thing. Surely, that was a much more useful and worthy cause than me and Alicia attempting to find a friendship in the ancient wreckage of our marriage?

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