“Fine.” She shrugged. “I went out with a guy I met through work. It was meh.” She wrinkled her nose.
Uh-oh. I knew that when Lily glazed over something, it was a big deal.
“No more Ryan?” I asked cautiously.
She shrugged, her eyes shifting to the side—another telltale sign. “I admit I really wanted that to work,” she admitted. “But it’s just… not,” she said simply.
“Why?” I pressed.
She didn’t look at me for the longest time.
I reached out grasping her hand in mine. “Lily?”
“He thought… he thought I sold him out. That I sold you and Mason out,” she sputtered. “After all the press broke, he basically accused me of being the reason!” she exclaimed.
I sat back in my seat, truly shocked. Anyone who knew Lily would know that she’d never do something like that. She was the most loyal friend I’d ever had.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she murmured, biting her lip in a rare show of vulnerability. “I feel so stupid, but I thought maybe we could be something, you know? The fact that he’d accuse me of something like that…” She shook her head. “I haven’t spoken to him since. He tried calling a few times today, but I’m done,” she stated emphatically.
I studied her, debating the best way to play this. “Honey, you know I’m always on your side. Always,” I emphasized when she shot me a wary look. “But don’t you think maybe you should take some of your own advice? You were the one telling me to give Mason another chance. You said in so many words that these guys aren’t used to girls who don’t have a hidden agenda. I’m not justifying what he did,” I was quick to add. “That was an asshole move, and he needs to learn quick who you are. But he was probably looking out for Mason. Trying to be a good friend like you are to me,” I added, meeting her blue-eyed gaze.
She stared back at me thoughtfully, and I was relieved that she didn’t dismiss me right away.
“Still,” she stated after a time.
Lily had her own wars she’d waged. I got it.
“Still,” I agreed. She was my best friend. At the end of the day, I just needed to support her. “Want to spend the night? Watch cheesy movies and order late-night takeout?”
She smiled. “Nah, I’m okay. Rain check?”
“Rain check,” I agreed.
“I better take it while I can get it before you shack up with lover boy,” she teased.
I snorted. “We’re a ways off from that. Even if we weren’t,” I continued, “there’d always be room for you.”
“Thanks,” she murmured.
“Always, you know that,” I replied, clinking my glass with hers.
Ryan was the first guy in as long as I could remember that Lily had taken to, and I was troubled that it was over between them. She dated, but she was always so casual—nearly dismissive. Ryan had been the first man that had caused a spark of hope to flare in her eyes. I loved seeing it. I wanted to see it again.
I was still thinking about my friend as I got ready for bed. When I crawled under the covers, I couldn’t help but feel my space was so much quieter, emptier without Mason’s larger-than-life presence.
As if on cue, my phone began to ring, his name on the screen.
“Hey,” I greeted with a smile.
“Hi,” his deep voice replied, sending a delicious shiver through me. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, I was up painting for a while after I got home from having drinks with Lily.”
“Have fun?” he wanted to know.
“Yeah, though your friend Ryan is an ass,” I retorted before telling him what had happened between Ryan and Lily.
Mason grumbled. “He’s been burned in the past. I was just talking to him about that this morning. Sounds like he might need some more help pulling his head out his ass.”
