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He frowned down at me. “I know that fake smile. That’s the one you give Patty Duncan when she’s gossiping.”
“It’s nothing.”
His gaze slid down to the counter. “I forgot, I was going to mention that to you. I wasn’t sure if they were forwarding mail to your new place. I gave Jill your new address, but I wasn’t sure if you got the invite.” He stroked his thumb over the raised type on the card. “I’m excited to see people.”
“Yeah, definitely.” My voice was flat, and I had to tamp down my astonished laugh. No way did I want to go back and see those people.
High school held a lot of crappy memories for me. My mom being sick on and off, along with generally just feeling as if I didn’t fit in. I’d never really come to terms with being the best friend of one of the most popular guys in school. Not that Seth tried to win over people. He just attracted them without effort.
Basically, he was the anti-me in so many ways.
He picked up the bacon. “Yeah, Brad and JT texted me. They’re coming in from California. The Three Musketeers ride again. Come on, let’s eat.”
“Right.” I followed him and tried to shake off the dread filling my chest.
Seth set the bacon down as he filched another piece. “Hey, Munchkin. Did I ever tell you that Ally and I went to school together?”
Laurie was nibbling around a misshapen pancake on her fork. A ring of chocolate stained her lips. “Mmm. Big kid’s school? Or like me.”
“Half-day pre-K is almost big kid’s school.” I smiled. “We went
to high school together. You’ll go to high school in about forty years.”
Laurie’s mouth rounded and I laughed.
“Not quite forty, but close. Don’t want you to grow up too fast, munchkin.” He took a bite from his plate and popped another piece of bacon in his mouth. “These are really good.” Then he pushed his chair in so he could round the table to go to the hutch.
My stomach dropped as he licked his fingers and pulled out the yearbook standing beside his senior picture. He still loved looking back on those glory days.
“God, you still have that?”
He grinned and sat down at the table. He pushed plates out of the way and flipped pages. “Of course I do.” He spun the book to show his daughter. “Do you remember Daddy’s friends? Brad and JT?”
Laurie cocked her head. “I no think so.”
He was grinning down at the picture of the lacrosse team. I remembered how amazing he looked on the field. All those muscles and aggression wrapped in a boy becoming a man.
And now he was so much more than the cocky kid on the field.
And me?
Not at all.
I was actually stuck in the same time as if ten years hadn’t gone by at all. Before I could stop it, I blurted out my disbelief. “You really want to see those people again? All those judgy people.”
He laughed and looked up from the pages. “Well, most of them are still in town with us. Not like it’s a big deal. Besides, I have everything I could want.” He swiped his hand over Laurie’s head then tickled behind her ear.
Laurie grinned around a slice of banana.
I stabbed at my pancake and forced down a few bites. Of course he did. All the things he wanted were right in front of him.
And me? I was looking in on the world again. The almost family behind glass. I was good enough to make a baby with him, and to help take care of his daughter, but I wasn’t part of them. Not really.
He flipped the page. “Oh, man. Remember those letters we had to write to our future selves? God. I don’t even remember what I wrote.”
I certainly did and it made everything worse.
I pushed back from the table and picked up empty plates. I’d barely eaten, but my stomach was twisting so much I couldn’t choke down any more. “Done, sweetie?”
