The door swings open, and Sophie grins at me, already holding a beer in one hand. “She lives!”
I roll my eyes and step inside. “It hasn’t beenthatlong.”
Carolyn, sitting cross-legged on the floor by the coffee table, raises an eyebrow. “Feels like it.”
Takeout boxes and chopsticks clutter the table. The scent of Thai food fills the apartment, warm and rich, and I suddenly realize how hungry I am.
Sophie plops onto a blanket thrown across the rug. “We figured you’d be sick of five-star dining,” she teases, passing me a box of pad thai.
I lower myself onto the floor, exhaling as I settle in. This.Thisis what I needed. No careful maneuvering, no whispered stares. Just the familiar ease of two people who have known me long before Nathaniel entered my life.
Or so I think.
Because as soon as I take my first bite, I feel it—the long, pointed look Carolyn is giving me between spoonfuls of her green curry.
Sophie, ever the observer, taps her bottle lightly against her knee. “So,” she says, drawing out the word, “how was break?”
I force a casual shrug, glancing between them. “It was nice.”
Carolyn rolls her eyes. “Okay…Then why do you look like you’re carrying a secret the size of Manhattan?”
I huff a laugh. “That’s dramatic.”
Sophie tilts her head. “People are talking…”
I pause mid-bite, my chopsticks hovering just above my food. “About what?”
Carolyn and Sophie exchange a glance, and my stomach tightens.
Carolyn starts carefully. “He’s being…very obvious about how he feels.”
I blink. “Nathaniel’s always been openly affectionate.” The words come out a little too quick, a little too defensive.
Sophie lifts a brow. “Liv, from what I hear, it’s more than just affection. It’s him staking his claim.”
I swallow. “You’re exaggerating.”
“No,” Carolyn presses, her gaze sharp. “This is different. Like your relationship is on another level.”
My heart stutters.
I shift slightly, forcing myself to take another bite, as if that will somehow make me appear more casual. But Carolyn is relentless, her instincts razor-sharp.
“Something happened over break,” she says. “And I think I know what.”
I grip my chopsticks a little tighter. “Carolyn?—”
“He proposed.”
Silence.
A heavy, stretched-out moment of it, before I exhale, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Yes.”
Carolyn’s eyes widen. Sophie lets out a quiet “Whoa.”
Carolyn leans forward. “And you’re…” She searches my face. “Engaged?”
I shake my head. “No.”
