“Oh my God…Reuben.” She placed her gloved hand on his forearm. “It was so good. Just…amazing! Why did I wait so long?”
“Not because of me, I hope.” She’d never expressed the urge to travel with him.
“No.” She shook her head. “That was all on me becoming too complacent. Thinking I was satisfied with the status quo because it was perfectly fine so why not? But not anymore.”
He nodded. “Good for you.” He reached out and pulled the woolen strings on her ear-flap hat. “That’s a fashion statement.”
“I know.” Turning side to side she showed it off, the cat ears all cute and perky. “I got it in Budapest.”
“Traditional Hungarian headwear?”
She laughed. “More like cheap tourist tack and I love it. Come on, it’s freezing out here and I want to see Sage and Mom asked me to pick up a box of mixed hard centers.”
Before he could recommend she shop at Viv’s instead, Clementine had looped her hand through his arm and pulled him into the shop. They were just in time, it seemed, for Carol Bingley doing what she did best—gossiping loudly with three other women close to the front of the line.
“I mean can you believe she has the nerve to break poor Clementine’s heart like that and then flaunt her love affair all over town, dragging poor Reuben around like some puppy all while thinking she’s better than Sage? Well I’m not having it. I make sure she’s looking when I take her hot chocolate outside and pour it down the gutter.”
Rage—white and hot—flashed through Reuben’s veins. How could one person be so damn spiteful? And wrong. About to open his mouth, Clem beat him to it. “I beg your pardon, Carol?” she said and the line in front of them parted to reveal Carol and her merry band of mischief makers.
“Clementine,” Carol said faintly. “Reuben.” That was even fainter.
Reuben was tempted to bark a reply but he refused to sink to Carol’s level.
“Okay…listen up, everyone, I’m only going to say this once,” Clem said as she looked around at the suddenly quiet shop. About a dozen faces with different expressions of embarrassment and shock blinked back at her. “Reuben did not cheat on me. I broke it off with him on the Friday. It was amicable but long overdue. He met Vivian on the Sunday, which made him perfectly free to do whatever the hell he wanted with whomever the hell he wanted. I am not remotely heartbroken. And I cannot believe you are indulging in such destructive gossip and doing something as petty as pouring out hot chocolate into a gutter when there are people in this country starving.”
Carol’s mouth fell open and flapped a couple of times. She was clearly torn between embarrassment and affront. “My dear, I was only trying to—”
“I don’t care what you were trying to do. Eight weeks ago when I left Marietta this town was the kind of place that welcomed newcomers, that baked them pies and invited them to cookouts and church. I am appalled at how Vivian has been treated.” She looked around at every person in the shop. “When did we become that kind of place? I am ashamed to admit Marietta is my hometown.”
Reuben pressed his mouth together to stop from smiling as stunned silence echoed around the shop. He watched as Clem’s gaze shifted to Sage who was also clearly trying to stop herself from smiling. “Hey, Sage, apologies for causing a scene.”
“Hey, Clem…you’re fine. Can I get you something?”
“Nothing, thank you.” She shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to Delish to get my hot chocolate and vote for it.”
Sage did smile this time. “I don’t mind at all.”
And with that, Clem nodded at Carol Bingley and turned on her heel.
Chapter Six
Viv and Robbie were busy serving customers when Clementine entered the store. Viv didn’t see her come in or really even register the ding of the bell, engrossed as she was in the conversation with her customer over the merits of the different bath bombs. All she knew was that suddenly the whole shop had gone quiet apart from the two of them and she glanced up to find a woman striding in her direction, like she was on a mission, people parting before her like the Red Sea.
“Hi,” she said with a smile, as she pulled up at the counter, sticking out her hand. “You must be Vivian?”
Viv heard the shudder of a collective indrawn breath and looked around the nervous faces of her customers for a beat before saying, “Viv, yes.” And she shook hands noticing the cute, knitted ear-flap hat with kitten ears. It suited this woman but it wasn’t something Viv could pull off.
“I’m Clementine.”
Ah. Viv blinked. “Oh. Right…hello.” Viv wasn’t sure what else to say. Obviously everybody in the store was prepared for some kind of confrontation. But, Reuben had assured her he and his ex had parted amicably and Clem didn’t appear angry or upset.
Clem eased her hand away then smiled at Roberta. “Hey, Robbie.”
“Hey, Clem.” Robbie returned the smile. “How was your trip?”
“Amazing. I don’t know what took me so long.”
“Yeah. Neil and I went to Paris for our honeymoon. We were home for a day before we started planning our next trip.”
Clem laughed. “I hear ya.”
Viv, along with everyone else in the store, watched the easy exchange between the two women. She wasn’t sure what this was about but it didn’t seem like Clem had come to yell at her so Viv took a moment to check out Reuben’s ex. She was short and cute and…peppy with big amber eyes and chipmunk cheeks. A stray dark curl or two had escaped the knitted confines of her hat and even though she was wearing a puffer coat that made the thinnest of women look like the Michelin Man, it was unzipped to reveal a slender figure, which was more athletic than curvy.
She no doubt wore the hell out of skinny jeans.
The thought that Viv couldn’t was suddenly a little depressing. She and Clem were clearly opposite shapes and if skinny jeans were what Reuben liked then what the hell did he see in her? How could she compete?
Compete? Oh Jesus… Irritated suddenly at the direction of her thoughts, Viv gave herself a mental shake. Clem wasn’t her competition. Firstly, Clem and Reuben were over. Secondly, he was with her. And thirdly, she and Reuben weren’t together like that. They were a casual thing in a temporary situation. They were both free to walk away at any time.
So this twisted morass of feelings churning inside Viv’s gut made zero sense.
“Would you mind terribly if I cut in, Mrs. Lucas?”
Viv brought her thoughts back in line as Clem addressed the bath bomb woman who shook her head and said, “Go ahead.” She was obviously interested in the outcome and was happy to give up her place.
Clem beamed before turning to face Viv again. “I’d like a hot chocolate please, if that’s okay. I’ve heard so much about them. And then I’d like a voting form so I can vote for you in the popular vote.”
Viv blinked. “Oh…sure.”
Viv didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been that and she was stunned for a beat or two during which Robbie jumped in and said, “I’ll get that for you. Is plain okay or would you like one of the flavored ones? I’d suggest the licorice one if you picked up a taste for ouzo in Greece.”