My mother purrs with a throaty laugh. “Oh, she’s a little mini-me, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Fisher mutters. “It hardly felt like you were gone at all, Hilda.”
I slouch in my chair. The words flowed so effortlessly off my tongue, because they were programmed in. I know everything about the families in our circle. I know who does and does not get along, and how to leverage the information. Like a robot, I spat out exactly what my mother wanted.
I fix my posture before my mother snaps. She and Mrs. Fisher resume talking over the top of each other. My hand brushes over the outline of my phone.
I need to be better than this.
I need to get back to Dax.
“Umm, Ness,” Meghan pipes up as our mother’s fight over the last seats at table eight.
Desperation dominates my body as we meet eyes.
Meghan nods, knowingly. “Wanna take a walk on the grounds?”
Mrs. Fisher taps a hand over Meghan’s wrist. “You don’t want to strain yourself.”
Meghan clicks her tongue. “I can walk, Mom.”
My mother frowns. “We’re not done here.”
I scoot my chair back and gesture at the board. “You’ve taken care of the VIPs. The rest is nit-picking.”
“That’s true,” my mother agrees.
“No, it’s not,” Mrs. Fisher argues. “I’m not happy with the placement of the Walters and McIntosh families.”
As they go at it again, I’m quick to beckon Meghan to follow. We dash out of the dining room, making it outside toward the tennis courts.
The fresh air is heavenly. “Thanks so much for getting me out of there.”
“I could see something was nagging at you. What’s up?”
As we take the winding path toward the golf course, relief washes over me. I got a text from Dax.
“I just needed to go for a ride and clear my head.”
I sink into my frown, lowering my phone to my side.
“Oh my gosh, Ness. What’s happened?”
I throw my hair off my shoulders and fan my face. “You don’t want to hear about it.”
Meghan links arms with me. “Sure I do.”
Miserably, I lift the phone. “I’ve messed things up with the guy I’m seeing.”
“Oh no. Last time we talked you seemed so smitten.”
“I did something really stupid last night, and it upset him. I thought he’d forgiven me, but now he wants space.”
Meghan subtly peers at the phone. “What exactly did he say?”
“He needed to clear his head.”
“Okay, that’s not exactly a bad thing.”
