“What happened?”
She sighed.
“I caught him cheating on me. With Gina. My best friend.”
I grimaced. Tears started to form in her eyes and I watched as she actually willed them away. Like she knew he didn’t deserve her tears. After blinking a few times, she took a breath and met my gaze.
“I know I should be, but I’m not over it. There is this song that always repeats in my head. It’s called ‘A Little Bit Yours.’ It’s by this guy JP Saxe, and I feel like it’s my life right now. Like, my heart is broken, but somehow, it’s still a little bit his. Anyway, it’s similar to you in the way that our paths always cross, and every time I see him, I fall all over again. Even though he’s with Gina and it’s stupid and foolish. You just can’t turn love off. At least I can’t.”
This time I reached over and squeezed her hand. She looked at me and smiled weakly.
“Of course, everyone knows and the pity looks I get when Marco and I are in the same place are getting out of hand. I mean, seriously, it’s hard enough going through a heartbreak without the whole town watching. The worst is that I know Marco gets a front-row seat. He knows I’m still in love with him and I hate that most of all. Maybe he did break my heart in a million pieces, but he doesn’t deserve to know how much it hurts.”
Suddenly everything clicked. This whole idea of us pretending to date, it would be a two-way street. I would be doing it to try to keep myself from giving in to Cassidy, and she would be doing it to make people think she was okay. More importantly, to make Marco think she was okay. She must have seen my thoughts because she smiled.
“He’d die if he saw me get out of a Ferrari.”
I grinned. I couldn’t help it.
“I’m in. Like… fully committed.”
“Yeah?”
We were distracted for a moment when Mrs. Chen cleared our plates and set down the donuts. Thai donuts were my favorite food in the whole world. I lifted one and motioned to her.
“Favorite snack, for your list, by the way.”
Isabella looked at me and instantly popped a donut in her mouth. I watched the flurry of delight cross her face. It was nice to eat with someone that didn’t count calories or didn’t eat carbs. Or hold back her emotions. It was so simple to see how Isabella was feeling.
“Holy cannoli. I feel like I’m cheating on my father’s zeppoles right now.”
Laughing, I shook my head.
“What is a zeppole, and how can you possibly cheat on it?”
Her jaw dropped.
“You don’t know what a zeppole is? I’m calling this whole thing off. I’m not sure we can be friends now.”
I threw my napkin at her but I was glad to see a smile back on her face. Even after just one afternoon, I realized Isabella should always be happy, and I don’t think she has been for a long time. I was more determined than ever to help correct that. Looking at my watch, I was a bit sad to see that we didn’t have that much time left.
“We have to go. There is one more place I need to stop at before I get you home. It’s important.”
Searching my wallet, I threw a hundred-dollar bill on the table and grabbed her hand. She looked at the money, eyes wide.
“Don’t you want to wait for the change?”
“Nope. The Chens deserve it way more than me. Come on.”
She ran behind me, laughing, and settled back into the car. I liked how amazed she still was at the thought of driving around in it. The sun was setting; it was my favorite time of day to drive. Right now, I was on a mission. After driving a few blocks, I pulled up to a Verizon store.
She shook her head.
“No way. This is not happening.”
I grabbed her hand and nodded.
“It is happening. We still have so much to talk about and, trust me, if we are going to be fake-dating, no one will believe I have a girlfriend without a phone. I mean, you can use it as often and as little as you want to, but you really do need it.”
