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Yeah, okay, I heard it.
I take a breath. “Fine. Yes. I love him. I’ve loved him since…” I sigh. “A long time. But we haven’t said it. We agreed not to. And he’s the big talker. If he had something to say, why did he do it this way instead of saying it to me? Now I’ve got a huge spotlight on me.”
“You definitely do,” Ami says. “Have you heard the podcast?”
“The podcast from here?” I ask.
She nods. “They did a special edition tonight once Torin showed up. This was his first public appearance with the people, Abi. Lindsey and Jen were there. And they’ve been talking all about this big love declaration.”
My heart turns over in my chest and my stomach roils. “What are they saying?”
“That it’s your turn.” My sister has the audacity to grin. “They want you to publicly declare your feelings for him the same way. They mentioned there’s some farmer’s market thing happening tomorrow where Torin is introducing your farm to the village. They have challenged you.”
“Oh…no…”
My finger is shaking as I click on the link Ami just sent me.
PODCAST EPISODE 821 TRANSCRIPT
Lindsey: Well, wow. I feel like I just got injected with a B12 shot. Or Cupid's arrow hit me. And that is very unlike me.
Jen: No kidding. That was amazing. I mean, Prince Torin has never really shied away from the spotlight. But that was next level even for him. The public declaration, the just putting it all out there like that. I can see why Abigail fell for him. If he has been feeling like this for her for like two years, she didn’t stand a chance.
Lindsey: Okay, Princess, your turn! We want to see your big public declaration!
Jen: I don’t know. Maybe she's not that type. He's the big, sunshiny, energetic, golden retriever type. She's the quiet, nerdy bookworm. I have to admit, that’s pretty cute.
Lindsey: Yeah, it is. At the same time, now the guy has declared his feelings, for all of us to see, and she knows we all love him. She has to give us something. Can’t leave a guy hanging like that, can you?
Jen: Oh my God, you know what it reminds me of? Have you ever seen the Drew Barrymore movie Never Been Kissed?
Lindsey: Sure. My mom loves that movie.
Jen: This reminds me of how she does the public declaration of her feelings for the guy and says meet me on the pitcher’s mound at the baseball game and give me my first kiss. And then the huge crowd shows up and she’s standing there, waiting for him, and the clock’s running down, and he’s not showing up and he’s not showing up…
Lindsey: So you’re saying Prince Torin has said, “Hey, Abigail, come kiss me in front of everyone” and now we’re just waiting to see if she’ll do it?
Jen: I’m just saying that would be pretty great.
Lindsey: That has to happen! You hear us, Princess? Get your bejeweled behind down here and kiss your prince! I hear there’s a pretty cool farmer’s market happening tomorrow. That would be the perfect place.
I stare at the transcript.
Oh, this is bad. This is really bad.
“You’re going to do it, right?” Ami asks.
I look at my sisters and instantly start shaking my head. “Of course not!”
“You have to!” Ami insists. “If you don’t, that will look so bad! It will be embarrassing for Torin!”
“Well, he should have thought of that when he got up on that table!” I say. But I don’t mean it. Even as the words leave my mouth, I want to take them back. I take a deep breath. “Okay, what he did tonight was kind of great.”
“It was,” Charlie agrees. “Ideal? For you? No. But pretty romantic. And very…”
“Torin,” I fill in. “It was very Torin. He’s the get-up-on-a-table type. And I knew that when I agreed to this. I mean he built me a farm. He’s…over the top and larger than life.”
“And he’s a prince,” Charlie says. “He will always be in the public eye, in the spotlight.”
