Page 2 of All Wrong
“Nope.”
“Are you coming back?”
“Doubt it.”
He walked off, his stride easy, like that of a man who had nothing to prove to anyone. Corinnewatched him go without being obvious about it. Or so she thought.
“Hey,” her sister, Lacie, said, joining her by the cooler. “Where’ve you been? I thought you were going to come earlier.”
“Stuck at work,” Corinne told her, which was technically true.
Her boss, Mr. Gehman, had asked her to stay after her usual nine-to-twelve Saturday shift, saying he had to discuss something with her. The rest of the afternoon was something of a blur.
“Oh no. Becci again?”
Lacie knew about the branch’s biggest slacker because Corinne had vented about her on more than one occasion. Young, pretty, and lazy AF, Becci had somehow managed not only to get hired, but to also remain on staff.
“Yes,” Corinne confirmed, refusing to let her anger get the upper hand. If she told Lacie what had happened, she wouldn’t be able to stop that fury from spewing out. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Lacie gave her a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry. She’ll get her just rewards one day.”
Corinne almost snorted. If Lacie only knew.
“Well, I’ve got some news that’ll cheer you up,” Lacie said, excitement lacing her tone.
“Awesome. I could use some good news.”
Lacie’s smile was wide. “Guess who said he’d stop by tonight.”
“I don’t know. Who?”
“Brett Buckman!”
Corinne’s stomach dropped. Brett Buckman was the new PE teacher at the high school, and Lacie’s attempts to get them together hadn’t been subtle. She talked him up every time they were together. Single, handsome, fit, steady job, good with kids. On paper, he checked the boxes. Whether he did in person remained to be seen because Corinne had thus far managed to avoid meeting him. Just like she avoided all her well-intentioned sister’s matchmaking attempts.
“Did you invite him, Lacie?”
Guilt flashed in her sister’s sky-blue eyes, and her cheeks took on a rosy glow that had nothing to do with a day spent in the sun. “Not exactly. He was asking about the fair, and I simply said he was welcome to join us. I mean, we’ve got all this food and everything.”
Corinne laughed softly, mostly to keep from raging. Getting blindsided twice in one day was two times too many. “Nice try. Leave the covert ops to your husband, Lace.” She emptied the last of hericed tea, then tossed the bottle into the recycling bin and stepped out of the pavilion.
“Wait, you’re not leaving, are you?” Lacie asked.
“Yep,” Corinne replied over her shoulder.
“What about Brett?”
“You invited him. You figure it out.”
“Rinn, I’m sorry, okay? Please don’t leave.”
Corinne felt a twinge of guilt behind her rib cage. Her sister’s heart was in the right place. Lacie was so ridiculously happy with hercroieand her kids; she wanted Corinne to experience the happy-happy-joy-joy too.
Maybe it would happen, maybe it wouldn’t, but if it did, it would be because it was meant to, not because Lacie had coerced a coworker into a blind meet and greet.
“Have to. I’ve got a date tonight.” Corinne didn’t mention that the “date” was with her couch, a tub of hand-churned ice cream, and a binge-watch marathon, and she refused to feel guilty about that. White lies or omission were justifiable in cases of unsolicited matchmaking attempts. It was a simple matter of self-preservation.
“Tonight? With whom? Where are you going?” Lacie asked, catching up to her and placing herself in Corinne’s path. Lacie punctuated the questions bynarrowing her eyes and going into interrogation mode. As a kindergarten teacher and a mom, Lacie had a highly developed bullshit detector that was no doubt ringing loud and clear.
