5
It took three weeks, an ungodly amount of ice cream, endless conversations with her besties, and lots of snuggles from Fidget before Beth began to think of her date with Alex as merely a bad dream. In moments of weakness, she sometimes still agonized over the details. Had she overreacted? Had she, once again, jumped to conclusions? Was it all just a giant misunderstanding? Part of her realized that believing the worst was a safety net. It was easier than facing the possibility that her penchant for overthinking might have sabotaged any relationship she could have had with Alex. But someone had told Rylie about their deal, and it hadn’t been Beth. Not to mention, the exchange of money between Alex and Rylie was entirely too coincidental. And, perhaps most importantly, Beth wasn’t interested in dating anyway. She was content with the single life. And if a fake date could inflict that much damage, she shuddered to imagine what a real date could do.
Julia’s voice rang in her mind. Keep telling yourself that, babe.
Mentally strangling her friend, Beth looked up as someone approached her desk. She smiled at an older woman who was accompanied by a young girl. “Hello,” Beth said, offering them both a smile she didn’t feel. “Can I help you find a book?”
The woman smiled, her eyes crinkling behind her glasses as she urged the girl forward. “Go on, Tessa.”
Tessa glance shyly at Beth. “Uncle Alex told me I should thank you for your donation.”
Still smiling but confused, Beth glanced between the two of them and ignored the way her heart skipped a beat at Alex’s name. “Donation?”
The little girl nodded and showed Beth her T-shirt, which was emblazoned with Summer Jams! Music Camp. “For the fundraiser,” the girl explained. “I needed a hundred more dollars for music camp. He said you donated it.”
Beth’s mouth parted, and she was suddenly lightheaded. “Music camp? You’re Alex’s niece?”
Beth hadn’t realized he had a niece. That must mean the girl was the daughter of the sister he’d lost.
The older woman held out a hand to Beth. “I’m Nancy Buchanan. Alex’s mom. This is my granddaughter Tessa.” She indicated the girl. “You would be surprised by how hard it is to raise money when every kid in the class is also trying to raise money for the same cause. Your donation was the biggest one, and it got us over the hump.”
Oh no. Alex had given the hundred dollars to his niece. Which meant he hadn’t given it to Rylie. Regret and frustration filled Beth. But if that were true, then what had he given Rylie that night? Could it have been innocent and completely unrelated? God knew Beth was prone to jumping to conclusions with Olympic skill. Though surely anyone would have thought the worst in her situation. Wouldn’t they?
Or maybe you should have given Alex the benefit of the doubt rather than trust the word of someone like Rylie Taylor-Reed.
Beth shook Nancy’s extended hand. “Oh . . . you’re welcome.”
“Here,” Tessa said, holding out a plate of cookies covered in plastic wrap. “These are for you.”
“Oh,” Beth said again. “Thank you. That’s . . . so nice.”
Nancy winked at Beth. “She wanted to make them for everyone who donated.”
Working up a smile, Beth said, “Well, they look yummy. I love chocolate chip.”
Tessa beamed and then glanced up at her grandmother. “Can I go look for dinosaur books now?”
Nancy chuckled. “Go.”
The girl dashed off toward the children’s books section.
Turning back to Beth, Nancy said, “I hope my boy wasn’t too much of a rake during your date.”
Beth’s cheeks warmed. Had he also told her how poorly their date had ended? As pleasant as Nancy’s expression was, Beth had to assume he’d left that out, and she was grateful.
“No, he was a gentleman,” Beth assured her.
Nancy chuckled again, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “He told me about the adorable deal you two made. I told him it probably did him a heap of good for a woman not to automatically fall at his feet for once. Keeps a man humble.”
Bitter guilt stirred in Beth’s stomach, and she laughed weakly. “He mentioned that, did he?”
“Sure did,” Nancy said, laughing and shaking her head. “Made him even more interested in you than he already was. You should have seen Pearl’s face when I told her about it.” When Beth’s eyebrows jumped, Nancy explained, “She knows Alex from Roust. Got to have her daily mochaccino.”
Beth cringed. “You don’t by chance mean Pearl Taylor, do you?”
As in Rylie Taylor-Reed’s mother.
“The same,” Nancy confirmed. “We’ve been friends for forty years. We take turns driving to our book club every Saturday afternoon. You know her?”
Beth’s voice came out strained. “I know her daughter.”
Nancy made a face and waved her hand. “I swear, I think Pearl and David adopted that child. The way she acts.”
A single thought throbbed in Beth’s mind like a stubbed toe.
Alex hadn’t betrayed her.
Regret and embarrassment bloomed inside her like a toxic flower. Her predilection for making mountains out of molehills was infamous, but this took the cake. What had she done?
Picking up on her distress, Nancy became concerned. “You okay, sweetie?”
“I’m fine,” Beth said, offering her a smile. “Thank you for the cookies.”
The act was, apparently, convincing because Nancy smiled back. “Thank you for the generous donation. It was nice meeting you.”
“You as well.”
“Tell Alex to bring you by for lunch sometime,” Nancy said as she left.
Beth raised her hand in an awkward wave and blurted, “Okay.” Then immediately realized how stupid that was considering Alex wouldn’t be taking Beth anywhere for lunch anytime soon. And she couldn’t blame him.
“Sarah,” Beth said to her assistant. “It’s slow today. Do you mind if I take off early?”
Sarah looked up from the bin of new books she was sorting and smirked. “You realize you’re my boss, right?”
Beth laughed quietly and retrieved her purse from her desk drawer. “Thank you.”
Sarah seemed to pick up on Beth’s sudden rush to leave. “Everything all right?”
Beth paused, thinking of how awful she’d been to Alex. She couldn’t take it back, but she could apologize. And that had to count for something. She smiled. “It will be.”
With that, she left. There was one very handsome coffee shop owner she owed an apology to. But, first, there was something she had to do.