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I wasn’t looking at Jeremy, but I could feel his jaw tic anyway.

“Can we talk about it?” he said quietly.

I closed the book and looked at him. “I don’t want to argue.”

“Why not? You’re a lawyer. Don’t you like to argue?”

“Not for free.”

“How much do you charge?”

“Three hundred and fifty dollars an hour.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Impressive.” He started digging for his wallet. “I think I’ve got fifty bucks in here—”

“Stop.” I gave him a look.

“Can I get a free consult, then?”

“Why do you want to talk about this?” I asked. “What’s the point?”

“Anna! Jeremy!” Debra called from downstairs. “Anna’s family is here!”

Neither of us moved.

“We should probably go down there,” I said.

“Anna…”

He looked hurt.

I stared at the photo album cover so I didn’t have to see it. “I thought it would always be us,” I said quietly.

There was a long pause before he replied. “It was supposed to be,” he said. “I always wanted it to. It was all I ever wanted.”

I looked at him. Studied his mournful expression. “You chased me to the ends of the earth, Jeremy, just to leave me there.”

8

ANNA

MY FAMILY WAS STILL in the vestibule as I came down the staircase with Jeremy close behind me. They were a sight—and not in a good way.

Jodie looked like she’d cried the whole way over. Ivan was dutifully holding her purse. Mom had a burn mark on the front of her sweater in the shape of a casserole dish and Dad was holding a store-bought apple pie, the only thing Jodie didn’t make and the last safe vestige of dinner at the other house. I stopped for a moment on the landing to watch everyone.

Despite the chaos that got them here, there was pure joy on everyone’s faces. If I thought my family was happy seeing Jeremy, this took the cake.

They’d loved this family, just like I did. We’d been neighbors once. We’d vacationed together, had late-night summer dinners on each other’s back decks—had plans for the future. Then we’d moved to a different house when I was in eleventh grade. Mom got sick, Jeremy left for California, we broke up. The friendship got distant. Whittled down to infrequent comments on social media as all of us moved on with our lives.

The ripple of Jeremy’s betrayal affected all of us.

I came down. “Hey,” I said, stepping off the bottom stair.

Mom gave me a sideways hug before going back to her old friends.

“I’m so glad you invited us,” Mom said to Mr. and Mrs. Todd.

“I know!” Debra was beaming. “This has been such a good surprise.”