Page 106 of Prime Time Romance

She waves me off with a flick of her wrist. “It’s not terrible. Maybe a little predictable—unimaginative, even—but I couldn’t let her win the thing.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is the year Sloan Edwards, golden girl of Carson’s Cove, finally gets her crown. The year she wins Spencer’s heart. It’s what everyone wants, obviously! So I just…helped it along a little bit.” Poppy presses her finger to the earphone of her headset. “Are we done here? There’s a crisis with the seating.”

Stunned, I slowly walk back to the bathroom. Luce looks up as I walk in, her eyes big and hopeful, until I shake my head. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugs slowly with a resigned sigh. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine. Here.” She tosses her dress into the sink. “Let me help you zip yours up.”

All of a sudden, all of the feelings I’ve been repressing all day bubble to the surface.

“No.”

Luce looks confused at the force behind the single word.

“No,” I repeat. “I’m not wearing this dress.”

I’m not wearing the dress, and I’m not winning the pageant.

I pick up Poppy’s sparkling blue evening gown. “You’re going to wear it.”

Luce shakes her head, confused. “You want me to wear your dress? Sloan, that’s not right.”

But it is.

Luce is right about everything.

This town is still stuck. It will never change unless it’s forced to. The least I can do is take the first baby step.

“I want you to wear it, and I want you to win. You deserve this, Luce.”

She takes the dress from my hands. As its weight leaves my arms, the lingering weight of my actions isn’t lost.

“Are you sure?” She holds the dress up to her body. I can already tell that it’s going to fit her perfectly. A Carson’s Cove miracle.

“Absolutely sure.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Poppy is going to flip her lid. You know that, right?”

“Yup.” A slow smile spreads across my lips. “She’s going to lose her freaking bananas.”

An idea occurs. One that Poppy is probably going to hate even more than our last-minute dress swap.

I check my watch. We have exactly two hours until the pageant.

“Hey, Luce? I’m gonna need your help again with my hair.”

32

Brynn

The town hall of Carson’s Cove is packed.

Every metal folding chair in the roomy multipurpose hall is filled with a familiar face. There are characters from seasons past, extras, guests that made a one-time appearance, and all the familiar regulars: Pop, Lois, Doc Martin. The gang’s all here.

Backstage is equally buzzing with excitement as all twenty-three Ms. Lobsterfest hopefuls in our matching seventy-fifth-anniversary T-shirts get ready for our opening number.

“You ready?” Luce nudges me with her hip, sneaking a peek through my secret crack in the curtain.