Penny sucked in her cheeks, then turned and stalked toward the stage. She looked less regal now, but her eyes still singed with fire. Even all the way up there, I could feel her contempt.

When she’d said we weren’t friends anymore, I didn’t think that meant we were enemies. I could only give half my attention to the pageant. I clapped and smiled at the right moments, but I couldn’t unsee the look of sorrow on Penny’s face. If I focused too hard on it, it morphed into her rage. Neither was an image I wanted to remember.

“Babe!” Lorcan clapped me on the shoulder. “She won!”

Dazed, I blearily tried to focus on Lucy. She’d stepped forward to accept her crown and was giggling and waving shyly at the crowd. I waited until she saw me before I flashed her a thumbs-up. I knew she could do it.

Unable to stop myself, I slid my gaze to Penny. She wasn’t looking at Lucy with jealousy, as I’d thought. She was looking at me with the same look of sorrow she’d worn before. She didn’t mask her expression before I saw it, though. Her eyes widened when she realized I’d spotted her. The veneer slipped over her face again, sneering and hard. She was back to being all sharp angles and cutting eyes. But it didn’t matter, though, because I had seen. She still cared about me, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

I tore my eyes away as another cheer for Lucy went up. Tom and Ralph were front and center, encouraging the crowd to get louder. I joined in, clapping and whistling. By the time all the fanfare died down and Lucy posed for the newspaper photographer, confident and radiant, I scanned the beach for Penny. Whatever had happened with Chad, I needed her to know I would never willingly hurt her—not like she’d accused me of.

But none of the faces in the crowd were hers.

fifteen

For the next few days, Lucy wore her crown to work every day. The tips in our tip jar doubled.

“Hey, Babe. Busy day?”

I recognized that voice. Turning, smile in place, I prepared to answer, but then I caught sight of Elodie behind Levi. Looking at her instead of him, I nodded. “Lucy’s becoming a bit of a celebrity. Ha. What’s up?”

My eyes tried to read the expression on Elodie’s face. She seemed uncomfortable in my presence but had mustered a smile that looked forced. A twang of guilt went through me.