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But whenever she’d asked, Indigo had clammed up, and since Beth had her own secrets, she’d decided to leave it alone. Whatever Indigo’s reasons, coming to the other side of the world to a new country took guts, and it was clear that she had plenty of that.
Izzy gave them both a radiant smile, pleased with their admiration of her fiancée. “I know, right? Isn’t he amazing? So we’re going to have a little town get-together tonight at the Rose. A celebration for Chase and me. You two will be there, won’t you?”
“Hell yes,” Beth said without hesitation, because she liked a party. Or at least, she’d make herself like a party. “Absolutely.”
Indigo wrinkled her nose. “I love you, Izzy, you know that. But I really hate parties.”
Izzy leaned her hip against the counter. “Don’t think of it as a party. It’s more of an informal get-together. A…meeting of friends.”
It was not unusual for Indigo to balk at anything that required social interaction. Then again, even when she’d been doubtful about something, she normally sucked it up and came along anyway. All she needed was a bit of reassurance.
“Don’t forget, you know everyone.” Beth gave her a pat on the shoulder. “It’s not going to be a room full of strangers or anything.”
Indigo sighed. “I know. It’s just…”
“Hmmm.” Izzy’s gaze turned shrewd. “This doesn’t have anything to do with a certain person, does it?”
Predictably, whenever the subject of Levi King came up, Indigo went beet red, and sure enough, she was blushing now.
“What person?” There was a hint of sharpness in her tone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Except she did know what Izzy was talking about. They all did.
Levi, playboy extraordinaire, had apparently decided that Indigo was his latest challenge, flirting outrageously with her, making her blush, teasing her, and generally being a pain in the ass.
He wasn’t cruel or mean, only his normal charming self, but Indigo had decided she didn’t like him and, rather to Beth’s surprise given her friend’s shyness, had let him know that at every opportunity.
Which, naturally enough, only provoked him even more.
Watching the two of them needle each other had become one of Beth’s favorite forms of entertainment.
“You have to go,” Beth said. “You know how much I enjoy watching you and Levi sniping at each other.”
Indigo sniffed. “I do not snipe.”
“Sure you do. You snipe. Levi flirts.”
“She’s not wrong,” Izzy said.
“What do you expect?” Indigo looked cross. “He’s a dick. I keep telling him to leave me alone and he won’t.”
“Well, he might if you weren’t always in his vicinity at every opportunity,” Beth pointed out, since it was true. For all the protests Indigo made, she always seemed to be around wherever Levi was, mostly in the background, glaring at him.
Beth and Izzy found it terribly amusing, since it was clear to both of them that Indigo had a massive crush on him. It just wasn’t clear to Indigo. She was such a little innocent. It was adorable.
“I don’t want to talk about Levi.” Indigo’s blue eyes fixed on Beth. “How’s it going with Finn?”
Dammit.
Beth hadn’t been specific with the other two about why she’d left Deep River—that was her secret and her secret alone. So they didn’t know the Beth Grant she’d once been.
All they knew was the Beth she’d let them see, the Beth she was now: friendly, outgoing, positive, and full of boundless optimism. And also, according to them, the Beth who was currently fixated on Finn Kelly.
Which was a complete and total lie.
She wasn’t fixated on him. Sure, their interaction a couple of days ago up at Clint’s had been…a bit fraught. And maybe she’d let herself get ruffled by the way he’d looked at her, teasing her about that stupid apple. But thenhe’dbeen stupid and her reaction to him even stupider.
She didn’t regret eating the sausage roll, though, and certainly not after it had ended with him inviting her for a beer. And it wasn’t because she wanted to spend some more time with him, absolutely not. She just wanted to get his help with Evan and some paintings. That was it.
