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Chapter Eight
After forty-eight hours of being cooped up in her mom’s tiny shack of a house, Darcy hadn’t written a single word. Between her mom’s constant chatter and Darcy’s nonstop obsessing about what Griffin would look like naked, it was impossible to get anything done.
Desperate for productive normalcy, she grabbed her laptop and went to Earl’s Diner on Main Street, right in the heart of downtown Revival. She’d always worked well in coffee shops and restaurants, the din of conversation and dishes creating a type of white noise she could zone out to.
She walked into the diner and there were about twenty people in the place. Every single one of them turned to look at her, growing still. For a fraction of a second a hush fell over the Revival institution before returning to normal.
She steeled her spine. She was not the bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks anymore.
They should envy her life now.
But her childhood memories ran deep. And even though the patrons had returned to the coffee and omelets, it was hard to push past the sharpness of those feelings she remembered so well. Of being poor. Of being “trash.” Of not belonging.
Oh, she understood now with her psychology degrees she’d acted out all those years ago because she’d been overcompensating for her insecurities. She knew her past didn’t define her. And she’d worked damn hard to turn her life into something she was proud of.
She wasn’t going to let Revival wipe that away.
With her head held high she went to an empty booth and pulled her computer out of her bag. Just as she opened her latest article, a female voice said, “Oh my God, it’s you!”
Darcy looked up into Gracie Roberts’s gorgeous face. Growing up, Gracie had been like a goddess, and Darcy had always adored her. “Gracie!”
“I heard you were back in town but somehow I missed you at the party.” Gracie held out her arms and squealed. “It’s so fantastic to see you.”
Darcy stood and hugged the blond woman, who wrapped her up in a big bear hug. “You too.”
That’s when she saw two women behind Gracie. A pregnant redhead and a pretty little pixie princess, neither of whom Darcy had ever seen before. Darcy released Gracie and smiled at them.
The two women looked at Gracie who said, “This is Darcy Miller, she grew up here but moved to New York right after graduation.” She waved at the redhead. “These are my friends, Maddie Riley”—she pointed at the woman with black hair—“and Harmony Jones. They both moved here after you left, which is why they don’t look familiar.”
They all shook hands, and Darcy gestured at her booth. She should be working, but what the hell. Besides, Griffin would probably invade her thoughts anyway. It was hard to write about sex and not think of him. “Do you want to join me?”
Gracie tucked a lock of curly hair behind her ear and glanced at Darcy’s laptop. “Are you sure we’re not interrupting?”
“Not at all!” Darcy slid into the booth. “I’d much rather catch up than work.”
Gracie sat next to her, and the other two women took up residence on the opposite side of the booth. Gracie picked up a menu and an engagement ring flashed on her finger. Darcy grabbed her hand. “You’re getting married?”
Gracie laughed. “Yep, in a couple months.”
“Well, tell me, who’s the lucky guy?”
Gracie grinned and waved at the redhead, Maddie. “Her brother, actually. He’s a professor from Chicago. We kind of live in both places.”
“My mom told me you opened a bakery in Chicago, how’s it going?”
Gracie huffed in apparent exasperation. “Rewarding and exhausting.”
“I can imagine.” Darcy flashed a grin at the women across from her. “And how did you end up in Revival?”
Maddie laughed, beaming at Gracie. “Here’s the short version. I grew up in Chicago, and I climbed out the church window on my wedding day and ran away from home. My car broke down just up the road and I ran into her next-door neighbor and ended up married to him. That started a chain reaction. I have three brothers. My oldest brother is married to my husband Mitch’s sister. After eighteen months of being at each other’s throats Gracie and my middle brother, James, finally figured out that they were in love, and now they’re engaged.”
That was confusing. Darcy took a sip of her terrible coffee and longed for Starbucks. “So you only have one brother left.”
Maddie shook her head. “Nope. It turns out my youngest brother and my best friend had a secret affair behind my back when we were teenagers, and now they’re getting married too.” She shrugged. “But they live in Chicago, so you probably won’t meet them.”
Harmony gave Darcy a serene smile. “Don’t even try to figure it out. I gave up a while ago.”
Darcy laughed. The name sounded familiar, and she remembered the card Griffin gave her. “Wait, did you say your last name is Riley? And your husband’s name is Mitch?”
