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“I hurt Eden. I fucked everything up, and I’m not going to do that again. I won’t put another woman through that. That’s the responsible thing to do.”

He looked so damn sad.

Mac opened his arms. “But hey, I’m happy. This works for me.”

He had a feeling Mac wasn’t quite so happy, but it was like he just accepted it as is.

“Anyway, I’m happy for you and Betty. That woman has been through enough, and it’s good of you to see that she has a good time. You’re a good man, Grim.”

****

Betty was invited to coffee, and she was a little nervous as to why. It was a call that came through to Aunt Martha from Maeve. She arrived at the coffee shop, feeling even more nervous.

Maeve was sitting at a table, and Betty noticed she already had a coffee, so she stayed in line, waiting for the server to take her order. She didn’t have to wait long. The line went down real fast, and she had her coffee and made her way toward Maeve’s table.

“Hello,” she said, sliding into the seat opposite Maeve.

“I’m so glad you could come.”

“Is there something wrong?” Betty asked.

Maeve frowned. “Wrong? Why would there be something wrong?”

“I, ugh, didn’t know why you wanted to get coffee. I didn’t know if it was something you wanted to discuss or ... well, I’m not sure.”

Maeve chuckled. “No, silly. I just wanted to grab a coffee, hang out. Get to know you. I absolutely adore Martha, and once we all realized the truth, she would not stop talking about you.”

“Oh,” Betty said, and she was able to breathe a little easier. “My aunt did tell me you and Charlotte were like a rock for her during that time.”

“We barely did anything. Trust me on this.” Maeve said. “Honestly, she kept worrying about you, and for damn good reason.”

Betty jumped as Maeve reached her hands across the counter, then placed them on top of hers.

“I can’t believe we didn’t notice you were gone.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. It’s not like you or anyone else hung out with me.” She shrugged. “Trust me, it is all good.”

Maeve did not look convinced. “How are you anyway? How are you now?”

Betty took another deep breath. “I’m ... good, or at least as good as can be expected, you know?”

“Yeah, I do know.” She sighed. “You know I’ve been watching your show, and you look absolutely amazing. I was wondering, how you would feel about me helping you with your makeup?”

This took a sudden turn. “My makeup?”

“Yeah, I can teach you a few tricks that will help.” Maeve pulled out her cell phone and moved her chair so they sat side by side, and Betty got to see her face. Also, Maeve somehow zoomed in, she was pretty sure she’d taken a screenshot.

Betty looked at her slightly greasy complexion. No matter what she did to modify it, her forehead and cheeks often looked way too greasy. She didn’t like the look but had always dealt with it.

“Trust me, this is an easy fix,” Maeve said. “Some products are not designed for the camera.” Maeve zoomed out, and then she typed something. “See, this is flashback that sometimes can be caused by the simple product of setting powder. Not all products are made for the same thing.”

“Wow, you really know your stuff.”

“I’ve been a makeup artist my whole life. Trust me when I say I’ve made a whole bunch of makeup mistakes. I’m not perfect, but I can help with this.”

“I really do appreciate that.” She hated having to even ask. “How much—”

“Free of charge. Trust me, you could help me, actually. I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve got a show—obviously, dedicated to makeup—but I’ve been asked by many of my followers to demonstrate how I apply makeup on other people. You could be one of my first models. I’ve already gotten my sister to help. After all, what is the point of having a younger sister if you can’t make her do what you want her to?”