True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,7

met, it was easy to always look her best with minimal effort. But later, when she’d noticed the telltale signs of the end of her twenties—a few crow’s-feet and a not-so-enviable difference in the elasticity of her skin, she contacted a makeup artist and took lessons until she learned to make herself completely presentable, even on barely a half hour’s notice.

Now people told her all the time she didn’t look like she was in her thirties, but she knew they were just being kind.

Quinn followed her usual regimen, the familiar routine soothing her nerves. She tried to ignore the way her eyes strayed to her neck and the looseness that was beginning there. Another ten years and she’d be looking into a neck lift, and that was a depressing thought.

Once her makeup was done, she dressed in her freshly ironed slacks and a billowy white shirt, slipped into some low heels, and strode out to her car.

She hit the road, excited yet anxious.

Driving out of Lahaina, she clutched the steering wheel and followed the curvy, scenic highway. The rented Jetta felt small and insignificant beneath her in contrast to the unending and breathtaking views she passed: majestic mountains on her left and the bluest blues of the rolling ocean to her right.

Hawaii truly was a paradise, and she felt a rush of guilt for leaving Ethan behind, for not allowing him to experience this with her.

The beauty around her couldn’t be described in words, though she’d texted him when she stopped for a coffee at a local shop, letting him know she missed him and was thinking of him.

He didn’t respond.

Her friend Gina had tried to call and then texted her during the night: Why did you skip spin class? You aren’t answering your phone. I’m worried . . .

Oh, God forbid she miss spin class. Quinn rolled her eyes, but she did consider calling her or at least texting. In all honesty, though, they weren’t that close. Gina was her friend only because her husband, Kevin, and Ethan had gone to school together. Sure, they did a lot of “couples things” together, and Ethan was always on her about going to spin class so she didn’t disappoint Gina, but Quinn had never felt a genuine connection to her. She hadn’t really had a close friendship since Maggie, her best friend.

With Maggie, Quinn could be herself and never have to worry about how she came across. And Maggie had the big family that Quinn had sometimes dreamed of having. When she spent time at Maggie’s house, she felt like she was one of them.

Maggie was feisty yet playful—especially around her brothers. Quinn couldn’t count how many practical jokes they’d played on them. Maggie had a knack for thinking up crazy but harmless ways to repay them for being too protective or just downright irritating.

In junior high, Quinn and Maggie had shared the view from the outside of the popular crowd. Then high school came, and Maggie blossomed, quickly transforming from the redheaded pixie she was to a beautiful young woman. Her long hair turned into a much deeper red, and she suddenly had legs that Quinn would die for. Her transformation from tomboy to beauty queen landed her in a different crowd, but Maggie was loyal. She made it known that Quinn was her best friend and that would never change. So Quinn was in, too, and treated with a certain respect, though she never quite felt welcomed by the popular girls.

She and Maggie had headed off in different directions after that, attending different colleges. Quinn had tried to keep in contact, but when Ethan came along, he monopolized her time—and thoughts—to the point that the guilt of letting their friendship wane finally propelled it into total obscurity.

And Maggie stopped making an effort too. But Quinn missed her. She missed having a friend she could be open with, confide in.

She looked at her phone peeking out from her bag.

Other than from Gina, her screen remained ominously empty of messages or missed calls. One would think that as the corporate director of sales and marketing for a high-end resort, Quinn would have made hundreds of contacts. And she had. Just none close enough to call friends—at least not ones she had contact with in real life, as opposed to just on social media. Her work required a lot of travel, but when she had time off, it was usually burned up planning her schedule, working out, and spending time with Ethan.