I don’t think I can do this anymore.
That was definitely Candace!
Freddie and I exchanged wide eyes.
“What do you want me to say?”
I gripped Freddie’s wrist. No mistaking that voice.
Grady.
Grady and Candace. They were the ones with the angry voices.
My heart thudded in my chest. “I don’t think we should be listen—”
“We’re doing our job,” Freddie shout-whispered, clutching my arm. “People are angry. We are security. We need to”—he snapped his fingers—“keep an eye on things. Besides, my dog’s in there. He is going to pee everywhere.”
I shook my head and took a step back. “We can’t. Eavesdropping is not what we were hired for and you know it.”
Freddie stamped his foot. “The only thing I know is that we are both dying to know what Grady and Candace are fighting about in there, but you’re too worried about being a good person.” He put some air quotes around that last part. “So, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to drag you down there now, so we can hear, and then it won’t be your fault. Consider it a late Christmas present.”
I chewed the corner of my lip.
“We both know there’s no way we’re not doing this.”
I didn’t move.
“Okay, fine,” Freddie said, throwing his hands up in the air. “We’ll be good people. We won’t—”
I held out my wrist for Freddie to grab.
“There’s my girl.” He pulled me down the hall, so we could sneak right up to the edge of the door.
“I can’t talk about this right now,” Candace said. “I can’t. Not with everything that’s going on.”
“Wow. She does not sound happy,” Freddie whispered. “At least you managed to ruin her night.”
I leaned in close to his ear and hissed, “I didn’t want to ruin Candace’s night. I—”
“Shush. Grady’s talking.”
We leaned as close as we could to the doorjamb without being seen, our backs pressed against the wall. I pushed Freddie down a little so I could slide my head closer to the threshold over his.
“It could be anyone,” Candace said. “This entire town hates me.”
“Nobody hates you. It’s not about you.”
Grady sounded tired. I wouldn’t go so far as to say frustrated. But definitely tired. They’d had this conversation before.
“Grady, I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but what do you think that so-called invitation I got to leave town was? A kind suggestion from a concerned neighbor?”
“I told you. We’ll find out who sent that note.”
Hmm, note. Not multiple letters. Amos must have exaggerated things to his aunt. Or she exaggerated the details for me. Or—
“Grady, we both know if you could have figured that out, you would have already. We might as well go ask Summer’s crystal ball.”
Freddie shot me a look and mouthed, She has a crystal ball?
Thankfully just then Candace went on. “Otter Lake will never accept me,” she said. “This town doesn’t accept anybody who wasn’t born here.”
“That’s not true,” Grady said … again. “Everybody likes you.”
“But nobody wants me here.”
“They don’t want MRG here. There’s a difference.”
I couldn’t help but think Candace’s statement was the kind a girlfriend makes when she wants her boyfriend to say I want you here. And I couldn’t help but notice that Grady hadn’t said that. And there it was again. That tiny thrill of hope shooting through my veins. Followed quickly by guilt. I was the last person on the planet Candace would be wanting to hear this conversation. I grabbed Freddie’s elbow and took a step back just as I heard Grady say, “Candace, It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure everything out.”
Then I heard a funny sound like someone colliding with a heavy piece of furniture.
“Candace, I—”
“I mean it. Don’t touch me. No—”
Suddenly we heard something clatter to the floor. Freddie jolted so hard he nearly lost his footing. He then took a super quick peek into the room. “She just dropped her drink.”
“Did it break?” Grady asked.
“No,” Candace answered. “I’ll go find a cloth or something.”
“I can do it.”
“I’ll do it. I need a moment,” Candace said. “Why don’t you just go back to the party and take Freddie’s dog with you before he licks this all up. You and Erica can share more Otter Lake stories.”
Freddie shot me another look. At least this time it was of the Oh no she didn’t! variety.
I took a step back as my eyes darted around. We needed to get out of here. Hide. There was a shut door on the opposite side of the hall. I tugged at Freddie’s elbow.
He waved me off.
I did not like this. I was officially a bad person. The sweat popping up under my armpits told me so.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s the stress. I didn’t mean—”
“Candace, I don’t know how many times I have to say it. I think it’s pretty clear to just about everyone, except you, that Erica and I were never meant to be.”
I let out a breath like I had been punched in the stomach.
“Ouch.” Freddie hissed some air through his teeth. “Okay, time to go. We stayed just a moment too long.”
I couldn’t seem to move.
“Come on,” Freddie said, pushing my back. “Go! Go! Go!”
Footsteps came toward us. We darted across the hallway and ducked into the room I was eyeing earlier, quietly, shutting the door behind us.
It’s pretty clear to everybody that Erica and I were never meant to be.
Hot pricks stung my eyes.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
I blinked furiously. I was fine. This is exactly why I had moved on … so I wouldn’t be completely devastated hearing Grady say something like that.
Yup. I was fine.
Just fine.
Actually, I’d be even finer maybe if I folded up that particular little incident like a piece of paper and shoved it in the back pocket of my consciousness. Forever.
“Whoa,” Freddie said, yanking me back to the fact that we were somewhere that we had no right to be.
It was a big room with a fireplace across from the bed. I had always wanted a fireplace across from the bed. The linens and furnishings were all dark neutrals. Very masculine. And the spicy scent of male deodorant, cologne, and other products hung in the air—which may not sound that sexy, but mixed with the undercurrent of just the right pheromones it was pretty overpowering. All things considered, this bedroom looked kind of like the setting for a Ralph Lauren photo shoot. All it was missing was the hot man.
“Great Gatsby,” Freddie said. “We must be in—”
Just then a man walked out from an adjoining room.
“Hi, Matthew,” I said with a small wave. “Happy New Year.”