“Thanks,” Casey whispered.
“So,” Ella said. “This Rosetti guy. Rio. He goes to Stefan’s wedding pretending he’s his cousin Luc so that Dave doesn’t have to go alone—and subject himself to the tsunami that was both you and Jon, pressuring him to give Jon, who seemed to be doing well, another chance.”
“Yep,” Casey said, thinking about the way she’d tracked Luc down—at least she’d tracked down the man she’d believed was Luc, except he wasn’t. He was Rio. She could picture him so clearly in that Ralph’s parking lot, his concern for her mixing with the surprise on his face. And in hindsight, his dressed-down scruff made sense. He was Rio.
“Do you know,” Ella said, “just how too-much you’ve always been, when it comes to getting Dave and Jon back together?”
“I do,” Casey said. “I think I finally do.”
“Thank goodness.” Ella exhaled her smile—Casey could actually hear it.
“Text David P.,” Casey ordered the Ella’s SUV.
“Texting David P.,” replied the androgynous, beatific voice. “Content?”
“Did I make life harder for you, relentlessly trying to get you back with Jon?” Casey dictated, adding, “Send.”
Whoosh. The text rushed away from her and hopefully directly to Dave’s phone in London.
And for a while, the only sound in the car was the smooth freeway miles slipping away beneath the big vehicle’s tires.
“Incoming text from David P.,” the SUV’s computer announced, then deposited the contents of Dave’s text: “Yes.”
“Response?” the car politely asked Casey, but then nearly spoke over itself. “Incoming text from David P. I know you think what Jon and I had was perfect, at least before he started hardcore drinking, but it wasn’t. Not ever. I mean, okay, yeah, the years in high school, but after... College was a nightmare. I should’ve told you the truth, but I wanted him to be someone he wasn’t and I thought if only I tried harder... But Jon is who he is. Restless and unsatisfied. I hope he can find what he’s looking for—I finally know and accept that it’s not me. I’ve made peace with it, Case. And I’m sorry I didn’t just say that to you instead of bringing Rio to the wedding, pretending he was Luc. I just didn’t want to, I don’t know, lose you, too.”
“Fuuuuuck,” Casey breathed.
Ella, who’d heard all of that, remained respectfully silent.
The car, however, nudged her. “Response?”
“Yes.”
“Content?”
“You will never, ever lose me,” Casey dictated. “But you’re right. I wasn’t ready to hear you back then, and I’m ashamed of that. Add this to my Giant Stupid Bullshit list, right beneath my tracking down Rio, thinking he was Luc, and trying to bribe him into leaving you so you could have some kind of meet-cute two-point-oh with Jon at the wedding.”
Ella was silent, but Casey knew the other woman was probably biting her tongue.
“I’m so sorry about all of it,” she added to the end of the text to Dave, then ordered, “Send.”
Whoosh.
Ella spoke. “Well now.”
“I know,” Casey muttered. “It was not my finest hour.” She was so angry with Rio, but in truth she’d started this. She’d thought Rio was Luc first. And Rio had been willing to co-sign that made-up story—to protect his good friend Dave. From her. “Fuuuuuck.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Ella agreed.
“Incoming text from David P.,” the car announced. “You will never lose me, either. Emoji heart, emoji heart, emoji heart.”
“Response,” Casey beat the computer to its next question. “Emoji heart, send.”
Whoosh.
“But why did he go with me to Palm Springs?” she asked Ella. “He didn’t have to go to Palm Springs.” Rio should’ve just left it at that one time, at that one event, instead of continuing to play pretend.
“Didn’t he?” Ella asked, somehow correctly knowing Casey was talking about Rio now. “Dave wasn’t available and I’d left you in the lurch.”
