Which is precisely what happened the moment Izzy walked through the door.
She barely had time to kick off her boots and remove her jacket before Beans was on her.
I clear my throat.
“And I missed you, too, Odette.”
I laugh and stir the dinner I’ve been working on for forty minutes.
Izzy is getting married in one week, so this is our last hurrah together before she’s officially a married woman.
Not that I think our girls’ nights will end, but I’m sure she’s going to be so swept up in her new husband that they might be few and far between.
I can relate, as I’ve been just as swept up in her brother lately.
But tonight is not a night to think about Noah. Tonight is about us. It’s about celebrating this new chapter in Izzy’s life.
“A fresh bottle of wine is in the fridge,” I tell her. “Help yourself.”
“I always do.”
She moves through my apartment, grabbing the bottle from the fridge and unscrewing the top. She pours us each a healthy glass, then hands mine to me.
“To you,” I say, holding my cup out. “And your last week of freedom.”
She grins, a small, excited giggle escaping her as she clinks her glass against mine. “I’ll drink to that.”
We both take a drink, then Izzy jumps up to sit on the counter, which has always been her favorite spot when she comes over. She’s about as skilled in the kitchen as her brother, so I always cook and she supervises—a.k.a. she keeps my wineglass full.
“So, how are you really feeling?” I ask. “Nervous at all?”
“Not in the least. I knew I wanted to marry Craig after our first date, and nothing has changed over the years. I love him more than I’ve ever loved anything in my entire life, and I can’t wait to be his wife.”
Each word is filled with pure love, and I am so happy for my best friend.
But I can’t help but feel a little sad too.
While I made peace with the fact that I won’t ever get married, in this moment, I’m a little jealous.
I want that. I want my person. I want somebody who makes me smile when I just think about them. I want forever with someone who makes me giggle like a little girl. Someone who treats me well. Who takes care of me. Who knows me better than anyone.
Someone like . . .
I gulp, knowinghisname sits on the tip of my tongue.
I don’t dare think it, though. I can’t. I can’t let the curse know how happy he makes me. It’ll rip him away without a second thought. It’s what it’s done so many times before.
“Hey,” Izzy says, grabbing my elbow. “You’ll get that too. I know you will. You just have to give it time. Or ... you know, open yourself up to it.”
Izzy knows better than anyone how I feel about the curse. She knows I’ve closed myself off to the possibility of forever with anyone. She was there in college when I tried to ignore the curse and gave my heart away, only to have it handed back in pieces.
I may have believed it was possible to find love years ago when I was younger and naive, but now I know better. It’s why I never put a label on anything and stick to fun. To protect myself.
Kind of like what I’m doing with Noah now.
Except with him? With him, everything feels so ... different.
It wasn’t supposed to. It wasn’t supposed to be like this at all, actually. I was supposed to live out my fantasy of being with the hot hockey player, and we were supposed to go our separate ways.
