The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) - Emma Doherty Page 0,44
and put Chase’s happiness before my own and tried to convince her to give him a chance after she’d gotten with Jessie.
I still can’t believe she’s doing this.
If I think about it, I don’t actually know what I’d be doing without her offer. Sasha, Jennifer, and a couple of others have offered to bake a few batches of brownies for tomorrow’s bake sale, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s not going to amount to much. The fact that I can use Livy’s mom’s industrial-sized ovens means I’ll be able to make decent amounts of everything and actually have a chance at making some good money.
I pull into a spot in their parking lot and make my way inside, telling myself this isn’t going to be awkward and I’m lucky to be in this position.
I walk in and immediately see Livy doing something at the cash register while two other employees are taking off their aprons and grabbing their bags. My eyes sweep around the small seating area, and I see the back of a dark-haired girl in workout leggings and a tank talking on her phone. She turns around, and I almost exhale in relief.
Sophie’s here.
I smirk to myself at the thought of actually being happy to see Sophie, but I’m way more used to her company than Livy’s, and she’s slowly been climbing up in my estimations ever since she gave me Dan’s number. I still wouldn’t categorize us as friends and Sophie certainly doesn’t need any extra friends, but I am happy she’s here. Livy clearly feels the same way as me; I’ve often thought of Sophie as Livy’s bodyguard. She says everything Livy’s probably too shy to say and sticks up for her when Livy won’t do it herself.
“You owe me,” Sophie tells me the second she’s off the phone.
“Well hello to you too.”
“Seriously, I’m expecting at least one coffee brought to me tomorrow.”
“I didn’t ask you to help.”
She shakes her head. “Not for this. I don’t care about helping you bake.”
I stare at her blankly. I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“Jessie dropped me off.”
“Jessie Stephenson?”
“Yes.”
“So?”
“So he wanted to come in and offered to help.”
“So?”
She rolls her eyes. “He wanted to hang out with you and help you out, maybe help you bake, standing close together…fingers touching in the mixing bowl…”
Huh?
“Honestly, I don’t really know what he was envisioning. I don’t think he’s baked before, because it’s not exactly erotic.”
“Wait…” My mind pings back to our chat in the hallway. “Don’t tell me he’s still stuck on us helping each other get over our exes?”
She shrugs her shoulder. “What can I say? The boy’s delusional.”
Delusional is the right word.
I snicker; I can’t help it. “He thinks there’s a chance we could hook up?”
She smirks. “He was talking about helping you carry the baked goods to your car…I guess he was thinking about how you could thank him.”
I snicker again.
“I mean, he’s my friend and I love him, but he needs to learn when he’s got no chance.”
I start to laugh. “Are you being serious?”
“Yeah, he’s always had a thing for you, and I guess high school ending has made him ambitious.”
Ambitious and delusional.
I would never get with Jessie Stephenson.
I grin at her as I imagine just how awkward it would be having him here trying to hit on me. It would be bad enough under normal circumstances, but in front of Livy and Sophie too? It makes me cringe just thinking about it. “I owe you.”
“I take payment in the form of coffee.”
“I’ll get you two.”
“Are you guys ready?” Livy calls from her spot behind the counter.
Sophie nods before Livy pushes into what I presume is the kitchen, and Sophie saunters past me to follow her before turning back to me. “Don’t say anything about it to Livy. She’ll just start stressing that he’s not happy in his life and feel guilty that she was smart enough to turn him down. The girl will find anything to worry about.”
She winks at me, and I find myself smiling back.
Yeah, it’s definitely good that Sophie is here.
“Why are you so tired?” Livy asks Sophie a couple of minutes later as she pours flour into the biggest weighing scales I’ve ever seen. Sophie’s yawned at least three times since I’ve been here.