Victoria paused and studied me. I could tell that she was mulling over what I said. Then she nodded. “I get that. Growing up, I enjoyed the fall festival as well.” She stretched out her arms, rubbing her skin as she did. “There’s a lot more to Magnolia than I think people realize. Sure, they stabbed me in the back when they didn’t reelect me.” She shrugged. “But I’m over it.”
I snorted. “Clearly.”
Our waiter returned to take our orders. I ordered the roast beef on rye sandwich while Victoria ordered the turkey burger. He nodded and gathered up our menus, tucking them against his chest.
Victoria and I returned to talking, but this time, it revolved around the first edition run of the paper. She’d already collected interviews from most of the people on her list. She even got others that weren’t on there but were of interest. I was certain that most residents in Magnolia wanted to learn about Colten, the town’s new sheriff.
I came to the table with just Maggie’s interview. I was definitely struggling to keep up my end of the bargain.
“I think I have enough to get started on some stories,” Victoria said as she slipped the last bit of her burger into her mouth. She chewed as she looked thoughtfully down at her notes. “I do think we should get more though.” Her pointed stare in my direction had me nodding.
“I know, I know. I’m working on it.” Spencer was definitely a hard nut to crack. But maybe our meeting tonight would help me with the first move.
Victoria looked skeptical. “Do you want me to do it?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I think I can handle it.”
She shrugged as she pushed her plate to the middle of the table and then stuck her notepad into her purse. “If it’s too much, just let me know. I can be out to the hardware store in two minutes flat. I’ll get the interview done, and we can move on to formatting the first edition.”
I sighed as I wiped my fingers off on my napkin and slipped out a twenty-dollar bill. Victoria was a hard worker, but she was also stubborn. She wasn’t saying that I couldn’t do this, but she was saying that she could do it better.
“I’ll be fine,” I said as I gathered my things.
The waiter waved to us as we walked out of the diner. The ride back to Magnolia Daily was quiet—which I appreciated. I needed to get myself in the right headspace to approach Spencer about the past that he seemed so determined to keep hidden.
I’d seen the picture in his bathroom, and he had yet tobring it up. I wanted to know who she was, but I also didn’t want to become homeless in the process.
To top it off, our conversation last night had me feeling hope that we could possibly be friends. And deep down—deep, deep down—there was a part of me that wondered if we could be more.
That was a part of me that I was determined to keep hidden. The last thing I needed was to overstep and assume that things were progressing when Spencer had no intention of going that far.
Five o’clock came around faster than I expected. I yawned and leaned back in my black desk chair, rocking a few times as I stared at the spreadsheets I’d been working on. Georgette didn’t tell me that the Daily’s books were a mess, and I was desperately trying to get them sorted out before we started back up again.
“I’m going to head out now,” Victoria said as she appeared in my doorway.
I slipped off my glasses and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Sounds good. See you tomorrow?”
She nodded. “Yep. I’ll be here bright and early.”
“Perfect.”
She turned, but just before her back was to me, she paused and raised her hand. “Get that interview, so I can start formatting tomorrow?”
I sighed. I knew that she wanted to move forward, and I was keeping us from doing that. I wasn’t sure that this was something I could guarantee. Not wanting to get into it, I just nodded. “Yep.”
She snapped the fingers of the hand she had pointed at me. “Wonderful.” Then she smiled. “We’re going to make something amazing.”
I smiled as she turned and disappeared. When I heard the sound of the front door shutting, I collapsed back into my chair once more. I was fully committed now.
I lingered around my office for about ten more minutes before I powered down my computer and stuffed the things I wanted to work on into my purse. Gelato sounded amazing, so I made a quick stop and ordered a pint from Scarlett on my way home.
The house was dark when I pulled in, and from the looks of it, Spencer’s car wasn’t around. I was alone, and for a moment, I wondered if he’d forgotten about our bet.
I turned the engine off and gathered my purse and gelato in my arms as I stepped out. Once inside, I set my purse down in my room and found some space in the freezer for the gelato. Just as I shut the freezer door, I glanced around.
What was the plan for the night?
I was hungry, but I wasn’t sure if what Spencer had planned involved dinner. I didn’t want to ruin my appetite by eating.