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Arianna laughed, tinkling like a bell. The one she used when she was uncomfortable. She might try to fake it around me, but I knew all her tricks. Everything was done with a purpose in mind. She was indeed an “influencer,” obsessed with her image and her carefully cultivated online persona.
She’d been enamored with Rob’s world, his money, and access to celebrities. I hadn’t stood a chance. Was I like poor Clive Higgins? Simple and humble. Not the man a woman like Arianna would want for a husband. She’d never asked me questions about myself as Jamie had over the last few days. Probing questions. Ones that revealed who I was under my protective layers. Now I could see how ill-suited Arianna and I were. How had I not known it before? How had this woman broken my heart?
“Ari tells me you run the little inn,” Rob was saying to Jamie. “She has her heart set on the wedding there, as you know.”
“Yes, we’re delighted you chose us,” Jamie said, still stiff. She didn’t like Rob. “And we’re scrambling to get it exactly as Arianna wants it for your big day.”
“I should have predicted those carpentry skills of yours would come in handy one day, right?” Rob asked me. “Shame they don’t pay teachers more. It must be hard to take all these side jobs just to pay your rent, huh?”
He was a jerk. He’d always been that way, too. I hadn’t seen that clearly before, either. His aim was always to put the other person off-kilter. Even though his words were not necessarily unkind, I knew the truth. It was a game he played to make himself feel superior.
The server came and asked if we wanted to order drinks.
“Ah, there you are finally,” Rob said to the server in an overly friendly tone while simultaneously looking at his watch. “It’s slower here in the woods, I guess. We’ve been sitting here for five minutes. We’re from LA and conditioned to the treadmill going full speed ahead. I can’t tell you how nice it is to slow down a little.”
“Yes, sir, what can I get you?” The server was young and ruddy, probably a passionate skier who had decided living in Emerson Pass was worth whatever type of job he had to take so he could keep skiing.
“We’ll have a round of cocktails and then I’ll pick out a bottle of wine for dinner.” Rob tapped the wine menu and then winked at me. “Leave this for me, please. I’m taking care of tonight so you order whatever you want. What a treat it is to spend time together after all these years. I’ll have a Macallan. No ice. ”
“Yes, sir. Jamie, what would you like?” Our server obviously knew her. His voice had warmed when he said her name. She was well-liked in her industry. Who wouldn’t like her? She was as smart as she was pretty and had such a genuine spirit.
“Martini for me. With a twist, please. And I’ll have your top-shelf vodka,” Jamie said. “The most expensive, pretentious one you have. That’s the only one that will do, I’m afraid. I’m very fancy.” She fluttered her lashes.
The server’s eyes sparked with humor, but he only nodded and turned toward Arianna. “And you?”
I slid my gaze to Rob. His cheeks had flushed pink. He might be a pretentious jerk, but at least he knew when he was being mocked.
“I’ll have the same as my fiancé,” Arianna said.
Scotch? That was new. When we were together she’d liked sweet white wine, often with ice cubes.
I ordered an IPA and our poor server, probably thinking it was going to be a long night, made his escape.
“How long have you two been together?” Arianna asked.
We’d rehearsed this one. I let Jamie answer. “Since around this time last year. We have a lot of mutual friends and one day I just looked over at him and thought—you’ve been blind. He’s been here all this time.”
“How sweet,” Arianna said. “He’s a good one. Lucky you.”
If I was so good then why hadn’t she wanted me?
Arianna turned to me. “What about you? When did you know there was something between you?”
We had this one figured out too. “Oh, I liked her way before that. I was too shy to ask her out.”
“Too afraid of rejection, this one,” Rob said. “Always been that way. I used to tell him that life was going to pass him by if he never took his chance.”
“Once I showed interest, he didn’t hesitate,” Jamie said quickly. “He was the perfect gentleman, too. Slowly reeling me in until one day I realized I was madly in love with him. No one’s quite like him. Such a combination of brains and brawn.”
“Reeling you in like a fish,” Arianna said, laughing. “So Colorado.”
“I know a good thing when I see it,” I said. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Jamie tipped her head to my shoulder. “He’s always saying the nicest things. It took me a while to get used to being treated with actual respect and loved for exactly who I am.”
“Why aren’t you engaged yet?” Arianna’s eyes darted from one of us to the other. “Or is it a money thing?”
Ouch. She really knew how to dig at a person right where it hurt.
