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* * *
A laugh bubbles out of me, and I show Van the screen of my phone.
“I wish,” he mumbles.
* * *
Me: We’ve been in traffic forrreevvveerrr. The place you chose better have air conditioning.
Lance: I picked a place not that far from your hotel, why didn’t you walk?
Me: Hello, did you not feel the heat when you walked out of your condo this morning? It’s like one hundred degrees.
Lance: It’s your Alaskan blood.
Lance: I ran into someone, so I have a nice surprise for you.
* * *
My phone drops in my lap, and I whip my head in the direction of Van. He rears back. “What?”
“I don’t know anyone but Lance and Kenzie in New York.” I pick up my phone and show him the text.
“You think it’s her?” he asks.
“I think I’m going to kill someone if it is. She’s supposed to be getting married.”
He rests his hand on my leg again and squeezes. “Remember, it’s not your life.”
I say nothing but inhale a deep breath as if meditating will help me. Van doesn’t know everything that went down with Kenzie, Lance, and Easton. I had high hopes she’d get married and it would all just go away.
Finally, the taxi pulls up to the curb, and I open the door, eager to feel a breeze or something while Van pays the driver.
Sure enough, the minute I open up the door to the fancy restaurant Lance picked for lunch, a screech echoes throughout the room and Kenzie throws herself at me, throwing her arms around my neck, plastering herself to me.
I give Lance my best death stare, but he only shrugs. Sometimes I hate having guy best friends. They really don’t understand some shit the way women do.
“Oh my god!” Kenzie draws back and looks me up and down. “You look gorgeous, and this must be Van.” She puts her hand out, and Van accepts it.
“Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine. I was supposed to meet my fiancé here, so imagine my surprise when he canceled, and I bumped right into Lance.”
“What a coincidence,” I say dryly.
She walks us over to the table and we all say hello. I pinch Lance in the back of the arm, and he retracts, giving me an evil glare. He’s the one who brought her. I know I’m just upset because seeing her in person reminds me of the old Kenzie—the small-town girl who changed when she moved here. The girl I’m no longer that close to.
We all sit, and I’m barely able to glance at the menu before she starts talking again. Van puts his hand on my leg, and I think it’s to calm me, but even his touch isn’t working.
“So, we’ve had all these problems with the press lately. Somehow they keep figuring out the details of our wedding. My fiancé’s father is Wendell Asbury.” She waits for us to react, but we don’t. We all already knew she was engaged to the real estate tycoon’s son. She waves her hand when we stare blankly. “Anyway, Lance gave me a great suggestion when we were chatting—we should have the wedding in Lake Starlight. Remember when we’d dream about having double weddings on the lake?”
I’m so surprised I don’t say anything for a beat. When I recover, I say, “You’re going to get married on the lake?”
“The press will never think we’d have it all the way up in Alaska. It’s perfect.” She puts her hand on top of Lance’s, and I stare at it, wishing I had the powers to laser it off.
Lance gently slides his hand out from under hers and when our eyes meet, mine blazing, he shrugs again. Oh, we’re gonna have words.
I deserve an Emmy for my performance during lunch and after we say goodbye outside the restaurant, Lance and Kenzie decide to share a taxi uptown, and I’m about ready to explode.
