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“Can you just take care of this? Send him a check or whatever so he will go away.”
“Not that simple, Kel,” Chris said. “The man wants a formal apology and for you to be his date for his sister’s wedding.”
Kelly looked down at the papers again and sure enough, that was what it said.
In bold print.
“Why would he want me to be his date if I pissed him off so bad he had to file a lawsuit against me?”
Chris shrugged. “The guy must be hard up. I can’t think of a single reason he’d want to take you…oh wait.” He ticked off his fingers as he spoke. “There’s the fact that you’re beautiful, intelligent, and will no doubt make whatever ex-girlfriend he’s afraid of bumping into insanely jealous.”
Kelly stuck her tongue out at him, but he just laughed at her childishness. She’d known Chris since eighth grade, when he?
?d walked up to her for his friend, Ray Jackson and told her Ray liked her. Chris had approached the subject with a smooth, charming air that he’d carried over into adulthood. It was part of the reason he made such an amazing lawyer.
She’d been floored at first and told him that if his friend wanted to talk to her, he should do it himself. She’d topped off that set down with a toss of her ponytail before spinning on her heels and heading for math class.
Later that day, on the way to the buses, Ray had finally approached her, with Chris in tow. The two of them had been opposites in appearance. Ray hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet and was five feet eight inches, with dark skin and obsidian eyes. He had wide shoulders that cut into a V to his waist, well-muscled even at fourteen. His hair was shaved close to his head and his smile was wide and engaging, with a hint of shyness she’d been drawn to.
Chris had been tall and gangly. His long hair reached his shoulders and was pale yellow with streaks of gold. Light blue eyes were hidden behind Buddy Holly frames, and perched atop a slim nose. His full lips had been quirked into a smirk as he stood behind Ray, his hands in his jean pockets.
Ray asked if she wanted to grab some ice cream with them at the Sweetheart Creamery and she’d said sure. Although the walk to the ice cream shop had been a bit awkward, Ray had told a corny joke about cats. It broke the ice and she’d laughed. They’d gone inside, swapping spoonsful of ice cream and teacher horror stories. They’d left the creamery and while Chris had gone into the gas station to get them all slushies, Ray had slipped his hand into hers. She still remembered the warmth, the butterflies in that first experience. It was something that could never be duplicated.
After that moment, it had been the three of them together; Ray and her as a couple and Chris as their dear friend.
Then high school had ended, and Chris had gone away to college while Ray had joined the military. Kelly had gotten a job at the local bridal boutique and stayed right there in Sweetheart, California. She’d missed them dreadfully, and when Ray had come home on his first leave and asked her to marry him, she’d said yes. They’d started making plans for when his four years were up. She was already taking courses at Consumes River College in business, and when Ray got out, he would get his degree, too. They’d get jobs, get married, and eventually have four kids. The plan was to be happy and in love forever.
Only Ray had never come home. He’d been killed in action just before his twenty-second birthday, and Kelly had been a mess. Her parents. Her friends. No one could bring her out of her misery.
Until Chris had come back to town and sat on the bed next to her prone form. At first, he’d been patient and understanding. Bringing her favorite movies and treats, trying to get her to talk to him. When she still wouldn’t acknowledge him though, he’d lost his temper. He’d grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him.
“You aren’t the only one who loved Ray, and he wouldn’t want you behaving like this. You’re so wrapped up in your own grief that you don’t give a shit about anyone else who may be hurting.”
She’d come out of her depression enough to slap him, and the rush of emotions that followed had her pummeling his chest, screaming and cursing at him. Chris had wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight until she stopped fighting. When the dam broke, she just wailed. Sobbing her heartbreak all the while he cried into the crook of her neck. It had been Chris’s tears that had been the key to fully waking her up. They’d held each other close as their grief had spilled out, Ray’s death binding them in their mutual loss.
After Ray’s funeral, Chris had gone back to Stanford, but they’d stayed close. It had actually been Chris who had told her that her idea of starting a bridesmaid-for-hire company wasn’t such a bad one. They’d spend hours on the phone drafting her business plan together, laughing and arguing. She’d gotten her loan because of him.
When he’d finished law school, she’d begged him to come back.
And now, here they were, still friends. Poring over a frivolous lawsuit ten years later.
Kelly shot Chris a pleading look. “I don’t really have to go out with him again, do I?”
Chris laughed, throwing back his head, and Kelly studied him. At thirteen, Chris had been a towheaded kid, beanpole thin with glasses. As a man, his white-blond hair had darkened to a rich gold, and he wore contacts over his light blue eyes. Kelly wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Chris had become a handsome guy; it just didn’t matter. He would always be Chris. Ray’s best friend, and then hers.
“No, Kelly. I’ll handle it.”
She winked at him. “Thanks, C. What would I do without you?”
“Continue to date losers?”
“Ha ha,” she said. “So funny.”
“What did prompt you to go out with this guy?” Chris asked. “He must have had some game.”
Kelly shifted in her chair awkwardly, embarrassed to tell him that she had joined an online dating site, but she didn’t lie to Chris.
“I wouldn’t really say that. I signed up on LastFirstKiss.com and that guy was one of the top matches the website spit out.”
