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‘Absolutely. Whatever you have to say, I can handle it.’
Her voice was too thin to convince anyone, let alone herself.
‘If you say so,’ Naomi said. ‘I would have preferred you hear this from him, but I can’t leave you in the dark.’
Samantha nodded encouragingly, but she was one heartbeat away from grabbing Naomi by the throat.
‘Roman and Tara were engaged.’
‘What?’
‘They were together for the longest time and got engaged soon after Anthony and I started dating. It didn’t last long. One month tops.’
Samantha wasn’t sure if the tingling sensation spreading through her limbs was a sign of shock or something more serious and life threatening.
‘After they split up, he quit his job and came down here to lay low a while, sort things out.’
‘That’s over the top,’ Jasmine said. ‘Why did he have to quit his job?’
‘He hated it,’ Samantha said flatly.
‘Apparently so,’ Naomi said. ‘It’s a shame, too. You should have seen his flat. The views were insane.’
‘Found her!’ Maya brandished her phone. ‘Tara Evans has a profile on a networking site.’
Jen moved away from her post at the door. ‘Let’s hear it.’
‘Tara J. Evans was born and raised in Philadelphia. She earned a BA at Stony Brook and an MBA at Carnegie Mellon. She’s currently employed at a venture capitalist firm. An avid reader and a runner. Knits, too. I love that about her.’
Naomi held up a hand. ‘Thanks, Maya.’
‘He never mentioned an ex-girlfriend or any other kind of ex?’ Jasmine asked.
Samantha raised her chin, hoping the slight gesture would make her feel less of a fool. ‘He said he’d had his heart broken once, but he was over it. He’s moving forward.’
Maya tucked away her phone. ‘Well, if he’s over it, we’re over it. Onward!’
‘Something tells me Tara isn’t over it,’ Jasmine said.
‘No one expects him to declassify his ex files,’ Jen said thoughtfully. ‘But an engagement is heavy stuff. You might want to drop it into the conversation.’
‘I can’t believe he didn’t mention it,’ Naomi uttered under her breath.
‘Why didn’t you mention it?’ Samantha snapped. ‘While trying to fix us up, it would have been useful to point out his baggage.’
Naomi waved away her concerns. ‘At our age we’re bound to have a significant ex or two. I figured it would come up organically.’
‘It certainly has,’ Maya said.
Samantha turned to Jen. ‘Did you know?’
‘Depends what you mean by that,’ Jen said. ‘I … might’ve heard something.’
Naomi snapped her fingers again. ‘You’re focused on the wrong things! Who cares who knew what, when?’
‘What is she even doing here?’ Jasmine asked. ‘That’s what I want to know.’
‘I’m as shocked as anyone,’ Naomi said. ‘Tara is such a cool girl, but she didn’t bother to RSVP. She showed up unannounced. Anthony didn’t have a chance to wrap up the toast. And now Samantha’s upset.’
