Cruising Toward Love

Cruising Toward Love Part 1

In exactly twenty-four hours, Zoe Balis would be forced to walk down the aisle of St. Euthymius on the arm of her archenemy. Her sworn nemesis. Nah, why candy-coat it? Nate Hyatt was, at best, the spawn of Satan. She'd be surprised if he didn't burst into flames the moment he crossed the threshold of the old brick church.

"Zoe, dear, didn't you hear me? I said your sister's fiancé switched his best man, so Nathaniel Hyatt will be your escort for the procession. Tell me, isn't he the young man who stood you up for your prom?" Agatha Petrides's beady eyes gleamed at the prospect of reliving the scandal with one of the two main players.

Caught off guard and reeling from the news, Zoe tried to swallow the gargantuan lump filling her throat. Her muscles flexed around the clog created by ten years of suppressed emotion, but it didn't work. But she'd endured the pitying glances, relived the humiliation enough times over the years that she knew what to do. Zoe dug deep, past the calluses built up from people clucking their tongues over her and the "unfortunate incident," and produced a bland smile.

"Yes, Mrs. Petrides. Nate's the one who stood me up for the prom."

Mrs. Dimos shouted over the sloshing din of the washing machines. "No, you've got it all wrong, Agatha. Zoe went out with Nate Hyatt. I pressed a dress special for her to wear. Pleated, with lots of flowers. I never forget a dress."

Sure. Because why gloss over the specifics of her dating fiasco? Before Zoe could respond, Ione Nevis shouldered forward and dropped her laundry on the counter.

"You've got a mind like a steel trap, Mrs. D. Zoe did go out with Nate. For a whole year, wasn't it?" Her glossy pink lips flattened into an evil, sidewise smirk. "I remember being shocked he stuck with you so long. It was no surprise when he dropped you like a hot potato on prom night."

Sophomore year, Zoe made the mistake of alerting the teacher when Ione tried to cheat off her. Apparently Ione liked to hold a grudge. Now on her second husband— —Ione still went out of her way to stick it to Zoe whenever possible.

"I'm surprised you noticed my absence. I heard you spent the whole night locked in the bathroom after you weren't crowned prom queen." Zoe knew it was petty to stoop to her level, but sometimes you had to fight fire with fire.

"Nothing like the pain of your first heartbreak." Mrs. Dimos plopped down on a ladder-backed chair and began to hem a pair of pants. "You took it very well, Zoe. We cleaned quite a few ice cream stains off your shirts for a few months there, but overall you held up. Especially considering Nate was the first boy to ask you out. Must've been so hard on you."

With a tiny laugh, Zoe tried to dismiss the incident with a careless flap of her fingers. "I barely remember what happened last month, let alone a night over ten years ago. It's safe to say I've moved on."

Zoe held her breath, saying a quick prayer her bald-faced lie wouldn't bring down a punitive lightning bolt. She'd certainly tried to move on, but in the small town of Towanda, Pennsylvania, where she'd lived her entire life, the mortification of that night never had the chance to fade away. Here, people held on to their memories with the sticky death grip of toddler on an all-day sucker. Gossip didn't need to be fresh. It just needed to be juicy.

Mrs. Petrides pulled a pencil out of the gray-streaked bun at the nape of her neck and totaled the bill. "Moved on? You're dating again? Funny, I haven't seen you around town with anyone in ages. Where are you hiding your young man?"

Aargh. The temptation to lie was strong, but Zoe knew if she so much as hinted at a boyfriend, the news would hit her grandmother's bridge club and she'd be expected to produce him at Sunday dinner. The first two rounds went to Mrs. Petrides, both for surprising Zoe in the first place, and now for making her affirm her single status.