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“Chase,” I managed to get out. My throat felt like it was full of cotton.
“I’m going to ask her once we move,” he said. “I wanted you to know.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded vigorously. “Of course! I want you to be happy.”
“I’m glad. I was kind of nervous to tell you.”
“Don’t be nervous with me, Chase,” I said, reaching out and taking his hand. “We’ve known each other our entire lives. You can tell me anything. I know we were together before, but that shouldn’t matter. Anyway, I’m kind of seeing someone, too.”
“Yeah?” he asked again.
I nodded. I couldn’t say this to my other friends. Could hardly say it to myself, but I was being purposefully dense by saying Jordan and I weren’t together. We’d have to figure it out, but I hadn’t gone to him last week for no reason. I hadn’t avoided a hookup for no reason. I wanted Jordan Wright. Damn it all! Who knew seeing Chase was all I needed to realize that?
“Good. I’m glad you’re happy.” He looked down to where I still clutched his hand and then back up to me. “You ever think about that pact we made?”
I laughed, pulling my hand back. “Oh God, I haven’t thought of that in years!” I lied. “What even made you think of it?”
“Oh, you know, I just always thought, one day…you and I…”
“That sort of thing only happens in fairy tales and romance novels,” I said, forcing out another laugh.
“Yeah. You’re right.” He looked down and then up at me again. “You know that I’ll always love you, right, Annie?”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Feeling’s mutual. I want the best for you. Whether that’s a fairy-tale pact or this.” I gestured to the wedding ring. “That’s what I want for you.”
“You’re the best.”
“Now…we should introduce you to my boyfriend,” I said, tasting the word on my tongue. “He’s probably not happy.”
Chase chuckled, closing the box and standing. “If I were him, I’d want to kill me.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
But I didn’t think he was wrong.
23
Jordan
Well…fuck.
“Dude, I had no idea what I was bringing onto your doorstep,” Julian said immediately.
Ashleigh had already scampered off to get a drink. While the rest of us just stood there, cringing.
“It’s fine,” I lied.
I’d never heard of this Chase guy before in my life. He’d waltzed in and swept Annie off of her feet, literally. I was as equally confused as I was pissed off. She’d barely given me a glance before walking out of the house with him. As if that had always been her expectation.
“Maybe you should go after her,” Julian said.
I shook my head. There was no way that I was going to run after her. I was pissed off, and then if I followed, she would be pissed off. We weren’t quite on steady footing yet. This was only a maybe date since neither of us had confirmed it either way. There was still a blurry line in the sand, and barging out of here and confronting her would draw it more firmly.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.
Sutton agreed, “Yeah, probably for the best.”
“But who is he to Annie?” Julian asked, trying his best to look out for me. “I just thought he was Ashleigh’s brother. I didn’t know anything else.”
“He is Ashleigh’s brother,” Sutton said. “Chase and Annie grew up together. They’ve been friends, I don’t know, longer than us.”
“Friends,” Julian said dubiously.
Sutton looked away but not before I saw the wince on her face.
“Sutton,” I said softly.
She shrugged. “Look, I don’t think I should be the one talking to you about this.”
“What’s there to talk about?”
“Nothing.”
Ashleigh sauntered back in with some clear beverage and looked between the three of us. “What are y’all standing around for?”
“We’re discussing your brother,” Julian said. He pulled her closer.
I still couldn’t figure out what he saw in her, but Julian liked to be charmed as much as he charmed others.
“What about him?”
“His history with Annie.”
Ashleigh sighed in that dreamy sort of way as she looked up and clutched her hands around her drink and brought it to her chest. She looked like a Disney character. “They’re destiny.”
I squeezed the beer I was holding and looked at her incredulously. “What does that mean?”
“Ashleigh,” Sutton warned.
“Well, they’re going to get married,” she said as if it were obvious. “They have a pact that if they’re not married to someone else by the time they’re thirty then they’ll get married. Now, he’s moving home. They’re fated.”
I blinked. Was she serious? This was the sort of thing that people talked about in movies, but it wasn’t reality. People didn’t actually make those promises. Who wanted to marry someone they’d known at eighteen anyway? You’d both change beyond comprehension.
“It’s not like that,” Sutton said quickly. But her eyes said it was like that. “They’re just friends.”
