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5. things magically fall into place in the following areas: love, career, friendship
6. saves people
7. heals people
8. is the missing puzzle piece in people’s lives
“You came up with that?” Glenn asked after a few moments.
“I did.” Viv was proud of coining the term Hope Falls Effect. It had become a hashtag that trended during Single’s Week and she hoped that it would do the same during the busy summer season.
“How?’’ Glenn asked, looking genuinely interested.
“After living in this town for a few years I started noticing a pattern. These patterns.” She pointed to numbers one through eight on the shirt. “I started talking to my sister Audrey about it. She didn’t believe me, at first. But then I started giving her examples. It just sort of evolved over the years and every time I would witness one of these phenomenon I would say, ‘see, it’s the Hope Falls Effect’. It was just something between my sisters and friends but when I was planning Single’s Week to try and boost the local economy, I figured I might as well market the shit out it.”
“Did it work?” Glenn asked.
“Yep. We sold out of the first two runs. These are actually stock for the summer.”
She watched Glenn’s eyes narrow slightly and wondered what he was thinking.
“That’s really impressive. You’re really impressive.”
Viv felt her cheeks heat at his comment. The same thing had happened when he’d told her that she looked fucking perfect. The first time it happened, she’d thought she might be getting a fever. Now, she knew she was blushing.
Her. Vivien Wells. Blushing.
That’s what Glenn did to her.
Feeling out of her comfort zone, Viv put the T-shirt back into the box. She started to put other bins on top of it. Why? She had no clue. She was just trying to do something so she didn’t throw herself at the first and only man who made her blush.
The first bin was easy peasy. The second was heavy. Really heavy.
“Here, let me help.” He reached around her to grab it but she tried to tug it away.
“It’s okay, I’ve go—” Her declaration of independence was cut short when the bin tipped over and all of the contents fell on the floor.
When she looked down and saw what they were, panic came over her. She’d rather it have been a bin full of sex toys than what it was. This was private. This was personal. This was not something she’d let anyone see before.
She dropped down to the ground and waved him away. “I’ve got it. You can go.”
* * *
Glenn wasn’tsure what just happened. One minute Viv was showing him her T-shirt and the next she got all weird. And now she was rushing him off.
He crouched down and helped her pick up paperwork. When he saw that there were police files and a report from a private detective, he asked, “What’s all this?”
“Nothing.” Viv shook her head and grabbed the papers out of his hand. “I said you can go.”
Glenn could see that he had clearly crossed a line and that whatever the box held was private. He stood and apologized. “I’m sorry.”
As he turned to walk out, he heard her sigh. “No. I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asked, confused as to why she would be apologizing.
“For snapping at you. I’ve just…I’ve been working on this…thing…for so long and I haven’t told anyone about it, not my sisters, not even Nonna—”
“Nonna?”
