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“We went to college together. Jonathan was my—”

But before Phoebe could tell the whole story, the front door opened with a rush of cold, wintry air. All four of them looked around. Sam had arrived, his cheeks pink and his hair windswept, and on his arm was a very pretty, very tall woman with long, dark hair.

“Huh,” Kayla said. “I thought she was heading home.”

It was Phoebe’s turn to be shocked. She turned to Kayla. “Is that…?”

“Oh yeah. That’s Arden. Sam’s been with her all week. Have you met her yet?”

Chapter 40

Arden

The first thing Arden noticed when she walked into the party on Sam’s arm was that Phoebe was back. And she wasn’t alone.

“Oh wow. Oh wow,” she muttered just low enough for Sam to hear.

“What?” Sam’s eyes followed Arden’s, and they both clocked Phoebe’s date at the same time.

“Jonathan Lee?”

“You know him?” they asked each other at the same time.

Arden explained, “I went to school with him growing up. He’s from Gainesville.”

“Ah. I know him from college. He and Phoebe were inseparable.”

“They dated back then?”

Sam shook his head. “Notably, they did not.”

Arden looked at him questioningly, but then they were swarmed by Sam’s siblings.

“Arden, you’re still here! I thought you left yesterday!” Kayla gave her a hug.

“I was supposed to, but then—”

“Arden!” A petite brunette blur flung herself at Arden, wrapping her in a tight squeeze. “I can’t believe we’re meeting at last!”

Laughing, Arden returned Phoebe’s hug and stepped back to look at her. “I know!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Well…” Arden shared a glance with Sam. Phoebe’s mouth dropped open.

“Okay, tell me everything.”

“And then you can tell me everything.” Arden paused pointedly. “Hi, Jonathan.”

“Arden.” Jonathan looked disbelieving, but happily so. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I knew about the home swap, though.”

After a moment, Arden realized that Sam and Phoebe were having a silent conversation. Phoebe waggled her eyebrows. Sam tilted his head to one side, trying and failing to hide a grin. Phoebe’s smile widened as she shook her head. Sam lifted his chin toward Jonathan. Phoebe’s gaze settled on Jonathan, and her entire being softened.

“Let’s get something to drink and have a conversation,” Arden suggested. The four of them huddled in a corner, sipping from glasses of bubbly and taking turns explaining how they had all ended up here.

After they’d each shared their side of the story, their chatter flowed easily, overlapping with laughter.

“I can’t believe Phoebe is the girl you couldn’t get over.” Arden nudged Jonathan playfully. “Even though you denied such a girl existed.”