The first expression that crossed Miranda’s face was one of surprise. Like she’d never thought to do that and what a great idea. The second was a smug grin that came from pure self-satisfaction. “I suspected as much. Armie is very careful about who he’s seen with and how he conducts himself. He’s got a daughter. I’ll let everyone know it was a purely professional visit and they got it all wrong. I’m sorry about that confusion. It’s a small town and you would do well to remember that people talk.”

She honestly didn’t care what people had to say. It was odd but she was remembering more and more shitty things about her childhood, and she wasn’t reacting the way she had before. Back in Dallas, she would have thoughtfully gone over what to say and how to smooth over the situation because relationships were important and how the people around her viewed her had been important, too. Now she wondered why she cared. She was smart and worked hard and she wasn’t mean. That should be enough. She shouldn’t have to spend her whole life being worried about how every single person was going to interpret her actions.

Dallas? It hadn’t been Dallas. It had been that night. It had been that night when she’d watched her friend die. It had been the knowledge that Maryanne had done everything she could, everything right, and she’d still died.

“I didn’t sleep with the sheriff but I did kiss him, and I’m probably going to do it again. I don’t know. He was a great kisser and I’m still considering it this morning, but I think he might be clingy. I might like him being clingy, but am I ready for that? If you’re in a relationship with him, you should rethink because he is looking to cheat on you. He asked me out a bunch of times. Wore me down, to tell you the truth. If people are going to talk, they should talk about that.”

Miranda gasped, an offended sound. “I never . . .”

“You certainly didn’t with Armie,” Lila pointed out because it didn’t matter. They were already gossiping. They might as well know the facts and gossip properly. “According to him he’s hit a dry spell.”

Miranda put a hand on her chest like she was looking for pearls to clutch. “I never said I slept with him. We have a platonic relationship, and I know he’s merely waiting for his daughter to graduate and then we can be together.”