“Exactly,” Paige said.“About time.”
“Can we laugh about it?”Jennifer asked, twirling her glass.“Because if not, I might fall into my chair and cry all over again.”
“I don’t know what happened, but it gutted all of us to learn that your marriage had been annulled,” Amanda said.“Tell us.”
“We eloped the night after graduation and were married in a beautiful little chapel.We spent the night at the inn, and then the next thing I know, I’m receiving an email from him saying he wants to party while he’s at college.Please don’t contact him again.”
Jennifer’s brow drew together.“That doesn’t sound like Tripp.”
“No, he was crazy about you,” Crystal said.
“I always thought that you and he would live happily ever after.I guess that’s something I don’t believe in any longer,” Amanda said with a sigh.
“So what happened?”Jennifer asked.“Was it from his email?”
“Oh yes,” she said with a sigh.“His father drew up an annulment.A month after we were married, the marriage was no more.The only thing I lost was my virginity and my trust in men.”
Even speaking of that time still cut deep, the ache as sharp as ever.Would she ever heal from it, or was she destined to carry the wound forever?
Paige sighed.“To be fair, Tripp’s family met him at the door the next morning and whisked him off to Europe for the summer.”
“How do you know that?”Nicole asked, knowing her family and his had once been friends.
“He told me,” she said.“This is why the two of you need to talk.”
“We’re opposing counsel,” Nicole reminded her.
Paige shook her head.“You need to talk.”
“Not now.Regardless, I never heard from him again,” Nicole said, her heart aching at the memory of how she just wanted to speak to him.To confirm that the annulment was what he wanted.And yet her heart called her ten times a fool for even considering talking to him again.
“Wow, and you kept the annulment a secret.Why is it coming out now?”Crystal asked.
“Because we’re both back in town and dueling in court.He’s on one side of the courtroom, and I’m on the other.And for the first time in twenty years, we actually spoke.”
There was silence as they emptied a bottle of red wine.
Amanda managed a dry laugh.“I tried to call my husband five times today.Nothing.”
Paige reached over and nestled a hand on Amanda’s.“You’re not alone.We’ve got your back.I know it’s hard, but let him go.”
Nicole watched Amanda’s shoulders shift, hope nudging through her sorrow.Could something like this have happened to her and Tripp if they’d stayed together?She would never know.
Crystal cleared her throat.“Okay, but we still need to dish about Paige.Are you really here for Nicole or for a summer fling?”
Paige’s eyes lit up.“I came for Nicole, because I’m hoping she and Tripp will learn the truth.I want to help.But if sparks fly, I won’t stop them.Promise.”
Nicole’s breath caught.She looked into Paige’s warm gray eyes, and something quiet bloomed between them.
They talked.They drank.They reminisced.Light giggles underlined stories from prom nights and secret crushes; their hands reached for food off the shared charcuterie board, cheese, crusty bread, marinated olives, and strawberries.
Jennifer looked at Nicole and said gently, “I used to think you loved Tripp more than you loved us.”
Nicole swallowed a bite of brie.“I loved him...and I was terrified of what I’d do if he walked away.And now, I know how I’d react.I’d be fine.I’d survive.But that first year of college was rough.”
Silence.
Nicole’s lips trembled.
