He huffs a laugh. “No. I’m here on…vacation.” He glances at the parking lot hopefully, before turning toward Bianca. “I’ll be in the car.” He nods at us and then stalks off.
“Don’t mind him,” Bianca says. “He didn’t want to be unmasked. He thought he could come here and hide away. Like anyone could hide from that kind of attention.”
“Nobody does like being unmasked,” Cormac comments, and I know we’re both thinking of Pansy.
Fucking Pansy.
On the plus side, Bradley Ruche the douche decided to take her to court for fraud, with advice from yours truly—and also to get his grandmother’s ring back. With any luck the legal process will be long, drawn out, and financially and socially painful.
I know I can’t entirely blame Pansy for the loss of my friendship with José, but she definitely played a part. Hopefully, we can eventually regain some of what we lost.
After the sale of the brewery went through, José decided to take an extended vacation. I haven’t seen him since he returned to Asheville. But he says he feels motivated for the first time in a long while. He’s thinking of his next steps. Going to therapy.
So am I.
Going to therapy, that is.
I went through three therapists before I found one that fits. Hannah says I’m the Goldilocks of mental health.
Cormac, of course, has been amazing and supportive, since he knows no other way of being.
Hedidforget my birthday, however, even though he had it as his phone’s password for months. Which amused me about as much as it horrified him.
“Oh, Giovanni will be fine,” Bianca says, bringing me back to the present moment.
“Is he your boyfriend?” I ask as the pieces click into place. Go former Nurse Bianca!
An amused look crosses her face as her gaze flicks across the parking lot. “Something like that.”
It sounds like there’s a story there, but before I can pursue itany further, the door pops open again, and this time Hannah and Sophie are behind it.
“Nora, you’re late for the makeup,” Sophie says.
“Don’t worry, it’s not that beehive lady,” Hannah adds. “We got someone else this time.”
Hannah and Sophie look curiously at Bianca, who waves at us. “I hope everything goes well,” she says.
“Bye, Bianca,” I reply, giving her a return wave. “I better get going before they start rioting.”
She turns and heads toward the car and Giovanni.
“Don’t look now,” I whisper to Hannah, “but she’s dating The Shirtless Chef…well, maybe dating him, and he’s in that car.”
“What?” she practically barks, leaning to look over my shoulder. “You think he’d be pissed off if I asked for his autograph?”
“Yes,” Cormac says as he takes my hand. “But don’t let that stop you.”
She shrugs, then takes off, Sophie pursuing her.
“What about hair and makeup?” I call after them.
“We’re all naturally beautiful,” Hannah says, trying to lengthen her naturally short strides.
I squeeze Cormac’s hand, and we head inside the B&B and into the living area, where we practically bump into our parents. They drove out earlier, to “make a day of it” with Ann and Nathaniel, with whom they’ve been spending lots of time.
Looking beyond them, I see a big cluster of our friends—Rob talking to Travis, whose son is leafing through a paperback. Mick leaning against a wall and scrolling away on his phone. And in the corner, Liam is standing with his father and brother, the three of them laughing as they pass around a flask.
Briar is presumably tucked away somewhere, getting herhair fixed, not that any hairstylist could possibly improve upon that perfection.
