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Max didn’t deny my claim, which only made me feel worse. He hugged me close, and for a brief second, I wished with all my heart thathewas the Braddock I wanted. Max was smart, kind, and he and Nate were supposedly identical—although with their different haircuts and clothing styles, it wasn’t difficult to tell them apart.
Why couldn’t it be him?
My heart gave a pathetic squeeze. Oh, yeah. Because Max wasn’t my best friend. He wasn’t the guy who’d threatened a bully when they’d been making fun of my height. He wasn’t the boy who’d listened as I confessed that I sometimes hated my parents for leaving me here, even though they’d done so in order to help communities living in extreme poverty in Sudan. You weren’t supposed to hate people who devoted their lives to others like that, but Nate understood my bitterness. He sympathized. I wasn’t sure Max would do the same.
“I’m sorry,” Max said again. He pulled back and swiped tears from my cheeks.
“What am I going to do now?” I asked hopelessly. “When Maddy tells him—”
“She won’t,” he interrupted. “Their thing is new. You’re his best friend. She won’t say anything in case she loses him.”
I pressed my lips together. Even if Maddy stayed quiet, I wasn’t sure I could go on being Nate’s best friend while seeing him with her. It would hurt too much. But then, I couldn’t give him up either.
“Look.” He scanned my face, waiting to make sure I was listening. “It’s up to you what you want to do next, but if you keep acting like things are normal, Maddy will stay quiet. At least, for now.” He sucked in a breath, held it for a moment, then released it slowly. “If you come to the dance with me, she’ll probably forget about it altogether.”
“Go… with you?” I patted my pocket, where the two tickets I’d purchased sat ready for use. “Like, as a date?”
He shook his head. “Just so we both have someone to go with. We’ll have fun together, won’t we?”
I thought about it. He was offering to help me save face. Even if no one else had witnessed what happened tonight, I knew I’d be obvious if I turned up to the dance solo and sent longing gazes at Nate all night. If I was good at anything, it was making the best of a situation.
I straightened my spine and nodded. “Okay, let’s do this.”
1
GRACE
Where wasmy nude pink lipstick?
I studied the contents of my purse, but the tube didn’t magically appear. With a groan of frustration, I rushed to the bathroom and searched the drawer where I kept my cosmetics.
I was going to be late. I didn’t do late. I was always punctual. I prided myself on it. But if I couldn’t find my favorite lipstick in the next few minutes, I wouldn’t be.
I glanced at myself in the mirror and pulled a face. If I hadn’t already started my makeup, I’d dispense with it entirely, but I couldn’t leave it without a finishing touch. Sighing, I chose an alternative from the drawer and applied it. The color was a bit brighter than usual, but it still suited my outfit, so it would be fine. Especially just for dinner with Kennedy.
I didn’t know why I was making such a big deal of this at all, except that the lipstick wasn’t the only thing I’d lost recently. Just last week, I’d misplaced my favorite blouse and I hadn’t found it yet. Neither of these things was significant on their own, but I was an organized person. I wasn’t accustomed to losing things. And after what had happened on my property earlier in the year, which had stirred up memories I’d tried to bury, the disappearances put me on edge. My subconscious kept whispering that someone had taken them.
Don’t be crazy, I told it.I’m just paranoid because of what happened to Kennedy. I’m being absentminded and forgetting where I put things, that’s all.
Unfortunately, my imagination knew no bounds when it came to ‘what ifs’. A less than ideal side-effect of earning a living as a writer.
I blotted the lipstick, reapplied it, and spritzed myself with perfume. At least I hadn’t lost the perfume too. Destiny Falls was in the middle of nowhere, so replacing items like lipstick and perfume could be more of a nuisance than if I lived in a city. I slipped the lipstick into my purse, grabbed a jacket from my closet, and headed out, locking the door behind me. I hadn’t always bothered to lock up in Destiny Falls, but after having a violent stalker drug and kidnap Kennedy from my property, I’d become warier. More of that annoying paranoia.
The walk to Drunken Destiny, the local pub, didn’t take long. I clutched my jacket around me, trying to stay warm in the cool winter air. Even though it was only six, night had already descended. The main street was mostly empty, the voices and laughter spilling out of Drunken Destiny the only source of noise.
As I entered the pub, I looked around, catching sight of Kennedy in a back corner. I wasn’t surprised. She liked to stay out of the way as much as possible—although being a celebrity in a small town meant she never went completely unnoticed. I smiled at her, then greeted Eugene, Nate’s Dad, who stood behind the counter. His wife, Heather, was seated at a bar stool on the other side. Meanwhile, Bailey, the bartender, was serving beer to a pair of young men who seemed more interested in her than in their drinks.
I made my way over to Kennedy and dropped into the seat opposite her. “Sorry I’m late.”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I think three minutes late still counts as on time.”
Usually, I would have laughed, but today I didn’t have it in me.
“Hey, are you okay?” A line formed between Kennedy’s dark brows.
I debated whether to be honest but figured that if anyone could understand how unsettled I was, it would be her. “It’s probably nothing,” I said slowly. “But I couldn’t find my lipstick today, and last week I lost one of the blouses I wear all the time. I know I’m just being paranoid, but it’s making me anxious.”
Kennedy’s expression clouded with concern. “Do you think someone might have stolen them? Do you have any guests at the bed and breakfast at the moment?”
