AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because she’s my mom.”
“Barely. I guess that’s the burden of being the favorite, though.”
“I guess so.” He turned the key in the ignition, and I wondered how we were going to get through the long drive back to Esperance.
“I love you for that,” Stef said softly.
“I love you, too.”
I put my sunglasses on, even though it wasn’t that bright out, because I didn’t want them to see the tears in my eyes.
CHAPTER27
Lucy
“Do you ever stop and think about what a weird little town this really is? Or are you used to it because you grew up here?” Ally asked, pushing the pink lace café curtain aside and gazing out at the town square.
I laughed. “Oh, it’s definitely very weird. A replica of a medieval French town in the middle of North Carolina is not something you see every day.”
“It’s pretty, though.”
“Yeah.” Following her gaze, I felt a rush of affection for my quirky little hometown. “It’s a testament to true love, you know, how it endures.”
“Holy shit, now you’re getting sentimental. What’s going on?”
Before I could answer, I heard my name. “Lucy! How are you? I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“Poppy, hi! This is my friend Ally. Ally, this is Poppy. She makes the best carrot cake this side of the Esperance River.”
Poppy, her pink hair in a short pixie cut and her blue eyes shining, gave Ally a big grin. “Great to meet you. I assume you’ve both ordered the carrot cake, so I’ll just go ahead and get it ready for you.”
“Thanks so much.”
Once Poppy had left, Ally cast an appreciative look over the little café . “I like what she’s done with the place. She seems pretty young to have such a good setup already.”
“Yeah, she was two years behind me in high school. She always aced home ec.”
“Awesome. I can’t wait for my carrot cake. But back to you. What’s the latest?”
I started by telling her about Naomi’s visit, adding that we were worried she would start hitting up family members for details.
“Seriously? They go that far?”
“They might. It’s insurance fraud, right? That’s a pretty big deal.”
“Fuck, that’s awful.”
“Tell me about it. I hate it.”
Ally waited until Poppy had delivered coffee, tea and cake and left again before saying, “Do you hateallof it?” I sipped my tea, watching her over the rim of the cup. Her eyes danced in response. “Spill. Tell me everything.”
“Well, his sister is staying with us for a while, sleeping in the spare room, so we’re sharing a bed.”
“How terrible for you.”
“The first night was actually excruciating, because we were so wound up by the insurance assessor’s visit. I was freaking out and so was he. But the next night…”
“You’re evil.”
