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“Wow,” Archer says, breaking the silence. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Ivy.”
I smile, feeling a sense of satisfaction wash over me. Maybe I don’t belong in this crowd, but at least I can hold my own.
Standing, I brush my pants off. “Well, this was fun, but I’m heading home.”
Riley stands as well and loops her arm through mine. At least I have her support, no matter what.
There are a few snickers, and I hear someone mutter about how I think I’m “better” than them, but I ignore the insults. It’s not my problem if everyone in this town wants to live a small life and never achieve anything great.
I glance at Josh as Riley and I stomp away, but his face is turned away. He won’t even look at me.
For the briefest moment, regret flashes through my chest. I really liked Josh, and this was the last way I wanted things to end between us. Maybe I should still try to fix us.
But then reality comes crashing back in. Josh and I are very different people, and we have different ways of going through life. For one, I would never treat someone the way he just did with me.
More than ever before, I’m thrilled to be leaving this town behind.
Maybe one day Josh will regret the way he acted tonight, but as for me, I’ll never think of him again.
CHAPTER 4
ERIN
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER
“Hold the door, please!” I dart for my apartment building’s elevator, and the elderly woman with a little white poodle presses the open button.
“Thanks.” Sighing with relief, I hop onto the elevator.
The woman nods and smiles but keeps eyeing me. “You live on the fifth floor, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. With my boyfriend. Dan. Maybe you’ve met him?”
Dan knows nearly everyone. While I’m usually at the family practice or on rotation at the hospital, he’s constantly making friends.
Which I guess is something that’s fairly easy to do when you work from home. Me? I feel like I’m on a constant treadmill, running in one place, always trying to get a hundred things done.
“Hmm.” The woman rubs her dog’s head, and the poodle growls at me.
Taking note, I step away from the dog. I’m already running late to work thanks to leaving my purse in the apartment, and I don’t want to add a dog tearing a hole in my scrubs to my woes.
“Brown hair?” she asks. “Glasses?”
“That’s him.” I smile proudly. Dan and I have been together for three years, and while we’ve had our ups and downs, things have been going really well lately.
So well that I think he might be popping the question any day now.
And it’s about time. Dan and I love each other, and we’re both thirty-three. I don’t like comparing myself to other people, but I’m starting to feel kind of pathetic without a ring on my finger.
The elevator dings, and we reach the fifth floor. The woman steps to the side so I can get out.
“Nice meeting you,” I say, smiling again. “Have a good day.”
“You too, dear,” she says, but then she hits the button to keep the doors open. “Oh, one more thing.”
I stop walking, hoping this will be quick. I have a patient appointment in thirty minutes, and the practice is a twenty-minute drive from here.
“Be careful,” she says. “Things aren’t always as they seem.”
