Brooke wiped her tears, knowing that she probably looked like a wreck, but she didn’t care. She was too happy to be worried about her appearance now. All of the stress and worry about seeing Nate again, about not knowing what to say, had melted away.“Thank you, Nate. And Mel, seriously. Thank you.”
“Here,” Anna said.“Let me get your picture together. It’s a big moment. You should have it.”
“Oh, brilliant idea,” Nate exclaimed happily, pulling Brooke roughly into his side and grinning at Anna despite the fact that she hadn’t even managed to pull her phone out of her back pocket.
God, Brooke was happy that his energy had never changed. She had been so worried that over time, or in her absence he would have… well, that he would have built walls, just as she had. But he hadn’t. He was still so overwhelmingly happy. She grabbed half the sign and held it up for the picture, her smile so wide it made her cheeks ache.
Nate squeezed her tighter and kissed her forehead.“God, I’m happy you’re here.”
Nate and Mel both grabbed a suitcase each so everyone was only rolling one. Brooke didn’t even hesitate before sliding her hand back into Anna’s and weaving their fingers together. Anna smiled up at her as they walked, following Nate and Mel out to the short-term parking lot.
Anna let out a laugh as they approached Nate’s car.“You guys have the same car.”
Brooke frowned, she hadn’t even realized it, but she and Nate did in fact have the same car. She let out a laugh as well.
“Do we really?” Nate asked, clearly excited about it.
Brooke nodded.“We do indeed. Different colors, though. Mine is dark gray.” Nate’s was bright red.
“That’s amazing,” Mel added, letting out a little laugh of her own.
The car ride was full of sounds, of laughter, of snips of stories that rambled into other stories and tangents, and more laughter.
“How’d you two meet?” Mel asked, spinning in the passenger seat to face Brooke and Anna.
Brooke looked down at their hands, blushing furiously, thankful that Anna had gotten all of their stories lined up. She marveled at the fact that they were still holding hands. Eleven hours straight of holding hands, but Brooke would be happy to hold on for eleven more. Anna squeezed her fingers.“Well, Honey? Are you going to tell her or should I?”
Brooke huffed out a laugh.“Go ahead, Darling. I know you enjoy the story more.”
Anna smiled at her, the kind of smile that Brooke had only ever seen Anna smile for her. If she was bolder she would assume that it was special, that that smile meant more than just happiness.
Anna launched into their story.“So, it was an unseasonably cold day in March of last year.”
Brooke chuckled at Anna’s added details. They had agreed on a simple story. They had never actually practiced telling it together. But then her eyes widened. The first time she, Vivienne, and Christine had gone for dinner at La Fourchettehadbeen an unseasonably cold day in March.
“And in walked threeveryattractive women,” Anna continued.“They’re really a dangerous trio, because they’ve got a little something for anyone’s taste. You’ve got Christine who is warm and sweet and so so cute. Then you’ve got Vivienne who’s hot as shit, but I’m still not convinced that she won’t one day stab me and say something like‘I’ve been waiting for the right moment to do that for a long time,’and then walk away like it’s nothing.”
Brooke barked out a laugh at that. It was an oddly specific, and fairly accurate, description of Vivienne.
“And then there’s B.” Anna gestured with her free hand.
Brooke blushed. That’s how she’s always felt in her trio with Christine and Vivienne. Christine was incredibly cute and easy to flirt with, and Vivienne was stunning in a way that either drew daring people in or made weak ones run in fear. And then, there was Brooke.
“And obviously, she’s got that classic beauty, understated sexy, hardly ever speaks so she’s got a complete mystery thing going on,” Anna continued, like her words were casual. Like they weren’t some sort of validation of Brooke’s place in the group.“And I just,” Anna made a whooping sound that made Mel and Nate giggle, but it very much left Brooke perplexed.
“So how’d you end up with B?” Mel asked, fully engrossed in Anna’s story.
Brooke cleared her throat.“Christine has a boyfriend, so she’s out. And the verdict of whether or not Vivienne might stab anyone honestly is still out, so…” Brooke did a jazz hand with her free hand.“She was stuck with me.”
Anna let out a loud laugh of her own.“That’s not what happened and you know it. I mean those other things are true, but I knew you were my favorite from your second time in my restaurant.”
Brooke frowned, trying to think back. Part of her wondered if this bit of information was true or part of Anna’s act. God, it felt true. And so much had been simmering between them surely it wasn’t all in her head. Her heart raced past the thrill of possibility and triggered alarm bells all throughout her body. This would hurt so much if she was wrong.
“Well…” Mel pushed, her eyes darting between them.“Are you going to tell us why?”
“She’s kind,” Anna said, blushing furiously as the words fell from her lips.“The second time she came into my restaurant, I saw her standing out front before she ever came in. She held the car door for an elderly woman and gripped her arm as she got into her seat. Then when she came in, the table they had sat at the first time was covered in dirty dishes and I watched as she respectfully asked Bethany—that’s the hostess—if she could wait for that table.” Anna let out a laugh.“Then she ended up helping Alex the busboy clear it and she tipped him as a thank you for going out of order on her behalf.” The car was silent for about two seconds before Anna continued again.“And all of that would be enough, but the real kicker was that when her friends came in and immediately hustled over to their table, somehow knowing they’d have the same one as before—she never said anything about all that she had done. She never mentioned that she had already over tipped the busboy, or that she’d had to make a special request to get their table, she just had done it. I eavesdropped all evening long on their second trip, trying to hear for the moment that she would let something slip, even if it was about helping the old woman into the car. But she never did. And I knew then that she had been kind to just be kind.”
“That’s so cute,” Mel said.
