I nodded. “Thank you for having me.”
“Oh, don’t thank me. Thank yourboyfriend.” The drawl on that last word delivered the implied judgment with surgical precision—this woman had a doctorate in passive-aggressiveness. “I’ve heard he’s quite the philanthropist.”
And then another woman slipped in beside Carol—tall, redheaded, and bubbly in a way that begged for approval.
“This is Autumn Kensington,” Carol announced, her voice going up a full octave in admiration. “Our new head of events. She started last week, but she hasn’t wasted any time whipping us into shape.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Autumn laughed. “But I am excited to be here. So many ideas.”
“Isn’t she a breath of fresh air?” Carol beamed. “She’s already planning a garden gala in April. Maybe a Derby watch party, too.”
Autumn’s eyes pulled wide with an incoming idea. “What if it was ‘Derby de Mayo’?”
“I love it,” Carol said. “It’s perfect.”
“That does sound thrilling.” I smiled, but I could feel the dread trickling in. Country clubs were never really my scene—too curated, too coded. But when we joined, I had thought I could be myself. The check cleared, didn’t it? Something about the way Carol looked over my bare shoulders and beachy maxi dress, though, told me I had fallen short of her expectations.
Autumn turned to me, offering her hand. “Carol said you’re new in town, too? Moved here with your boyfriend? Some tech success story?”
I watched the way Carol’s eyebrows went up at the word “boyfriend,” and I could feel what she wasn’t saying.
Freeloader. Temporary. Arm candy in the wrong dress.
There were rules here, too. Just like in Simon’s office, but the politics were at an angle. People at the club didn’t want financial power—they already had that. Here, they wanted popularity. It was like high school with a driving range. Old me would have lunged for the top of the food chain. But the last time I did that, it cost me everything I had. I couldn’t risk it again. So I did the opposite. Let them whisper. Let them think what they wanted.
I had already survived worse than Carol could ever throw at me, so I tuned her out and smiled at Autumn. “I am. We’ve been here a few months. We bought a place we just wrapped up the renovations on.”
Autumn’s smile was bright and a little too fixed. “That’s so exciting. I love HGTV.”
“Me, too!” Carol beamed.
Oh, brother.
The way Carol and Autumn started tittering about shiplap solidified my suspicions that being new in Winter Park wasn’t a problem for Carol. But breaking from formation? That would cost you with her.
When Beau returned, having said good night to Will, I smiled and whispered to him softly, “Have you met Carol? She finds my status as yourgirlfriendto be quite the scandal.”
And I couldn’t be certain, but I think he kissed my bare shoulder for the sole purpose of making her nostrils flare.
“I love you,” I mouthed.
He winked.
When we got home, I went out to sit by the pool, where the soft slap of water against the dock blended with the low hum of cicadas in the trees.
It was humid, but not in a bad way. The kind of warmth that settled under your skin. I pulled my hair off my neck and leaned back in my chair, thinking I could get used to this version of myself.
She’s rested. She’s loved. She’s shielded by money. She doesn’t give a single fuck.
I heard Beau’s feet coming and then saw a glass of wine being offered. I took it, and he settled into the chair next to me.
“Wonder what the poor folks are doing,” he said with a slight drawl.
I looked at him.
“Southern expression. Something my grandfather said every time the air-conditioning kicked on in the summer.”
I touched the Buffalo Nickel—the one his grandfather had given him—on my neck and then tapped my drink to his in a quiet toast.
