Page 62 of What Hurts Us

“Oh my stars!” a piercing twang screeched. Brandie Jean strutted over with surprising skill, given how tall her heels were. “Look who it is! The legend herself!”

Brandie Jean invited herself to squeeze in beside Beth, who looked completely and utterly terrified.

“BJ,” I said, adopting Cal’s moniker for the five feet of teased hair sitting across from me. Beth looked rather uncomfortable as BJ’s right boob severely encroached on her personal space.

“Ashley sent me some of the photos she took of you and Callum,” BJ cooed. “You two should be in magazines or on billboards! I’ll give you the number for my talent agent.”

Brandie Jean had a talent agent?

“You two are just a match made in heaven,” she blabbered on. “I’m so happy!”

Beth looked at me, and I looked at Beth. Telepathically, we both agreed that BJ was up to something. But I couldn’t figure out what. She looked genuinely excited.

“Have you gone dress shopping yet? With your body, you could wear a paper bag and look ah-mazing!” BJ had her phone out, showing photos of wedding gowns to Beth and me.

This woman was crafty, I decided. She had the town so fooled into thinking she was a bimbo gold-digger that they’d never expect whatever diabolical plan she had up her sleeve.

“You know,” Beth began, hitting me with the side-eye that said,watch this,as she turned to face BJ.“It was really nice of you to arrange the engagement photos for Layla and Callum. Especially considering the rumor around town was that you were gunning to bid on a date with him at the fundraiser two years in a row.”

BJ laughed, either not taking offense or too dumb to notice when someone was making a jab at her. “Why wouldn’t I be over the moon for these two lovebirds?” She turned to me. “You and Callum make the perfect couple. It’s been a pity seeing how closed off he is. And he’s been like that ever since he moved here in high school. But with you, he’s a brand-new man!”

Well, that was an interesting tidbit.

“I didn’t want him to fall through the cracks like my sweet John did.” She swiped to a photo of her snuggled up to a man who had an eerie resemblance to Gandalf. “My John’s own family was too busy to pay him any mind, and he needed some help around the house. So, I started going over there a few days a week to give him some company and tidy up.” She slapped her hand on the table, startling Beth and me. “And wouldn’t you know it, we fell in love.”

Beth turned a little green. “Fell in love?”

Brandie Jean nodded fervently. “Head over heels. I didn’t want to spend a minute away from him. Sometimes we’d go on a walk in his power scooter, and he’d tell me stories, or I’d tell him what was happening onKeeping Up with the Kardashians. Sometimes we’d just sit and sleep in front of the TV.” She sighed wistfully. “That’s all love is—just wanting to be with someone and caring about them enough to stop being busy.”

Well, damn.

“I think Callum is a lot like me,” she said, stealing a sip of Beth’s wine. Beth looked horrified. “Callum is just too darn busy caring about other people, and he doesn’t know how to care about himself. Luckily, my sweet John made sure I treated myself once in a while. And now that he’s gone, I use every cent of what he left me to make sure everyone feels a little love once in a while! But now, Callum has you, and I can already see the night-and-day difference in him!”

I narrowed my eyes. “So … you don’t hate me?”

“No!” BJ gasped, looking absolutely horrified. “Not at all!”

“You don’t want to murder her in her sleep, chop all her hair off, and turn it into a wig?” Beth added.

“Oh, heavens no!” she gasped. “Not that you don’t have hair worth stealing. Anyone would be so lucky to have a wig made from your stolen hair. It’s beautiful.”

I sat back and drummed my fingers on the table, studying BJ with a discerning eye. I had a reliable bullshit detector, and not once had it flared when Brandie Jean was talking.Nor had it sounded when Cal was whispering all the dirty things he wanted to do to me.

“So, you’re really okay with this?” I asked, flashing the engagement ring. “No hard feelings?”

Maybe Brandie Jean wasn’t maniacal at all. Maybe she was just … nice.Her own misguided yet completely genuine version of nice.

Brandie Jean finished off Beth’s wine. “The only problem I’ll have with y’all is if you don’t get your cute butts out on the floor and dance with me!”

* * *

“You knowwhat I’m thinking for your wedding dress?” BJ slurred as we spun around the floor that was more intended for pretentious conversations at library volume and less for dancing. The bartender glared at us for making a ruckus, but BJ had soothed things over by buying the entire place a round. She giggled, then hiccupped. “Feathers!”

“Yes!” Beth squealed, also a little wine-drunk. “So many feathers. Or maybe rhinestones!”

“Both!” BJ chimed in, jumping up and down.

I shook my head.The brick walls were looking a little swirly.“No feathers.”

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