I only just managed not to glare. Derek looked around with a bland expression.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if he weren’t legitimately handsome. Women were supposed to glow up after a breakup. Men were supposed to grow spare tires and wallow in Cheeto dust and wrinkled laundry.
Unfortunately, Derek looked better than ever. My ex was like a Bridget Jones-era Hugh Grant minus the accent, complete with the trim build, floppy hair, and boyish grin that fooled everyone out of realizing he was a narcissist. Including me, for eight whole years.
Now, however, I actually felt immune to the charms that had trapped me for so long (and broken my heart).
“So, Kev said you didn’t make it back to the room at the bachelorette party.” He openly leered down the front of my dress.
A quick glance made sure the draped neckline wasn’t showing anything more than it was supposed to. Then I glared until he shrugged and looked away. I hadn’t allowed Megan to style me for this party, opting instead for my own clothes. That meant my frock, like almost everything else in my wardrobe that wasn’t from Mom’s shop, was simple and functional. This one was one of my favorites, a swishy black slip dress from thenineties that I’d found at Goodwill that I’d paired with a pair of strappy red sandals.
“Didn’t know you had it in you,” Derek was now surveying the small crowd, as if I were a canapé he’d considered and passed on. “Some guy you picked up at a club, Laney? Are you that desperate for attention?”
A server walked by with a tray of crab puffs on rye. I grabbed one, if only for something to do. “What I did or did not do at the bachelorette party is none of your business.”
Derek chuckled and went back to ogling me. “Can’t say I blame him, whoever he was. I don’t remember you looking this good when we were together.”
“That’s probably because you were too busy screwing other women.”
“Meow. I see the claws are out too.” He still didn’t stop trying to get a peek at my cleavage. “Seriously, you didn’t, like, get your tits done, did you?”
I smiled through my teeth at Megan’s grandmother, who was waving at me across the room, and spoke through my teeth. “You are so lucky I care enough about Megan not to make a scene; otherwise, you’d have my drink running down your face. Go hump someone else’s leg, Derek.”
“As brutal as ever. Think you’ll ever forgive me, little squirrel?”
It wasn’t the most creative nickname, considering he’d chosen it for the color of my hair. But where it used to make me feel precious, maybe even loved, now it just made me recoil.
“Why don’t we start with getting through this wedding and never seeing each other again,” I said with another sip of my drink, again wishing it were vodka. Or maybe tequila.
The next time a server passed by with another tray of champagne flutes, I grabbed one and downed half. Screw myheart and my lack of decent health insurance. Mother Theresa couldn’t make it through this conversation without a little help.
“Should you really be doing that?” Derek asked.
“Yet again, none of your business,” I snapped.
“And you wonder why we didn’t work out. Bitchy and a bad heart. Where’s the fun in that?”
Before I could come up with my most scathing reply, we were interrupted by the tinkle of metal on glass.
The party fell quiet as everyone turned to the front of the room. Megan and Kevin stood together while Kevin clinked a spoon against his champagne glass a few more times.
I had to admit it. My best friend looked radiant, and her fiancé was looking at her with stars in his eyes. I’d always liked Kevin, even if he was Derek’s best friend. He thought the sun shone specifically for Megan.
“I am so glad you’re all here!” Megan couldn’t stop giggling. My best friend was truly ecstatic. “The restaurant has asked me to let everyone know that dinner will be served momentarily. But first, I want to give a shout out to my bridal party, and especially to my best friend, Laney Fisher.”
All eyes turned to me, and I did my best to smile while batting Derek’s hand off my waist. He loved the spotlight; I’d always avoided it. Just one more reason I should have known we’d never work out.
“Laney,” Megan continued, smiling over at me. “You’re the best friend a girl could have. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be a total disaster. You’re incredibly loyal and kind and considerate and thoughtful and so caring. You’re beautiful and smart. I can’t wait to introduce our not-yet-conceived children to their godmother in a few years.”
The crowd laughed, and I felt tears spring to my eyes. I loved Megan with all my heart, even if she had already been a bit ofa Bridezilla. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over spending seven solid hours helping her try on wedding dresses.
“She’s right, you know,” Derek murmured in my ear. “You are all of those things.”
As if he hadn’t just called me a bitch minutes before.
His hand slipped around my waist, clinging even when I tried to shake it away without making a scene.
“I love you, Laney,” Megan called. “Thank you for helping me pick out my dress and decorations and listening to my every thought about it all, thank you for melting away every worry I had leading up to today, and thank you in advance for helping me get through tomorrow. You’re the best friend a girl could ever ask for.”
