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I bounce my brows once. “Yeah. Fun.”
We drive a few blocks, but we aren’t headed downtown or near any food district. Jude turns onto Abbey Road, he’s following directions on his phone.
“Where are we eating?” I swear there aren’t any food establishments down this way.
“We’re just picking up a friend,” Coco says, and Jude gives her a side-eye.
I’m missing something. I’m the butt of this joke. Or I’m completely paranoid.
We pull up in front of a small townhouse, one wall is attached to another home. It’s a place I’ve never seen before. Did Miles move while I was home groveling?
I expect Coco to get out and knock on a door or send a text, but the door opens and a pretty blonde in a yellow sun dress comes skipping out.
It’s Meredith.
My Meredith.
41
Levi
“Meredith? Meredith is your friend?” The words hiss from my lips before Meredith reaches the side van door.
“Yep.” Coco spits—unapologetically.
“Why would you—”
But Meredith is tugging on the door.
“Because you’re an idiot who needs all the help he can get!” Coco whisper yells back at me before slapping on a grin. “Hi, Mer!” she sings the minute Meredith hitches the door open.
“Hi,” she says, the word breathless and beautiful and full of life. She’s happy and I’m glad.
At least she’s happy until her eyes fall from Coco to me. Her mouth falls, not into a frown, but into a flat indifferent line.
“Owen had to cancel,” Coco says—and I am pretty sure she is lying through her teeth. “So, Levi is filling in for him. James will meet us there.”
James?
“I see.” Meredith swallows and her eyes, like a clear summer sky, lock on mine. “Hello, Levi.”
“Hey, Mer.” I can feel sweat beads starting to pool at my neck, on my forehead, and at the center of my chest. I am going to be a wet dog by the time dinner ends. “How’ve you been?” I ask, like a man in need of water who has just found his well.
“Good,” she says, without any elaboration. Part of me wants to ask to see her list, to see what she’s done without me. Who has she done it with? How did she feel? Is she driving alone yet?
“Is this a friend’s place or—”
“It’s mine,” she says. Again, no elaboration. Were we apart for three weeks or three years? She has her own place? Bought or rented? How is she paying for this? Did she get a job too?
I have a million questions. But I keep them all quiet. Meredith has never been one to hide her feelings. Which means, she’s saying all she wants to.
“Six more nights on a cot,” Coco says, giving a small laugh. “And then you’ll have a real bed!”
“Yes. I can’t wait.” Meredith’s bow lips turn up as she talks to my sister. She’s smiling at Coco sincerely and sweetly, but not exactly how she used to smile at me. There was something more to the smiles she gave me. A grin with a glint in her eyes. I want that smile back.
Still, I know what my conniving, sneaking sister is trying to do, and it isn’t going to work.
Sure, I might be pining over a glisten that I used to produce in Meredith’s eyes, but I’ll get over it. And yes, my skin may be itching, as if all those stupid butterflies have come back to life, simply to bite every inch of my exposed skin. They tell me that if I give in, if I touch Meredith, then all those pesky nerves will disappear.
