AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Closing myself into my room of the suite, I fish around for a dress to change into but decide to skip it. I’ll save the big guns for later. Right now I just want to call Holly, and Maxine looks wiped out so this is the perfect chance. Sure enough, when I walk back through her room she’s all but passed out. I wave and head out the door with my phone, feeling illogically empowered by my confessions to Bo last night.
Stepping into the pool and garden area, I find a grassy knoll where I can get some privacy. After taking a few minutes to formulate what I would feel safe saying on the phone, I dial Holly up.
She answers on the first ring. “Fiona…it’s so good to hear from you. How’s it going down there?”
“Hi Holly, good. How are you?” I feel like a total phony already.
“Holding down the fort. So…did you meet any interesting vendors yet this year?”
“Yes actually. You know that Fort Myers vendor I use? Well she is the greatest lady.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes, delightful. She’s super solid…an incredibly strong and interesting person. Not to mention, she’s a total knockout.”
“Oh wow! Well I hope you’ll remain good friends.”
“Yeah well, you know how bad I am at long distance friendships, but it’s been great to meet such a nice person I’m doing business with.”
“Hmm…well maybe you two will keep up with each other.”
“Sure…yeah. Christmas cards and all that.” I giggle awkwardly, just wanting to change the subject now. “Oh, and guess what?”
“What?”
“Maxine was brilliant in our contest!”
“Oh, that’s such good news! Do you think she might place?” Holly asks heartily, embracing the new topic.
“I do. I genuinely do, and I don’t even think I’m being biased. She actually sculpted a headdress up there and put it on with her dress and…I’ll text you a bunch of pics here in a sec. You’ll see…I think she was far and away the standout, but there were some others that were also amazing. We’ll be on pins and needles until they announce winners tomorrow night.”
“Yay Fifi…I’m so glad you have a lot of great things going on this weekend. What you need is a vacation, so just allow yourself to soak up all the good stuff you can while you’re there.”
“You are so right. Thank you for reminding me.”
“Of course,” she responds, and then sits in cautious silence…having almost said too much.
“Well…Quade called a couple times on my trip down Friday.”
“Oh yeah? What’s he up to?” she asks with feigned enthusiasm.
“Oh, he just wanted me to chat with him that night but I didn’t want Maxine to have to navigate the meet-and-greet all alone.” I laugh phonily. “So we decided to talk Monday instead.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Yeah…he wants to talk about us a little. Says he feels like I’m slipping away,” I say in a sing-song voice. “Quade’s so silly sometimes. I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately.”
“That does sound silly Fiona. Why would he imagine you’re distancing from him?”
“Seriously, I have no idea. Maybe he’s just jealous of you Holly,” I say as though she’s the only other person in my world.
“Well…I could understand that I guess,” she responds with a giggle.
I check the time and it’s almost lunch here. If Quade’s been listening, my mission is accomplished. We get off the line and I hightail it to the dining hall, eager to sit next to Bo again.
Chapter 14
Bo
