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Each one was holding a large box that she assumed was filled with the champagne flutes. Mindy walked to the door to let her friends in, and the moment they entered they set the boxes down.
Sarah turned to her, eyeing her up and down.
“What else happened?” she asked, and Mindy had to fight the urge to blanch.
“How do you know anything happened?” Mindy fired back, prompting William to shake his head.
“She has a sense about these things,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s best to just tell her. But do it after I go.”
“You’re going already?” Mindy asked and he nodded.
“I was just the muscle to carry the boxes.” He turned, giving Sarah a kiss and waving goodbye to Mindy before walking out the door.
Sarah, however, didn’t spare any time. The moment that the door had closed, she whirled on her friend.
“Spill,” she demanded, walking over to one of the stools at the counter and plopping onto it.
Mindy came to sit beside her friend on one of the stools, telling her all about the breakup. And as she spoke, she knew for a fact that it was the right choice. Especially when the more she spoke, the more relieved Sarah seemed.
She knew that getting back out in the dating world was going to be hard, especially when she was always surrounded by so many strong, amazing couples. But the truth was, she wasn’t going to find her William, her Zach, or her Derek by staying in a relationship where she was just going through the emotions. And even if it was scary, Mindy was also excited.
Because how could it go wrong when she had friends this great to see her through it?
CHAPTERTWENTY
The door to the rink was pulled open, grabbing Shelley’s attention as she was putting the final touches on a piece of tinsel that had been arranged to look like a flower. She whirled to face the sound of the noise, and immediately her face broke into a wide, excited smile as Valerie strode through the doors.
She looked beautiful and stylish in well-fitting black jeans, a black sweater, and black booties, and she was grinning at Shelley as she approached. It was the night of the showcase, and Shelley was so excited she could hardly sit still. She kept rearranging and fixing the already perfect decorations.
“How are you?” Valerie asked as she stopped at the edge of the rink, and Shelley trotted over to her to pull her into a quick hug.
“Nervous,” Shelley admitted with a chuckle, shaking her head a bit.
“That’s to be expected.”
Both of them glanced at the clock, seeing the amount of time left before people began arriving. The kids would begin showing up in about an hour, and about thirty minutes after that, doors would be opening for the showcase.
“We’ve been preparing for this showcase for so long,” Shelley said. “It’s hard to believe that the day is finally here.”
“It’s going to be great,” Valerie reassured her. “Do you want to go over the plan one more time?”
Shelley nodded, launching into the timeline of how everything would break down. Once the doors opened for people to take their seats, the kids would be escorted to the back to the locker rooms, and precisely at three p.m. they would skate out and begin their performance. During the intermission, Valerie would come out and thank everyone for coming and give a small speech about Snowy Pine Ridge and what attracted her to the town, and then the rest of the showcase would commence.
Valerie nodded, confirming that she understood the game plan. Then, Shelley noticed she placed her hands in the pockets of her jeans, beginning to shift her weight nervously from foot to foot.
“Can I talk to you about something?” Valerie blurted, her eyes wide and hesitant before shaking her head. “Sorry. I just don’t have a ton of people I trust back home. All of the friendships I’ve made are just kind of surface level, and you seem so close with all the girls and I….”
Shelley held up her hands, smiling at the other woman as she was getting herself worked up.
“Hey. Hey, it’s okay,” she said softly. “You can talk to me about whatever you need to.”
“Are you sure?” Valerie’s eyebrows drew together, and she looked so concerned that Shelley’s heart gave a squeeze of sympathy.
“Of course,” she answered, nodding her head with encouragement. “Talk to me about whatever you want.”
Valerie gave her a grateful smile. “It’s about Clark,” she said, and then began filling Shelley in on everything that Clark had said to her while waiting for the Hiltons to come to their new home.
The longer Valerie talked, the more Shelley’s heart ached for the other woman. She had no idea what this must feel like for her, to feel as if she was caught between giving up everything that she had ever known and giving up the possibility of true love.
