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“And what a sweetheart of a child he has. A ready-made family for you.” She waggles her eyebrows. She has no idea she’s ripping my heart out as she speaks.

“Yes,” I manage to say while focusing on unfolding the table legs. Is this how Ellie has been approaching other young women on Willow Shade Island? Is this what she’ll do after I’m gone? Will she convince someone else to step into the role of mother for my little girl, and gain a ready-made family?

My fingers shake as I help Ellie pull the table upright. The thought of Tobias with another woman breaks my heart into a million pieces. I want that ready-made family so badly I bite my cheek until I taste blood.

“Are you okay, Miss Kiki?” Ellie asks. “You’re crying.”

I quickly wipe at my cheeks. “I am? I’m sorry. I was thinking about something sad.”

“Good gracious. What were you thinking about, darlin’?”

I wrack my brain trying to think of something sad that I can tell Ellie I was thinking about. Nothing comes to mind. All I can think about is Tobias and Skyler with someone else getting my ready-made family. “A dog that died,” I lie.

“Oh, sweetheart. That is sad.” Ellie picks up her end of the table and we move it across the room. “Was it your dog?”

“Yes. But that was a long time ago.” I never had a dog. I’m lying to a sweet old lady. I’m definitely sinking to a new low point.

We finish setting up the classroom and putting out all the table decorations I made. I walk to the front of the gallery and pull back the window shade to peek out. There’s a massive crowd outside. I’m sure everyone is hoping to catch a glimpse of Dustin Sawyer and Mackenzie Davenport. “Wow, do you see all these people?”

Ellie comes up behind me. “Goodness, are they all here for this event?”

I nod. “Looks like it.”

Ellie claps her hands. “You’re a genius!”

I laugh and shake my head. “It was all you, Miss Ellie.”

At about ten minutes to the hour Ellie opens the front door. She takes the tickets from all the people who signed up for the watercolor class with Mackenzie Davenport, and she lets them come in and take their seats. Everyone else crowds in to taste the wine that Savannah’s aunt made and to look at Mackenzie’s artwork. Ellie serves her cucumber sandwiches and other hors d’oeuvres, which are a big hit. At the top of the hour Josephine arrives in her red convertible, Mackenzie and Dustin in the backseat.

Josephine is a force to be reckoned with, pushing through the crowd to get to the car door to open it. They step out, and I’m delighted to see Mackenzie carrying a purse with a little dog inside. He’s the sweetest looking Chihuahua. He simply takes in all the people, staying inside Mackenzie’s purse. She pets the little dog and waves at the people. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and she’s wearing a simple blouse and jeans.

Josephine pushes her way through the crowd, parting the sea of people, so our guests of honor can come inside the gallery. Everyone has their cellphones out, taking pictures and videos as Mackenzie and Dustin make their way through the people to the classroom. Dustin doesn’t take his arm off Mackenzie, shielding her from the ruckus. It’s sweet how protective of her he is.

“Thank you all for coming,” Dustin says to the crowd, his movie star smile in place.

Ellie gave me a seat up front in the classroom, and I get a bit starstruck as Mackenzie starts her class. Dustin holds her dog as she teaches, and it is seriously making me swoon.

Mackenzie and her twin sister Jera have been in the celebrity news quite a bit over this last year, since they traded places, and Dustin Sawyer fell in love with Mackenzie thinking she was Jera. My heart warms to see how down-to-earth Mackenzie is, and how well she teaches watercolors.

She quickly runs through the basics, then shows us the painting we’re going to attempt. It’s a seaside landscape, much like what we’d see on Willow Shade Island. I wonder if she created it just for us.

I follow along as she shows how to paint the sky and the rocky shore. I’m amazed at how good mine looks when she finishes her instructions. Mackenzie comes up to me and assesses my finished painting. “Wow, you’re talented,” she says.

Heat rises to my cheeks. “Thank you.”

“What’s your name?”

“Kiki…Anderson.”

“Have you painted before?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“You should keep up with it.” She hands me a business card. “This code will get you into my online watercolor course for free. There are thirty classes in the course, and it covers all thebasics into intermediate techniques. I can’t wait to see what you create.”

“Thank you.” My throat tightens as I look at the card she gave me. Mackenzie Davenport thinks I have talent. I’m flattered.

Mackenzie and Dustin spend another hour signing autographs and talking with the crowd. After the signing, they take their little dog and leave with Josephine. I check my phone, and I have thirty minutes before Tobias will come get me.