I remembered staring at her and wondering if I would ever have anything similar to what she did.
Her eyes met mine and I gave her an awkward wave. She walked right over to me.
“Hi, Piper.”
“Hi, uh ...” My cheeks went red.
“I’m Grace, in case you happened to forget.”
Busted.“I’msosorry. I’m usually better with names.”
She waved her hand as if it were nothing. “It’s totallyfine. You have a lot of people to meet and it can be so overwhelming moving somewhere new. Have you met everyone yet?”
“Definitely not everyone, but I’ve met a few memorable people.”
“You mean Kerry, don’t you?”
I blinked. Did she know how to read minds or something? “I definitely did. And I think I’ve met someone named Mollie. And I have a feeling I’ve been near others, but I haven’t talked to them. I’m going slow.”
“That’s a good idea. We can all be a little overwhelming at first, so take it at your own pace.”
Grace had no idea about my past or anything about me, but I could tell she was making sure that I didn’t feel uncomfortable. That was really kind of her.
“I’m still trying to get out there, though. That’s why I’m here.”
“It’s such an amazing place to be too.” She gestured to the shelves. “I still can’t believe a reality show got us all of this. You watched it, right?”
“I did. It was really interesting.”
“Has the town lived up to what you saw?”
“I’d say it’s better. There’s a lot fewer love triangles.”
Grace laughed. “Yeah, we try to avoid those. Where else have you been?”
“Uh, the coffee shop and the grocery store. That’s about it. I’m gonna try to go to more soon.”
“Well, if you’d like a recommendation, I can’t say enough good things about my best friend’s shop. She owns Jade’s Goodies on the square.”
“I’ve heard about it.” I thought about what it would be like to go by myself. My face fell as my body tightened.No.I wanted to be normal. Hadn’t I gotten close when I touched Theo the night before?
“If it helps, we’ve been warned not to touch you.”
My brow furrowed. “You have? By who?”
“I figured it out, but Kelsey came to one of our girls’ nights and warned us that you have a thing against being touched by others. And that’s totally fine. Jade can be a little physical when she’s excited, but she’ll remember and give you your space.”
“That’s ... Thank you. For not being weird about it.” Relief hit like a truck, followed by disappointment. I wanted to beat this fear, not still have it. “I’ll do my best to meet everyone officially.”
“I can help with that. Did you know we have a girls’ night most weeks?”
“Really? That sounds fun.”
“Then you should come. We would love to have you someday.”
Had I ever been invited to anything like this? Had I ever been in a place where people were so friendly? The answer to both was no.
I felt myself stand a little straighter.
