My heart raced, too. I didn’t want to stay in. I’d rather have gone to David’s, but that wasn’t happening, so I took out my cell. “Brian Ayers e-mailed me an invitation to some art opening tonight,” I said. “It was meant for David and me, but I don’t think Brian’ll mind if I bring you guys.”
Gretchen rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to stand around some pretentious gallery with Brian the poser. I want to take shots.”
“It’s not like that,” I said, my eyes scanning Brian’s e-mail. “It’s at a dive bar in Wicker Park. Very low-key, hipster spot.”
Ava took a stack of dishes from a cupboard. “Dinner’s ready. Let’s scarf it down and go see us some art.”
Like the gentleman he was, Brian wasn’t only happy to have us, but he even met us out front when our cab arrived. “Well, I’ll certainly be the hero of the evening with all these beautiful women on my arm,” he said, helping each of us out of the car. He leaned into the backseat to offer Gretchen his hand, then paused when he saw her sitting on Greg’s lap. “Make that four women and—Gregor, was it?”
Gretchen scowled, ignoring Brian’s help. “Just Greg. Myboyfriend.”
“How could I forget?” Brian straightened up and offered me his elbow. “Shall we?”
Inside, I could barely see the paintings in the dimly lit bar with overhead lights that alternated between yellow and red. At the bar, Brian and I ordered a couple tequila shots.
“She doesn’t waste any time, does she?” Brian asked.
I followed his gaze to Gretchen, deep in conversation with Bethany and two men in suits. Greg was nowhere to be seen. “What is it about her that bugs you?” I asked.
“Nothing, honey.” He tilted his head in her direction. “Just not my type.”
“Why not?” I asked. “You said at the Meet and Greet that you want a ‘clever’ girl with ‘edge,’ and she’s both of those things. And there’s no denying she’s gorgeous.”
“What you say is true, Liv.” Brian tucked some of his blond locks behind his ear. “But she’s also high-maintenance and snobby.”
I thought it was funny how they’d each called the other some form of pretentious—when, at the heart of it, neither she nor Brian was. “Let me get this straight,” I said. “Pretty girl tries to kiss you—you turn her down.”
“Yes.”
“Because she’s high-maintenance and snobby?” I asked.
He sighed, still watching her. “Look at her. She’s beautiful. Why does she wear all that makeup and dress like that?”
As if she could hear us, Gretchen tugged down her short, skin-tight blue dress. Admittedly, with four-inch heels and fake lashes, she was overdressed for a dive bar. But that was just Gretchen. “I think she looks great.”
“Absolutely,” he agreed. “But she doesn’t need all that. I want a girl who’s comfortable in her own skin.”
I didn’t respond but peered at him. Why was he so concerned with what she wore if he didn’t care about her?
“She’s pissed off that I didn’t fall for her charms,” he continued. “She’s very smooth, I’ll admit. But it doesn’t work on me. I don’t find it genuine.”
I turned back to look at Gretchen. It made sense as to why she’d called Brian names. Not many men had turned her down since Greg had broken her heart in college. Brian had wounded her pride. “Sheisgenuine,” I promised him. “She dresses up because she’s confident and flaunts it. She’s a catch. So . . . I guess you both lose.”
“You know very well that she has a new boyfriend,”—he looked at me sidelong—“so what does it matter?”
“True. And it’s an old boyfriend anyway,” I said. “They dated in college.”
“Oh?” Brian’s eyebrow lifted. “And they’re back together?”
“Yes. Back then, he broke up with her suddenly and left for a work opportunity in Japan practically the next day. She was a mess, but I guess now he’s back to work things out with her.”
I glanced at Brian, who quickly wiped the shock from his face—but not before I’d caught it. “Well, good on them,” he said, turning to look over his shoulder. “Where’s David anyway?” he asked. “I thought he’d join you.”
“Girls’ night,” I explained. “Plus Greg, and now you, too . . .”
Fuck. I wished David were here. Maybe I should’ve just invited him, even knowing he’d probably decline.
“Figure out if that’s the life you want. A life without me. Maybe it’s being single, maybe it’s with Bill. But it’s without me.”
