18
An Unexpected Guest
There should really be an award given to people who are able to shove aside the fact that their own lives are crumbling in order to focus on a friend—say, for example, the Selfless Human Award. Or maybe the Lee Stone Medal of Valor for Friendship under Extreme Duress, in honor of my heroic efforts tonight.
It was Annie’s thirtieth birthday, and we were having a dinner party at Il Tempesto, one of Austin’s most romantic Italian restaurants. I’d ignored the fact that my life was a dumpster fire in order to sling on my sluttiest party jumpsuit and plaster a smile on my face. I was borrowing Alexis’s nicest pair of heels, too, which she’d offered to help cheer me up. It was a disconcerting reversal of our usual roles.
Il Tempesto was a lovely restaurant. We had the wine cellar all to ourselves. Candles made the dim room glow with warm light, wineglasses were wedged between big bowls of pasta, and the table was full of our friends. Mac and Ted the finance guy sat next to me, lost in their gag-inducing new-relationship bubble. Alexis sat across from me, her date obviously the Chianti bottle she was feeling up as she poured her next glass. Claire and Simon sat at one head of the table, and Annie and Zoey at the other. Annie looked especially gorgeous tonight. Her face radiated happiness.
The seat next to me was empty, so I’d kicked it away from the table, deciding not to read it as a mocking sign from the universe. I’d thought about inviting Kyle tonight, but had ultimately decided I didn’t feel like hearing about whatever new start-up he was launching with his parents’ money. His last idea had been an app that delivered molly and ecstasy upon demand, and so I’d had to break it to him gently about a little thing called criminal law that even applied to trust-fund children. The specifics of Kyle aside, the important thing was that Icould’vehad a date if I’d wanted one.
I turned to Mac to share this insight with her, but she was too busy rubbing her nose against Ted’s to pay me any attention. I sighed and stabbed at my napkin with my knife.
“Ben, it’s been so long!” Annie called.
I jabbed my knife into my bread and whipped my head in Annie’s direction. There was no way, it couldn’t be—
It was. Ben walked toward the table, holding a gorgeous bouquet of pink peonies. Hard to get in winter, and Annie’s favorite flower, though I had no idea how he’d remembered. He looked ridiculously beautiful in jeans, a herringbone gray button-up and a dark gray blazer, a peacoat slung over his arm. In that moment, it was like I was seeing him for the first time. It struck me anew how tall he was, how deliciously his blazer fit over his broad shoulders, how perfectly the candlelight lit his elegant cheekbones and long lashes.
But—and this was the important part—what the fuck was he doing here? Unbidden, his recent accusation floated back:Stoner. You’re lying.
I didnotwant to resume that conversation.
I swept dagger-eyes to Alexis on the other side of the table. She had the stones to give me a double thumbs-up. Annie stood, opening her arms to receive Ben’s hug, but before she did, she looked at me and winked.
I almost gasped out loud.Saboteurs.
“Happy birthday, Annie.” Ben squeezed her. “Thank you for inviting me. I’m honored.”
“You’re very welcome. These are gorgeous.” Annie accepted the peonies from Ben and placed them in her present pile. Embarrassingly, she put them right next to my gift, a bong with the wordsMy Favorite Therapistpainted across it. Ben eyed it and stifled a laugh, but he didn’t look at me, so I couldn’t explain it was only a gag gift and I would obviously give Annie her real present shortly. As soon as I bought it.
“This is my girlfriend, Zoey,” Annie said, and Ben shook Zoey’s hand with a wide smile.
Zoey blinked up at him. “Wow. You’re even more handsome in person than on Facebook.”
Christ, Zoey, way to havezero chill.
Ben grinned, full dimples, rolling with it. “Thank you. It’s great to meet you.”
“You remember Mac, of course,” Annie said, gesturing around the table. “And Claire and Simon from when they visited in grad school.”
“Great to see you again.” Ben was smiling so hard he looked like one of those contestants waiting to audition forAmerican Idol. What was his angle?
Claire nodded coolly. “Benjamin. Nice to see you.”
“And that handsome gentleman there is Ted, Mac’s boyfriend. You can sit next to Stoner.” Annie pointed to the empty chair I’d discarded, and I suddenly realized I’d been trapped in Annie and Alexis’s twisted game from the beginning and just hadn’t caught on.
My body went very straight and still as Ben pulled up his chair and leaned in close to me. “Hello, Stoner. Fancy seeing you here.”
“Annie’s my best friend,” I whispered, ignoring the fact that I could feel Alexis watching us from across the table. “What areyoudoing here?”
“Attending a birthday party for an old friend,” he said smoothly.
I leaned in closer, deciding to get it over with and clear the air. “You accused me of lying about being glad we’re back to being friends. I’m not lying. I am glad we’re friends.”
He gave me an amused look. “Trying to get me uninvited from a party is an interesting way of showing it.”
At the head of the table, Annie clinked her knife against her glass.
