“Please, darling, you know it’s Olivia. No matter the…uglinessthat happened, you’ll always be family to us. You’re welcome anytime.”
“Mom!” I hissed.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Brianna, don’t be selfish. Todd was my son for a long time. I’m not turning my back on him now.”
“Thank you, Olivia.”
I almost bit through my tongue. Shaking my head, I leaned in to kiss my mother’s cheek, unable to stand this exchange for another moment. After a lifetime of playing second fiddle to my brother’s accomplishments, you’d think I’d be used to my mother’s disappointment, but seeing her kindness toward my ex-husband made my patience snap. “I’m going to go.”
My mother’s jaw dropped. “But it’s so early! They haven’t even served dessert yet.”
My glare darted between her and Todd. “Lost my appetite.”
NINETEEN
“Can you believe her?”
I growled as I dug through the fridge, trying to find something to ease the ache in my chest. After coming back from church, I’d tried everything to ease my blood pressure: running, reading, even reality television. Nothing had made a dent, so now, it was time for some caloric therapy.
“Your mother’s been advocating for Todd’s redemption since the moment you left,” Ollie said from the couch. “So while I would love to say no, this seems pretty on-brand for her.”
Finding nothing worth eating, I slammed the fridge closed and slumped on the couch next to Ollie. “Maybe, but it’s a slap in the face. He cheated on me. I shouldn’t have to beg my parents to move on.” I leaned over to the side table and pulled an envelope out of the drawer. “Not that I’d ever want him back, but he’s getting remarried in less than three months. The ship has sailed. Let it go.”
Ollie eyed the invitation I’d tossed between us. “Why do you stillhave that?”
“What do you mean?”
She picked it up, reading over the pristine gold lettering. “I mean—why are you holding on to Todd’s wedding invitation?” Her eyes widened. “Please tell me you weren’t serious about going.”
“Of course not.” I scoffed, tugging it back from her hands. “What am I supposed to do with it?”
“Throw it away! Light it on fire!” Ollie answered. “Hell, rip it into a million shreds and fuck your mystery man on top of it. Do something other than hang on to it like a sad reminder of your past life.”
I toyed with the edges, unable to look Ollie in the eye. She was right—I should have tossed it the moment it arrived. But despite the sting, every time I tried, a pang of sadness hit me. Instead, I tucked it into the drawer, leaving it to deal with another day.
Ollie inched closer to me, taking it from my hands. “Okay, let me ask you this—when you saw Todd today, did you want him back?”
“No,” I answered. “Even if Todd hadn’t cheated, our marriage wasn’t working. And while a small part of me will always wonder what if, it’s not about Todd. It’s more about the life I left behind.” Running my hands over my face, I sighed. “Ol, I’m in my thirties, starting over. While everyone else is rushing to the finish line, I’m stuck back at start. It’s hard not to feel like a failure.”
Ollie reached out her arms and tugged my head against her shoulder. “First—you’re not at start. Sure, you might have had to backtrack, but like you said, your marriage wasn’t working. I know you, Bri. You weren’t happy. As much as you tried to hide it, everyone knew being with Todddrained you.” She shifted to face me. “There’s no race, Bri. No timeline. Just let yourself be happy and fuck the rest.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Oh, it’s not,” Ollie answered, her face darkening. “Choosing yourself is never easy, but it’ll be worth it.”
Later that night,I’d planned on curling up in my bed, content to hide from the rest of the world after my run-in with Todd. However, Ollie played her best friend card—again—forcing me out of my self-imposed hibernation to socialize with her.
As we sat in the car on our way to Parker’s house on the outskirts of town, I stared down at the crockpot in my arms, a frown forming on my lips. “Can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me, Oleander.”
My roommate glanced over from the driver’s seat, confusion etched on her features. “What do you mean?”
I shook the pot nestled in my lap. “You can cook like a freaking Michelin star chef, yet the only things I’ve ever seen you make are frozen pizzas and grilled cheese.”
“I do make a bomb grilled cheese,” Ollie said with a smirk.
“Don’t play cute, Ol. You have some serious talent in the kitchen, but you never use it. Why?”
She sighed as she stared ahead, refusing to meet my eyes. “Parker’s grandmother taught me when I was younger. She could tell my parents weren’t around much and wanted to make sure I could fend for myself.” Ollie shrugged. “But I don’t love it like she did. Now, I only cook if Parker requests something. No one else has her recipes, and he misses her cooking, so I try to help where I can.”
