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Chapter Nine: Heather

That evening, I joined most of the wedding party for dinner at the seafood restaurant. I hadn’t spent much time with Angela today—partially because I spent a large chunk of my afternoon with Greyson and partially because she spent much of the day hanging out with Jess.

So, at dinner, I made sure that I was at Angela’s side, wanting to spend some quality time with my sister. Leanne sat across from us with her fiancé, Ryan, at her side. He was mostly engaged in a conversation with Ford, one of his groomsmen, but every once in a while, he’d absently reach for Leanne, placing a hand on her thigh or gripping her hand briefly. It was as if he needed to be in contact with her, even when he was completely engaged in something else.

I wondered if he was even aware of it.

Leanne was busy chatting with us through the meal, and it didn’t take long before the conversation came around to people we went to high school with.

“Do you remember Greg Sanford?” Leanne asked between bites of swordfish. Then, she continued before either of us could reply. “He’s already been divorced three times.”

Angela let out a dramatic gasp. “Seriously? Married and divorced three times before turning thirty? At what point does he realize he might be the problem?”

I snickered. “The women can’t be blameless. Maybe the first one or two, but number three should’ve suspected she was with a guy who can’t make a marriage work.”

“How about number four?” Leanne asked with a sly smile. “I heard he’s getting hitched again, and his last divorce was only finalized three months ago.”

“Maybe it’s true love this time,” Angela said sarcastically.

Leanne shrugged. “I guess stranger things have happened. Oh, did you guys hear about Sasha Britton? She was arrested for assault after she threw a cheeseburger at her ex at McDonald’s.”

I laughed along with Angela, not even surprised that the biggest drama queen in our school would end up in that situation. It kept going, the three of us sharing gossip about people we knew as teenagers. Leanne and Angela kept up with more people than I did, but I had a few interesting tidbits to share as well.

The evening was going well. We’d just discussed one of our classmates who had been on a popular dating reality show last year when Leanne mentioned a name that made my heart drop.

“Do you guys remember Eddie Walsh?”

Beside me, Angela tightened her grip on her fork as she sent me a furtive glance. But her expression didn’t give away my former connection to Eddie.

I hoped mine didn’t either.

Angela was the only one who knew I’d once thought I was in love with the guy. It was eleven years ago, the summer before senior year of high school, and those feelings had died a painful death at his hands. I was more than over Eddie. He wasn’t even a passing thought in my mind on most days.

But hearing him mentioned unexpectedly like this brought up old feelings of pain and betrayal as what happened between us rushed back to the surface.

I hated that I had any reaction at all, but I knew that old wounds were complicated like that. No matter how far I moved past that dark time, it would never completely leave me.

“Yeah,” Angela said, and I wondered if Leanne could tell that she was trying hard to sound casual when she was anything but. “He was actually our neighbor.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that,” Leanne said easily, taking a sip of her mojito. “Anyway, I ran into him last month while Ryan and I were out to dinner. He introduced the woman he was with as his new wife, and she was very pregnant. Kind of rude too.”

“What do you mean?” Angela asked.

I was listening, but in my mind, I just kept hearing Eddie’s voice from so long ago.

You’re just not the kind of girl I should be with.

My chest was tight, and I couldn’t resist rubbing it, even though I knew there wasn’t a physical cause. It was the echo of remembered heartache.

“She was just snooty, like she was too good to make small talk with us,” Leanne said. “And Eddie seemed kind of embarrassed. Made me wonder if it’s a love match or if an unplanned pregnancy forced his hand.”

It sounded like wild speculation to me, but I didn’t comment on that. I didn’t want to talk about Eddie at all. So, the sooner the conversation moved past him, the better.

Angela seemed to be on the same page because she shifted the conversation to the upcoming wedding, something that Leanne was more than happy to discuss. I spent the next ten minutes trying to contribute to the conversation, but my mind dwelled on the past, despite my best efforts to let it go.

Even after all this time, I felt so foolish about what happened between us. I really thought he cared about me, but he mercilessly crushed that naive hope. The worst part of it wasn’t just learning that he didn’t have the same depth of feeling for me; it was that he saw me as unworthy of him. Mr. Popularity made me feel small in a way I’d never forget.

Frustrated with myself for letting those memories get me down, I finished my meal before anyone else and excused myself. I could see the concern in Angela’s eyes as I stood up from the table, but I gave her my most reassuring smile.