Page 117 of Butter My Biscuit

My eyes land on Q5, and I flip to the page and read it as fast as possible.

Dear Kinsley,

I have a big problem. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with my best friend. I don’t know when it happened or how it happened, but it did, and I need to move on. I’ve communicated how I feel more times than I can count, but it never matters. Now, time is ticking by, and soon, neither of us will have the chance to explain how we feel because it will be too late. I’ve tried and don’t regret my choices, but it seems like moving on is the only way. What would you do?

Sincerely, with an X over my heart.

I hand the papers back to her, avoiding her gaze. “They’re all juicy. Not a bad choice there.”

She doesn’t take her eyes off of me, and I know what she’s thinking.

“I didn’t write that,” I explain, my entire body on fire. “I swear.”

“I didn’t thinkyoudid.” She picks up the small packet. “Know anyone else who could’ve?”

“Nope.” I wish I had a photographic memory and could recall every last word I read.

She taps the counter. “Thanks. StillTeam Grace.”

“Don’t start that again. There are no teams,” I correct.

Thankfully, the rest of the day flies by, and when I get home, I stare at a blank TV.

Different paintings that Remi created hang on the wall in the living room, and I love the character they add. There are bright flowers in a vase, one that looks like a galaxy, and another of some wild horses running in the wind. I lean back on the couch and stare at the ceiling, playing through everything that led me here.

I glance over at the flowers on the counter that Harrison bought me.“A pretty girl should never buy herself flowers.”

Ugh, he haunts me.

The door swings open, and it pulls me from my thoughts. Remi is smiling, setting her oversized purse on the couch. While she’s noticed that Harrison hasn’t been over in weeks, she hasn’t said anything. No one has. And I feel like everyone is walking on eggshells around me. Or maybe no one notices. I feel alone.

“What are you doin’ tonight?” She wiggles out of her sweater.

I look over at her. “This.”

“No, you’re going to Boot Scooting so we can support London. And added bonus: Cash wants to celebrate the opening of his clinic tomorrow. And he’s paying foreverything.”

“Guess they don’t call him Cash for no reason, huh?”

“Right. Also, I’m not giving you a choice anymore. You’re going tonight. We’re not sitting around and wasting your life away on this couch, okay? Now, I gotta shower. We leave at seven. Oh, Haley is meeting us too.”

I meet her eyes. “Anyone else?”

She shrugs, knowing what I’m asking, but doesn’t say. “Not sure.”

“Okay,” I say with a smile, unlocking my phone, checking the time, then rush to get ready.

“Oh we’re wearing blue jean skirts and boots,” Remi says from the bathroom.

My closet is full of both. Once I’m dressed, I fix my hair. Just as I’m sliding on my signature red lipstick, it’s time to go. We’re leaving the cowboy hats at home tonight.

It takes us five minutes to arrive and park.

As soon as we walk in, Cash is already three sheets past the wind and tells us to order whatever we want. Beckett and Summer join us, and I see Kinsley and Hayden making out in the corner. PDA never bothered them, not when we were teenagers and not now. Some things change in this town while others stay the same.

“So, London is playin’ tonight? Is it her first show here?”

“Yeah! They paid to have her,” Remi says, pointing to the stage. “She’s right there in the wings.”

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