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I feel like an idiot for not understanding the gossip rule before. The ladies don’t demand gossip because they want to trade funny stories. It’s not about teasing and gentle ribbing; it’s aboutsupport.
“What do you want me to say?” I ask, shrugging. I take a sip and gasp at the burn in my throat. I scowl at the mug. “How much booze did you put in here?”
“Not enough,” Simone says, pointing at me. “Now spill. You know the rules.”
I laugh, but it dies quickly on my lips. “Listen, I can’t stay here. My sister is waiting for me at the gallery.”
“Your sister is fine,” Fiona cuts in. “She wanted to speak to Grant about her plans anyway, remember?”
“Let’s start with Desmond,” Trina suggests. “Last night he seemed very intrigued by you.”
I shrug, rolling my eyes. “He’s probably just another overprotective macho man. I resent that he feels like he needs to watch over me. If Sebastian hadn’t made a fool of himself, Des wouldn’t have given me a second glance.”
“Hmm,” Simone answers, exchanging glances with Fiona and Trina.
I huff. “It’s nothing, okay? I’m done with men, anyway. I had that weird makeout session with Sebastian, and I enjoyed it, but the consequences are not worth it. It’s like he feels like there’s something between us. Something more than old history and lust. But there’s nothing.Nothing.” I sound bitter, even to my own ears.
“Are you sure about that?” Fiona asks. “You said the word ‘nothing’ three times in that little rant.”
“Plus there was the whole proposal thing,” Trina adds.
“Yes. Please explain.” Simone nudges her knee against mine. “That wasn’t on your Wikipedia page.”
I bite my lip, thinking of the hurt in Sebastian’s eyes last night. Then words just start coming out of my mouth before I can stop them. “Sebastian asked me to marry him when we were eighteen. I said no. He got mad. I left and never went back.”
“Wow,” Fiona says.
I sigh, taking another gulp of my boozy coffee. “It was the worst day of my life,” I admit. “We were in love. We were young—just kids, you know? Every feeling was amplified. But I hated Clare, and he wanted to live there forever. I’d been accepted to my dream college, and Sebastian wanted to stay on the land that had been in his family for generations.”
“It was never going to work,” Simone says.
I nod. “Incompatible—we were completely incompatible. Not in personality or in feelings, but just in goals and values and vision.”
“Takes more than love to make a marriage work.” Fiona purses her lips. “We all know that by now.”
“I said no,” I tell them. “I was so angry at him for even proposing to me. It was a complete slap in the face. How could he dismiss everything I’d told him about what I wanted from my life? How could he think that a ring on my finger would supersede all my dreams?” I stare at the coffee in my cup, shaking my head. “But yesterday, the way he looked at me… It’s like he never understood why I said no. He looked sohurt.”
“Rejection stings,” Trina says. “And men like Sebastian have big egos.”
I snort, rolling my eyes. “Yeah. But to hang onto the hurt of that rejection for twenty-five years?”
“Maybe you should talk to him again,” Simone says gently, which surprises me. Out of everyone, she was the first to be on Team Anyone-but-Texas. She’s not the one I’d expect to encourage me to pursue…whatever this is between me and Sebastian. She pats my knee. “Maybe there’s more to his feelings than you know, and it’s worth having a conversation. You never know what’s going on in someone else’s mind.”
I suck my lips between my teeth and slouch on the sofa. “Yeah. I just don’t think it’s worth it. It’s been so long, and whatever’s between us is so messed up. Wouldn’t it be better to start fresh with someone else?”
“Maybe it’s like a splinter,” Trina offers. “You need to get it out from under your skin before you can heal.”
I meet her gaze. “Maybe.”
“Um,” Fiona cuts in. “That might be hard.”
We all turn to look at her.
“How come?” Simone asks.
She frowns. “Because Sebastian is gone?”
I jolt up, sloshing my coffee over the edge of my mug. “Gone? What do you mean,gone?”
