Chapter1
The day before my engagement party, Grandma dragged our neighbor Dale along, and the three of us went to the Aldrich Hotel to meet Grey’s mother.
To the Whitmores, that whole gilded hotel was just something Grey had been handed for his eighth birthday.
The gap between us couldn’t have been plainer. My family stood in front of his mother barely daring to breathe.
Dale was afraid I’d get hurt, so he kept talking for me. He told her I was the first kid from Laurel Run ever to get into Columbia. He told her about my sophomore year, when the apple market in our town collapsed, and one TikTok video of mine sold our fruit to every corner of the country.
Grey’s mother listened, then gave a soft little laugh.
“She certainly is capable.”
She lifted her teacup. Her eyes slid right past me.
“Nothing to her name, and she still landed my son. If that isn’t talent, what is?”
Grandma, who had always been so proud of me, went rigid. She didn’t say a word. She was terrified of ruining the engagement.
I looked down at the Birkin Grey had given me, then at the diamond on my finger, so heavy it hurt. Only one thought was left in my head.
Are you really going to let the two people you love most swallow this, just so you can marry rich?
From the moment we stepped into the Aldrich, Grandma looked like she wanted to disappear. Her calloused hands were clamped around two big shopping bags.
Dale was a cheerful old man who had run the hardware store for forty years. He was a deacon at our church and had been my grandfather’s fishing buddy. We weren’t related by blood, but he’d watched me grow up, and Grandma trusted him more than anyone.
Today, though, he couldn’t sit still. His suit only came out for funerals and Sunday service. It didn’t fit, and his tie hung crooked at his collar.
Across the long table sat Victoria Whitmore. She was so well preserved it was impossible to guess her age, and an emerald necklace with stones the size of grapes lay against her throat.
Grandma never had much schooling. She couldn’t handle a room like this, and she kept glancing at Dale for help.
Before we came, Grey had mentioned that his mother’s lawyers were drafting the prenup. Grandma didn’t understand a word of the legal terms. She understood one thing: whether this woman approved would decide what kind of life I had.
All her life, her biggest fear was that I’d end up living the way she had.
Dale cleared his throat and forced a smile. “Mrs. Whitmore, Nellie is the pride of Laurel Run. I’ve watched her grow up. She was the only kid in the whole county who got into Columbia, and on a full scholarship.”
Victoria lifted her bone china cup with perfect grace and took a small sip. She said nothing.
Dale got more flustered. He gave an awkward laugh. “And it’s not just book smarts. She’s got a good heart. Her sophomore year, our buyer skipped town, and all those apples were about to rot in the orchards. She came home, made one video, and overnight millions of people watched it. Orders poured in from all over the country. She really is something.”
Victoria still said nothing.
In her younger days, Grandma had been a fiery woman. Now she stood up and set a bag of dried apple rings and a few jars of homemade apple butter on the table.
“Mrs. Whitmore, all of this is from our town. The dried apples come from the old Winesap tree out back. They’re real sweet. The apple butter’s homemade too, nothing artificial. Every fall, folks drive up from the city just to get some.”
Looking at those jars on the table, I suddenly felt like merchandise waiting to be appraised. Not just me. Grandma and Dale were being marked down right along with me.
Victoria didn’t even glance at them. She set down her cup, turned back to Dale, and gave a soft laugh.
“You’re quite right. The girl is impressive.”
Dale had barely started to relax when she went on.
“Nothing to her name, and she still has my son wrapped around her finger, insisting he’ll marry no one else. If that isn’t a talent, what is?”
The smile froze on Dale’s face. Grandma clutched her bags, looking lost.
She had never been a timid woman. She’d buried her son and his wife, then buried my grandfather, and raised me on her own by picking in other people’s orchards.
But in that moment she swallowed every word. She was afraid one wrong sentence would cost me my marriage.
I looked at the diamond, then at the bag, and stood up.
“Mrs. Whitmore, there’s no need to dance around it. If you look down on us, just say so.”
Under the table, Grandma yanked my sleeve, telling me to hush. I took the two bags from her hands. My voice held steady.
“Grandma, Dale. We’re going home.”
Grandma looked back with every step. I walked faster and faster.
The second I stepped out the hotel doors, I ran straight into Grey, who was on the phone. When he saw me, his face lit up.
“So? My mom’s not so bad, right?”
I stared at him. “Everybody knows my family can’t measure up to yours. Next time, do me a favor and tell her there’s no need to show off in front of my family.”
Grey stood frozen. “Nellie, what are you talking about? My mom already said yes to us.”
I walked right past him.
