I sighed and placed my glass down. "Amelia, you know I love you and would do anything for you, but–"
"He's changed, Grace." Her voice was so quiet, I almost didn't hear her.
I wasn't going to play dumb. I knew who she meant. I pressed my lips together to keep the scowl at bay.
"He's dropped all his old friends, dumped Jessica a billion years ago-"
"Like I give a shit about that–"
"And," she stressed, "he's become close friends with Liam."
My stomach dropped.
"Grace, he's in the wedding party."
The color drained from my face.
"He's the Best Man."
I stood there in frozen silence as I attempted to process the bombs my supposed best friend just dropped on me. Best Man?Harrison?That noun juxtaposed withhisname was laughable. Surely this was a joke?
One look at Amelia's guilt-ridden face was enough to tell me that there would be no amusing punch line to any of this. Betrayal burned in my gut as a million questions arose.
How did this happen? How long has this been going on for? And why didn't you tell me?
It wasn't lost on me that these questions were parallel to accusations a wronged spouse would fling at an unfaithful partner. Because that’s exactly how I felt. Blindsided and betrayed. My eyes shifted to my bag in the corner before I muffled a crazed laugh. She hadn't even let me unpack yet.
With a hand that was not quite steady, I picked up my glass and drained the contents. "Well," I drawled, "that was a lot of information to digest in ten minutes."
I plucked up the wine bottle and poured more into my glass, filling it almost to the brim.
"Why didn't you tell me this before, Amelia?" I shook my head in disappointment. I tried to keep my tone calm, even though I wanted to rail at Amelia for deceiving me.
"I mean, I get that Harrison might have changed from a dickhead into a douchebag but–"
"He's neither of those things, Grace. Not anymore." She searched my strained face. "Look, I'm not asking you to forgive him. Believe me, it took me a while to warm up to him. But he's a decent guy now. He apologized to me and is eager to catch up with you."
"Ha!" I jeered, my wine splashing over the rim. "Catch up?Catch up!? Sure, what does he want to talk about first?"
I slammed down my wine glass, uncaring of the mess I made. "The time he purposely tore up my English paper the day it was due? The time he tripped me for the hundredth time down the hallway, or maybe the time he called me an ugly nerd who would never get laid?"
I paced the kitchen, gesturing angrily. "Yes, we havesooomuch to catch up on."
"Gracie, please!" Amelia pleaded. "I'm not asking you to forgive him, just have a conversation with him and clear the air. It's my wedding, and I–" she broke off with a sob. "I just–I just–"
"Oh,canthe crocodile tears. They only work on Liam." I folded my arms, eyeing Amelia with a narrowed-eyed glare. Like I said, I knew Amelia like the back of my hand. I wasn't thrilled that she was using her fake crying gag to garner sympathy in a situation I found far from amusing.
As predicted, her face cleared before she sighed and came around the kitchen island. She wrapped her arms around my rigid shoulders. "I'm such a bitch. I'm so sorry for pushing this."
I rolled my eyes but my stance gradually relaxed until I reluctantly returned her hug. I could never stay mad at Amelia, even though I was seriously contemplating ghosting her and this wedding.
"I'll...try and keep an open mind." The words stuck to my throat, but what choice did I have? The plan I had carefully curated to avoid Harrison and any of his known haunts while in Ashburton was a bust. And I was hardly going to throw a tantrum and give Amelia and Liam an ultimatum to choose between the two of us. "That's all. I'll be pleasant and cordial to him, but that's it. And I'm only doing this for you, babe."
Amelia rested her head on my shoulder. She was quiet for a few minutes before taking a deep breath.
"And you'll come to the reunion?"
I rolled my eyes before shoving her away.
