“Sure.” Ginny stands up. “I felt like it’s your right to know…considering you’re living next door to him and dating his brother and all.” She flicks her gaze to me with the last words of her sentence. “If anyone gives you problems about that, know you’ve got a friend in me.”
“Problems?” I bite my cheek, dreading her clarification.
“There are a lot of local ladies who would like to get their hands on Holland Bradley. Some of them aren’t too happy an outsider swooped in and got to him first.” Ginny must pick up on my unease, because she waves her hand in the air. “You know what? Forget I mentioned anything. I’m sure it’ll be fine. You seem lovely.” She glances around before adding, “Keep an eye out for people making mischief. There’s this town tradition—”
“The pranks?” Rose rolls her eyes. “We know.”
“Someone already got you?”
“Lou and Patrick,” I say.
“And Patrick’s wife, Mia,” Rose puts in.
“With the help of Mack,” I finish.
“Huh.” Ginny looks thoughtful. “Well, that’s good. You should be home free now. Unspoken rules state that once you’re pranked, no one is supposed to pile on. The tradition would lose its fun that way, don’t you think?”
“Guess so.” I’m still not sure I’d consider the traditionfunto begin with, but I keep my opinion to myself for now. I’m willing to be a good sport about it if it means I’ll be welcomed into the Cashmere Cove fold. From the way Ginny talks, it sounds like I’m going to need all the help I can get. My shoulders slump. I need the people of Cashmere Cove to like me in order to do my job well. What if they boycott the events I plan out of spite?
Anxiety tiptoes across my back, leaving me chilled. I can’t stop myself from wondering if Holland would be better off with someone else. Someone polished. With a better background, or a shared history, or any number of appealing qualities. I mean, what’s he doing with me in the first place? I’ve wondered that since he struck up that first conversation at the gym down in Florida. I was flattered that someone like him would want to be with someone like me. But I’ve got no business dating someone of his pedigree. And more to the point, are Holland and I compatible?
“I’m off. I’ll see you for the zoo trip, if not before!” Ginny waves and saunters out of the café.
I blink at her retreating figure before facing Rose.
She’s staring at me with her brows pinched. “Don’t do it.”
“Do what?” I twirl my straw in my drink.
“Second-guess yourself and your relationship with Holland.”
I sigh. “Am I that obvious?”
Rose reaches across the table and wraps her fingers around my wrist, squeezing gently. “You get in your own head all the time, worrying about what other people think and what they need. But in this case, what matters is you and Holland.”
“Long-distance relationships are hard,” I say on a sigh. “How do I know if this is worth it or if it’s right?”
Something I can’t quite place flashes across Rose’s face, but she masks it. “As long as the two of you are happy and committed to each other, the rest will all fall away. Put the blinders on, if you need to, but don’t self-sabotage, Pops.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know if we are happy and committed to each other, because there’s been no chance to find out.”
Rose crosses her arms and studies me. I can’t help but wonder if she’s thinking I was crazy for moving us all the way up here when I’ve got my qualms about my relationship with Holland. Part of me thinks Iamcrazy.
“It’s going to be fine, Poppy. If you and Holland are meant to be, that’ll become clear to you with time. If not, then you’ll figure that out too. But it’s up to you … not anyone else.”
I sit back in my chair and stare at my sister. “When did you get so smart?”
“I learned from the best.” She winks, and I smile.
“Thanks.”
Rose leans forward and clasps her hands, all business. “Now, what do you make of the Mack situation? I have thoughts.”
I swirl the straw in my drink. “I’m going to withhold judgment.”
Rose stares back at me like she wants to say something.
“What?” I ask.
