All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese (new books to read TXT) 📕

gracious program director in the world would be able to overlook. With shaky fingers, I slid my sunglasses atop my head, sealed the lid closed, and latched the shed door behind me, praying my hunch was wrong about who might be behind such an act of deception.

As I waited for the girls to file in from the main house with Glo, I kept my hands busy in the cottage—fixing and primping and cleaning and displaying—though my mind was far from the Glam Night I’d promised to deliver tonight. How could it not be, when a new piece of evidence was seared into my memory as if with a branding iron?

Out of the twelve ladies living in the cottage, ten names had been listed on the fridge, each with at least one complaint of a misplaced or missing item jotted in black. And of the two unlisted ladies, one of them was Monica.

The other Sasha.

I’d never been great with math story problems, but in my mind, there was only one of two solutions here. Either Monica was the best actress I’d ever encountered, or Sasha’s ever-increasing defiance was directly linked to a stockpile of stolen property and inappropriate relations in the garden shed.

As the girls burst through the front door of the cottage, full of giggly energy and excited chatter, I willed the tumultuous rollercoaster in my gut to halt. I had one chance to check my theory, and if I was correct, then maybe, possibly, it might be enough for Sasha to finally let me in. After all, she’d never needed an ally more than she did tonight.

“Wow! Is this for real?” Jasmine and Amy squealed as they entered the living room, noting the dining room table I’d dragged in there earlier and set up like a makeup counter kiosk.

“You brought all this makeup for us? Oh my gosh! Look at these cute pink washcloths and hair clips! I’ve never seen so many products in one place.”

Immediately, the girls found their sparkly name tags marking their individual stations. Each was equipped with a mirror, skincare set, and full-size makeup and hair products.

A chorus of thank-yous rang out around the room, and I worked to match their enthusiasm.

“I hope you all have so much fun tonight. Feel free to play and experiment as you’d like, and I’ll make my rounds to help anyone who may want some extra pointers. I recommend starting with the skincare. Just follow the tips I’ve printed on the card there.”

I’d been looking forward to their reactions for weeks, only now, in light of my recent discovery, my joy felt muted at best. I glanced at Sasha’s empty station, and again my stomach roiled. What would be worth giving all this up for? A guy? Surely that couldn’t be all of it.

“I’ll start taking before and after pics when the rest of the girls get here,” Amy said, slipping her phone from her pocket. “I don’t have the best camera on here or anything, but they’ll be fun to look at later. Jas, maybe we can make a collage for the bulletin board in the fireside room.”

“Great idea,” I said, moving to the open doorway to scan for Sasha’s arrival. But instead of seeing her faded pink hair and sharp features, I saw a giant popcorn machine being shoved down the cobblestone path and into the cottage by a tiny woman I’d come to adore. Clara was on a mission.

“On the count of three,” she instructed Monica and Wren from somewhere behind the red and white mass. “One, two, three!”

A collective grunt followed as the popcorn machine was pushed over the threshold and into the kitchen, leaving me no place to go but out the back door, into the grassy common area. Though it was dusk, it took me only a second to register a nearby silhouette. Standing alone, backlit by a moody skyline of swirling grays, blues, and fuchsias, was Sasha.

“Sasha, hey,” I said, my pulse galloping as I approached. “I’ve been looking for you. How’s your day been?”

She gave a half twist of her hips at my words, enough to indicate she’d heard me, seen me, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with me.

“Don’t make it personal, Molly.” Clara’s peppy voice circled in my brain, and I continued without missing a beat. “Yeah, I get it. Sometimes it’s nice to have a minute of quiet, especially after you’ve been surrounded by lots of people all day. Sunsets are a great time to do that.” Squaring up to her, I almost missed the way her gaze shifted to the corner of her eye. It was a minuscule reaction, but one I’d roll with anyway. “I was actually out on a quiet walk earlier today myself. Didn’t go anywhere too far, just kind of stayed around the west garden. Such a pretty area. I especially love those wild teacup roses. I think that’s what they’re called; I’m not very good with flower species. Glo’s constantly pointing new greenery out to me, and it seems like no matter how many times I walk that path, there’s always something new to discover. Some bush or plant or tiny bird’s nest that I didn’t take note of the time before.”

Though her eye roll and sigh were clearly meant for me, I was too far in to back out now. My pulse thudded loudly in my ears, so much so that I wondered if she could hear it, too.

“In fact, just this afternoon I saw something new. Something I would have missed completely if the door to that cute little garden shed hadn’t been cracked open.” I casually slipped the stolen sunglasses off my head and onto my face, shading the amber glare of the setting sun from my eyes as Sasha’s ever-cool façade was replaced by an expression I’d never seen her wear. Her body went rigid beside mine, a visible panic flashing in her eyes.

I remembered then how Silas had responded once when I’d asked him about