I pat his arm, trying and failing to stifle a grin. “You got this.”
Pete and Bess are making out against the kitchen island, entirely unbothered by the disaster around them.
“Bess?” I call, my voice cutting through their little love bubble.
They break apart, heads turning toward us like guilty teenagers caught in the act.
“Hey, can we talk?” I gesture to the room behind me. “Alone?”
“Oh!” Bess pushes Pete away, practically skipping toward me. “Yes! Girl talk. Let’s do it.” She loops her arm through mine, dragging me out the door.
I glance back at Josh, who shoots me an encouraging grin before turning to Pete with a resigned look.
Bess pulls me toward the sitting room, oblivious to the trail of flour she’s leaving behind.
“Bess, there’s something I need to say?—”
“Wait! Me first.” She sucks in a deep breath. “There’s something I need to admit. Do you remember your brother’s birthday party? Hendrix’s twenty-first? When we snuck the bottle of vodka with Pete, Sam, and Josh and we all got drunk?”
I frown. “We were fifteen?”
She nods vehemently. “You passed out.”
I remember that. Well, not the passing out but definitely the hangover the next day.
“What about it?”
“Josh got super drunk and declared his love for you while we were trying to sneak you upstairs.”
I blink. He’d have been sixteen, maybe seventeen.
“The next day you admitted you liked Brad and well...” She trails off, biting her lip.
“And?”
“I’m sorry!” She bursts out. “Josh already had become a playboy and I didn’t want you to be hurt. I knew you liked Brad, so, I dropped a hint to him that if he needed help with his studies you could assist. And the next thing I knew you guys were dating!”
She pushes off the couch, pacing the length of the room while her hands flutter around her face.
“But I could see it. Even Peter commented on it. Joshreallyliked you. But he never did anything, and then you got engaged. And I thought,wow, I may have royally stuffed up here.You loved Brad even though I knew Josh was right there, pining for you, so I didn’t say anything.”
Her words are a jumbled confession, her voice cracking as she keeps going.
“Then we found out about the cheating, and Sam and Josh were there for you when you needed support. And I thought,yep, this is it. Josh is going to make his move.But he backed off, and I thought it was just him giving you space, but then…nothing happened. And now you’re together, and I’m so sorry, but I’m also so happy!”
She stops abruptly, out of breath, tears streaming down her face, her chest heaving.
I stare at her, trying to make sense of the bombshell she’s just dropped on me. “So, you… what?”
“I’m the reason you got hurt by Brad,” she says, her voice cracking as she folds her arms over herself.
I swallow hard, my mind racing to catch up. “You’re saying my relationship with Brad started becauseyouwanted to protect me? From Josh?”
She blushes, shrugging helplessly. “I didn’t know what else to do.” She sniffles, brushing at her tears. “All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy, like me and Pete. I thought I was doing the right thing. But now, when I look at Josh, when I see him and you together, you both look so happy. So,sohappy.”
She flops to the floor in front of me, placing a hand on my knee. “I’m theworstfriend ever.”
I take a deep breath, letting her words settle. “Bess, are you really trying to take the blame for my failed marriage?”
