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“That’s good to know.” I rock on my heels. “You look like you’re feeling better.”

“Oh,” she gulps. “I am. Thanks. Um. The soup did the trick. That was really nice of you. I should have texted. I⁠—”

“Rosalie.” I shake my head. “Please, don’t worry about it. It’s been two days. I’m just glad to see you’ve turned a corner.”

She sniffs. “Still stuffed up.” She shrugs one shoulder. “But I no longer feel like I’ve been trampled by a rhino.”

I laugh. “Well, that’s a change in the right direction.”

“Do you want to join me?” Her nose wrinkles like it does when she’s unsure about something.

“I’d like that.” I move across from her and sit at the picnic table. “What are you reading today?”

“I’m finishing the book we started.” Her eyes cast down, almost like she’s embarrassed. “It’s good. No romance. But it’s good.”

“It is. I’m glad you like it.” I knew she would. She’s the one who made me read it. As much as I love to read, it was like my library doubled when I fell in love with Rosalie.

“I read the other one, too. The Invisible Boy.” Her brows pull together, thoughtful. “I binged it yesterday. I should have told you. It was interesting. It was inspiring and⁠—”

“Rosalie,” a worker from the food truck calls out the window.

Rosalie grins at me—she’s excited—and stands to collect her meal.

There’s another man ordering and he turns at her name, too.

A small gasp sounds from Rose, and she peeks back at me, eyes wide, as if I should know what’s happening. Maybe I should. But I don’t.

“Rosalie?” the man ordering says with a laugh. “Wow. Twice in one month.”

She backpedals to me. Her hand stretches out and it’s natural and easy to let mine slip into Rosalie’s. With her eyes as wide as Bambi’s, she pulls me to my feet. My chest bumps hers, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

“Forgive me for what I’m about to do,” she whispers.

I am lost. “Uh—” I don’t have time to say more before her fingers lace with mine and she turns back to the waiting customer who called out to her.

I don’t know his face.

She walks me over to pick up her order, and that’s when she says what I should have realized right away. “Hello, Robert.”

Twenty-Two

Zev’s large hand feels strange and foreign in my own—not bad. Just new, just different. Maybe it’s because Zev’s hand is in mine while Robert, and his hold that I know so well, stands across from us.

“What are you doing in Tesoro?” I say, a small laugh bubbling from my throat. Robert is in a suit again—man, he looks good in a suit.

“I’m on a job. Structural engineer.” He lifts his shoulder in a shrug. “I’m working on the parking garage that’s going here.”

“Oh. Wow.” I hold my breath for a second. “What a crazy coincidence. Isn’t that crazy?” I say, looking at Zev, as if he’ll readily agree with me.

“Crazy,” Zev mutters, but he doesn’t pull away. If anything, his hand in mine tightens its hold. No doubt he is confused by my odd actions, but to his credit, he doesn’t act it.

I need Zev to play along. See, Robert is married and happy and successful, while I can’t even remember attending my best friend’s wedding. So, Zev is my key to not looking like the pathetic oaf that I actually am.

“Robert, this is Zev, my—” I swallow because I’ve finally made a friend, one outside the insanity that is my current life, and I might be ruining it with this next word. “Boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Robert says, and there’s a lilt in his tone that tells me he’s surprised. Or unhappy. Or unhappily surprised.

I’m not sure.