AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I blinked rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the dim interior, searching to see if she’d arrived yet. She caught my attention with a wave, and I pulled Cal toward her.
“Cal, this is—”
“Amie,” he said, jaw tense, the muscles there jumping as he ground his teeth together. The joy from his face a moment ago had simply…vanished, replaced by something I couldn’t quite put a name to. It looked as though he’d seen a ghost.
“Yeah, Amie,” I said slowly, narrowing my eyes and glancing between them. “You guys know each other?”
“You could say that,” Cal said.
“Calvin!” Amie said, approaching him, settling her short-nailed fingers—painted a pink so pale it was practically white—on his shoulders and leaning in to kiss one of his cheeks, then the other. “It’s good to see you. It’s been too long.”
Cal offered her a tight smile, but Amie was already turning away. “Not long enough,” he muttered under his breath.
“What the fuck?” I hissed.
“I’ll tell you later.”
I halted his path to the table with a hand on his arm. “Are you good? You don’t have to be here.”
“Actually, I think I’ll run over to Brie’s,” he said. “Or the diner. I just…I’m sorry, Princess. I just can’t.”
He gave me a tense smile, dropped a quick kiss on my lips, and was gone.
I blinked after him, unsure what the hell had just happened.
“So, you and Calvin Ryder?” Amie asked from behind me. “Isn’t he like…your employee?”
“Technically,” I said, sliding into the seat across from her. “But…have you seen him? I couldn’t stay away. And he’s a really great guy.”
“Trust me,” Amie said with a knowing smile. “I know the feeling. And I’m sure he’s definitely not the same man he was three years ago.”
“Wait…what?” I asked dumbly.
“He didn’t tell you?” Amie said, that smile of hers going practically feline. “Calvin and I dated for, what was it?” She tapped her finger to her chin, thinking. Then, “About two years. He even proposed. But things just didn’t work out.”
Cal hadproposed? No fucking wonder he couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Clearly, I was oblivious to the specifics of their relationship, but if things had fallen apart after he’d proposed, I knew Cal well enough to know he’d see that as a personal failure, no matter who was at fault. He’d be embarrassed, and he would’ve wanted to stay away from Amie.
And I’d unwittingly dragged him back into her orbit.
No, I corrected myself. I’d unwittingly draggedusinto her orbit.
And now, like a putz, I had to sit through a meeting with the woman, pretending I wasn’t a swirling well of anxiety and questions, pretending I didn’t know this woman was as intimately familiar with my boyfriend as I was.
This town was too small.
My stomach churned, my head light with anxiety and annoyance and…jealousy. Yeah, I was jealous of this woman, with her pointy features that somehow managed to be delicate and fierce, ice blue eyes, ice blonde hair, long, lithe body. And she was clearly successful, something I knew Cal admired deeply in a partner. How the hell had he ended up with me when he’d once been with her?
A waitress approached our table, saving us for the moment from having to make awkward small talk while we ordered food and drinks. I got my brunch burger and sweet potato fries, requesting a buffalo burger for Cal to go, even though the thought made me want to vomit. I also ordered a margarita, hoping the alcohol would soothe the panic rising in my chest. Amie ordered a marg as well, and the green olive burger with onion rings on the side.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” she said sometime later when our food had arrived, then closed her mouth around a massive bite.
I’d never been an olive girl to begin with, but the scent of the green olives cooked into her hamburger stuffed itself up my nose, churning my already unsettled stomach. Between bites, I explained to Amie what I wanted for the party, where we were having it, the number of guests, and other pertinent information. Not that I was sold on working with her. If she made my man uncomfortable, I’d be a shitty partner to even consider hiring her.
While we ate, I rifled through my mental Rolodex, searching for another name, another company—anyone who could help me that wasn’t Amie.
And then it hit me—I had four sisters who loved nothing more than party planning,andthey were free. I wanted this party to be a success, and I knew my sisters would do whatever it took to make that a reality for me.
So, politely, I allowed Amie to take notes and run through ideas while I nodded at the proper moments and sipped my water, leaving my marg untouched after one sip had me gagging.
