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“Yes. He was at the bakery on Main Street. With his wife. And his kids.”
“Plural?!” Good thing she doesn’t still have the vase in her hands because she would have dropped it with the dramatic flailing of her arms. “When did he have time to procreate?”
“Pretty quickly after we broke up. Clementine and Lemon.”
Melissa twists her face as Jillian states, “Those are pretty names.”
“Oh, just say what we’re all thinking. It’s weird to name both of your kids after citrus,” Melissa gripes.
“It doesn’t matter what he named them. He’s a husband and father now. He has a gorgeous wife, and they moved to Newbury. Get ready to meet Victoria Murphy at the next PTA meeting.”
“He’s not even from Connecticut. What kind of jerk would move to his ex-fiancée’s town?” Melissa asks.
“The kind who leaves a girl on her wedding day. I should have cut his balls off years ago.”
“No, you did better,” Melissa adds and then explains to Jillian, “She held an estate sale at his house and sold most of his prized possessions.”
Jillian’s eyes bulge. “You didn’t?!”
I shrug. “I still had to pay for the reception. When a wedding is called off, people don’t give you gifts. I should have sold those golf clubs for more money.”
Jillian guides the conversation back on track with the snap of her fingers. “You saw him and what?”
“I got in my car and left.”
“And …” Melissa prods, sensing there’s more to the story.
I lift my shoulder and look up at the ceiling. “I looked up his new address and might have ordered a new mailbox to be installed next week.”
“What kind of mailbox?”
“It’s a pig. A cute farmhouse one. I think they’ll appreciate the housewarming gift.”
“Tara, you are diabolical.” Jillian grins while trying to maintain her composure.
“I’ve seen her do worse,” Melissa adds. Her eyes look down as she places a hand on my arm, consoling me. “Seriously, Tara, that must have been really hard. You haven’t seen Patrick in years, and now, he’s going to be in our town with his new family. That has to sting.”
“It does. Fuck, it does,” I declare. “It’s bad enough that I still think about him from time to time, but now, I have to walk around my own town on eggshells that I’ll see him, or her, or their kids. I’ll be fine. It’s not like I still love him or anything. I’m just … I’m just not in the mood to have to see him yet. I was blindsided. I’ll be fine.”
I run my hand through my curly, dark hair and then slap my hip. “Maybe it wouldn’t bother me as much if I were with someone. He left me because I was quote-on-quote immature, called off the wedding, married someone else, had kids, and I’m still here, in the town I grew up in,stilllooking for love. I saw his face. I know his face. He was pitying me. I can’t have that jerk pity me.”
My life and the shenanigans I seem to get myself into have been group fodder for Melissa and Jillian. Now that they’ve settled down, my single status and the goings-on in my dating life keep them entertained. They are also pillars of strength when it comes to needing someone to lean on.
Tonight, however, isn’t about me. It’s about Melissa and the dinner she planned since we all haven’t been able to get together since her wedding.
“Enough about me. How was your vacation?”
“Magical,” she sighs. “I didn’t feel sexy, prancing around with this belly, but Will made me feel so comfortable in my skin. He’s amazing.”
That is something no one can disagree with. While I managed to infiltrate the life of the grumpy Bronson brother, she got the cinnamon roll hero.
Her dreamy, swoony look is interrupted by the sound of a doorbell. I look into the den and count heads. Will is talking baseball with Luke—Jillian’s fiancé—while Ainsley is playing with Hunter, and Izzy is on her phone.
“The gang’s all here. Who are you expecting?” I ask.
“Oh. That’s Rob,” she explains. “He has the kids this weekend, so Will asked him to come over since they’ve been fighting. Apparently, Rob punched their cousin Kevin for no reason at the wedding. The mother was pissed. Will was annoyed. Rob won’t say why.”
My mouth opens to speak, and I’m temporarily at a loss. “No. No way. That can’t be right. Which one is Kevin?”
