Serena dipped her head and fiddled with the outrageous rock on her finger. “A month ago.”
I knew it.
Georgie’s smile fell. Teddy’s brows raised. I crossed my ankles and proceeded to empty the tiny cup of espresso.
Despite all the many ways Serena and I differed, we were also quite similar at our core. We’d been equally swept up by our “big-city aspirations”, with no real plans to return to Bluebell Cove on the horizon. Although, I didn’t think she had anything to avoid—her life in New York was justthat good.
I could see one of my own guilt-powered maneuvers a mile away.
“It’s been a whirlwind.” Serena punctuated with a wave of French tips through the air. “When we decided on a wedding date, I thought, ‘There’s nowhere more magical than home.’”
I groaned silently.
Georgie leaned forward. “So, who is it?”
“Jesse Newhouse.”
My stomach turned as they launched into a giddy conversation about her ring and something called a wedding theme.
Two years ago, the wannabe future Congressman spent our entire dinner flashing an egregiously sparkly Rolex and checking his reflection in his wine glass every few minutes. And to top it off, I caught his eyes wandering on more than one occasion when he thought he was being discreet. I was positive it wouldn’t last—Serena had real depth, and a level of quiet poise that made him appear cartoonishly garish in contrast.
When I retreated to my taxi and watched him pull her into a sloppy kiss by the valet stand, I thought I’d never see him again. I’d been wrong far too often lately.
I glanced up from my empty coffee cup and met Teddy’s gaze. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been studying me with that focused expression, the one that made everything else melt away into a hazy blur.
When had he gotten so good at hiding his thoughts? And why did I want to know what he was thinking?
“You two.” Serena jolted me from my daze with a demure grin and a shake of her head. “You were something else.”
My fingers curled into my palms.
Serena Zayas, with her flare for the arts, also had a soft heart that frequently veered toward a tendency for naivete. She had been completely aghast when Teddy and I parted ways, claiming forat leastan entire year later that we could’ve made long distance work. I never managed to confess that she was directing her protestations at the wrong person. I preferred to craft a reality where I was unfeeling and cold; the alternative—the truth—was a lot less fun.
Teddy rubbed the back of his neck and murmured, “Not now, S.”
“Oh, please—that was seven years ago. Surely we’ve all moved on by now.” A twinkle appeared in her green eyes. “I know Margot has.”
Georgie shifted in her seat. I devoted every ounce of my focus on keeping my face schooled into insouciance. Teddy’s gaze narrowed a fraction on Serena’s profile.
“What does that mean?” he replied.
“Well—” She paused to adjust her scarf, which felt more like it was for dramatic effect. “Margot and I ran in adjacent circles in New York. Let’s just say: the men found her elusivity to beirresistible.”
My mouth fell open before I had the good sense to snap it shut. I could feel the deep blush coloring my cheeks as I smoothed my pants and avoided meeting Teddy’s stare. Whatever brand of fiction Serena was subscribed to, it was certainly an incrediblygenerousaccount of my love life in recent years.
“Serena, that’s—”
“I’m only being honest,” she sighed, cutting me off. “There’s no need to be modest among friends.”
Somewhere, under a heap of ashes, my real love life filed a defamation suit.
Georgie, clearly enamored by the tangled web of lies Serena was weaving, joined in with a, “Was it anyone we know? Margot doesn’t tell meanything.”
Okay, well, apparently everyone was diving headfirst into hyperbolics.
“I really shouldn’t say.”
Finally—the nightmare ended.
