Page 22 of Wish You Were Her
“I’ve told Grace we’re here,” Allegra said to Simon.
Before he could respond, Kerrie leaned over with a tentative smile.
“Can I just say something?”
Jonah wondered how many times Allegra would hear this over the summer. “Of course.”
“I follow you on Instagram and you always look so amazing. Just so beautiful. Like, every picture.”
When Kerrie stopped to take a breath, Skye smirked and said, “That wasn’t a question.”
“Skye,” Kerrie said softly, sounding slightly betrayed. But she soldiered on. “I am being so serious right now, Allegra, I don’t want this to sound offensive. Not even a bit. But… you’re… I mean, one of the reasons I love you so much is because you’re so beautiful but you’re not, like, this skinny girl? If you know what I mean?”
Allegra forced herself to keep smiling. She was proud of her curves but it would never stop being strange, having people openly comment on her body and her looks within moments of meeting her.
“It’s just nice to see a mid-size girl getting loads of attention, you know?” Kerrie concluded, her eyes searching Allegra’s facefor approval. “And you’re going to be a princess in that new Disney movie. I saw an article about it online!”
“Just her voice,” Skye interjected, before taking a long slurp of her glass of blue slush.
Allegra paid her no mind. She could see Grace had arrived and was talking to a woman who looked like management. They seemed friendly and relaxed with one another and then the woman pointed Grace in the direction of their booth. Allegra waved her over.
“Can we budge up a bit for Grace?” she said to Simon and Skye.
“I don’t remember inviting her,” Skye said with a thin smile. Simon, too, seemed reluctant to let Grace in, but eventually did so when Allegra looked at him, forcing a pleasant smile onto his handsome face. She was a little dismayed by this new show of social snobbery.
“Who was that?” Allegra asked Grace as she sat down next to her.
“That’s Hera. She runs this place.”
“Do you come here a lot?”
“Sometimes. With my brother and sister-in-law.”
“Sister-in-law?” Skye let out a piercing laugh. “Your brother isn’t married.”
Grace narrowed her eyes at Skye, not the slightest bit afraid of the other girl. “Not yet, but he will be.”
“You’re that desperate to be able to say you’re related to Jasper Montgomery? Whatever floats your boat.”
“At least Jasper knows my name,” Grace said, with enough spice in her tone to make Allegra smile. She wondered who the mysterious Jasper was. “You’re just some girl who could never get into her mum’s ballet school. Didn’t your dad even try calling them one winter?”
Skye’s mouth dropped open and she made a choking sound of disgust. “You can’t afford to be this rude to me, Grace Lancaster.”
“Hey, now,” Simon said, nudging Skye. “Stop. You started it, she finished it, we don’t need an encore. Be cool.”
“How’s the festival planning going, Jonah?” Kerrie asked, pushing some of her hair over her shoulder and smiling hopefully at the bookseller in question.
He shrugged one shoulder. “Fine, thanks.”
“It’s keeping you busy.”
Allegra wondered if Jonah knew this girl was keeping an eye on his availability.
“I’m so over the festival,” Skye said wearily. “The whole population tripling. Completely random people rocking up in town. People who don’t belong.” She cast a sideways look at Allegra, which only made the latter want to choke down a laugh. She was curious about the small-town dynamics that were currently at play, but she could see how annoyed Grace was. Even Kerrie looked disturbed. So Allegra got to her feet and smiled a civil smile at the table.
“Not really my vibe in here. Grace? Kerrie? I’m going back to the bookshop flat if you want to join me. I make really good virgin cocktails.”
“I’m there,” Grace said, without a moment’s hesitation.
