“I’m not alone. I have you. Grandma Liv knows I’m getting a divorce, but I just don’t want her to know all the details yet. You know how she is. She talks too fast. Love her to death, but she’s liable to go on a rant and reveal everything to the whole world. Then, I’d have everyone all up in my business.”
My friend let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. But I better not see that money on my nightstand in the morning.”
I laughed. “I promise you won’t.” A couple of weeks ago, I’d stuffed a couple hundred dollars in her purse. The next morning, the money was on my bedside table. “I saw Wes today,” I offered, needing a subject change. That encounter in the elevator earlier had rocked me. It had been years since I’d laid eyes on him, let alone stood close enough for my body to react to the warmth of his body, and I needed to talk about it.
Brianna raised a perfectly arched brow. “Really? With his fine ass.”
“He’s not that fine anymore,” I lied. Truth was, Wes had transcended fine and morphed into something more than that. He was all man, smooth dark skin, intense light brown eyes, low-cut hair, and that beard …Damn.He was beautiful.
Brianna shot me a disbelieving look. “Oh please … Actually, I take that back. He’s fine as hell. Did you forget I work in the city? I see him often and he gets better with time.”
“Whatever,” I grumbled. “He’s alright.”
Laughing, Brianna shook her head. “I call bullshit.”
“What do you want from me? Okay, he’s attractive. Still an asshole, but nice to look at.”
“He’s stillyourasshole.” She stuck her tongue out after I tossed a pillow her way, missing her head by an inch. “You missed. Ha! So …?”
“So, what?”
“How was it? It’s been a long time since you’ve seen him. Did you talk to him?”
“Unfortunately, yes. And I hated every moment of it.”Even though my body loved it.
Brianna stared at me intently. “I get it. It’s a shame, though. As close as you were … Maybe you need to talk?”
My friend was right. Wes and I were more than friends. As far as I was concerned, he was my person back in the day. We did everything together, from playing tag in the field behind his house to attending every school and family function together. The connection was so intense, everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that we’d marry. In fact, our families had campaigned for the ultimate Keyes-Batchelor merger.
After a while, I started to believe the hype too. Especially after our seamless transition from awkward kids to flirty young adults. It seemed to happen overnight, too. One day we were playing video games and the next evening we were making out in his car.
The joke was on me, though. Despite the years of endearing friendship between us, Wes had ruined everything with one selfish act on what was supposed to be the most special night of my life. After I’d finally confessed my love to him, he’d pulled the rug out from under me in the harshest way.
Grandma Liv had always told me forgiveness was for me, not the person who needed forgiving. Yet, I couldn’t get over the fact that Wes had taken my virginity and promptly ghosted me. He promised to come back, and I believed him. Only to find out he left town altogether. No calls, no letters … Nothing.
It took years of therapy for me to even call him out on his asshole-ish behavior because I loved him so much. But once I’d written the words in my journal, Wes would always be The Asshole Who Broke My Heart. Not even Darrell’s indiscretions had hurt as much.
“Tell me about the meeting with Mrs. Batchelor,” Brianna said, bringing me back to the present. “Why did she contact you?”
When I woke up this morning, I had expected to wake up to unpaid bills, a too-much-wine hangover, and a ton of spam messages from random people. What I didn’t expect was a voicemail from Joyce Batchelor asking for a favor. Even hours later, I still couldn’t believe what the matriarch of the Batchelor family had asked me to do for her.
“A job offer”—I bit my thumbnail—“as her private investigator.”
Brianna’s eyes widened. “That’s good. Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for?”
“Yes, but the first assignment … Apparently, there is an influencer intent on using the Batchelor family to get more views and reads on their platform,” I explained. “She’s willing to pay Keyes Investigations a hefty retainer to figure out who this anonymous blogger is and help with other things. Discreetly, of course.”
“That’s a job, girl!” She eyed me skeptically. “Why aren’t we celebrating?”
Biting down on my bottom lip, I thought about the conversation earlier. I had never known life without Granny Joyce, as I called Mrs. Batchelor. She was family. After Cedric Batchelor was arrested and charged with embezzlement, my father and Allison had wanted to distance themselves from Wes’s family. Ultimately, their efforts had failed because Grandma Liv had refused to abandon her best friend, her sister of the heart, under any circumstance.
“Albany?” Brianna called. “What’s wrong?”
Pulling myself from my memories, I looked at my best friend. “Nothing. I didn’t accept it.”
Brianna frowned. “Why the hell not?”
“I need time to think about it.”
