“Um…” I gaze down into my coffee. “I’m trying to get women to buy clothes?”
His eyes flick up to mine again, shimmering with mirth, and I know he wants me to be more specific.
“Okay,” I say, straightening up as I think. “I guess I want my clothes to make people feel good—to make them feel cute. But it’s more than that. I want them to feel like they stand out, like they’re wearing something different from what every other damn store sells. Like, I don’t care about fashion trends or whatever. I care about self-expression—about using your clothes to show the world who you are and how you feel.”
The bell on the door trills as it opens and Stevie’s little body squeezes through the gap. I feel a rush of joy at the sight of her, tempered with dread as the familiar figure steps in behind.
“Mark,” I say warily as he approaches the counter.
“Hey.” He nods, then looks at Myles. “Niles, wasn’t it?”
Myles spits out a laugh, glancing up from his laptop. “Myles. But I like Niles, actually.”
I smother a smile, impressed by the way he took Mark’s attempt at a jab and immediately diffused it.
Mark grunts a sardonic laugh toward Myles, then hands Stevie’s leash to me. “Did you get Claudia’s email?”
“No,” I say, pulling my phone out. Claudia Cooper is a friend of ours. Well, she and her husband were friends with me and Mark—and a wider group—when we were married. I really liked Claudia, though her husband Andy was kind of a dick. Even though they were mutual friends, it felt like Mark got to “keep” them in the divorce and I’ve always been annoyed by it. Claudia and I have been in touch, but it’s not quite the same. I don’t have a lot in common with her, if I’m honest. But it’s about the principle.
Scanning through my inbox, I spot an invitation to a dinner party at her place in a few weeks. I glance up at Mark. “So?”
“Are you going to go?”
“Probably not.” She’s invited us both to dinner parties in the past, asking us to bring dates, insisting we could all be adults and enjoy each other’s company. It’s like she’s forgotten what happened between me and Mark, or something.
Mark deflates with relief. “Okay, cool. Because Mel thought it might be awkward if we both went.”
Irritation prickles across my skin. “Oh, did she?” Maybe if she wasn’t fucking my ex-husband things wouldn’t be so awkward. Did she ever think of that?
Mark jams his hands into his jeans pockets. “Well, yeah. And she’d like to go.”
“Oh,would she?” I say through gritted teeth. Now I wish I had a partner I could take, just to make them feel uncomfortable. Because it’s not fair that Mel gets to go and take my place—gets to be friends with people who used to be my friends.
And then it dawns on me. Of course! I have Shane. Well, I don’thavehim, exactly, but I’m quite certain I will soon if that “babe” is anything to go by. And, boy, he’s a catch. He’d be great to show off, with his nice watch and expensive haircut and sexy smile. He’d fit in well with that crowd, in Claudia’s Upper East Side townhouse. It could show them all that I’ve moved on—and moved on in style.
I twirl my phone in my hand, thinking. Is it worth the awkwardness of seeing Mel for an evening to make her feel jealous? Is it worth going just to piss Mark off?
Yes. Yes it is.
“You know what,” I say, bringing the email up on my phone again, “I think I will go.”
Mark’s brow furrows. “Really?”
I type out a quick reply and send it off, then slide my phone back into my pocket. “Yes. I’ll bring my new boyfriend, Shane. I’m sure he’d love to come.” Beside me I see Myles’s eyebrows go up, but I ignore him.
Mark cocks his head. “You have a new boyfriend?”
“Mm,” I say noncommittally, reaching for my coffee on the counter.
“Right. Well… we are still going to go.”
“Of course.” I give him a bland smile, raising my cup to my lips. “I’m sure we can all be adults about it.”
He regards me skeptically.
“Is that it? I have work to do, Mark.” I’m itching to tell him that we’ve been swamped all day, that Myles and I are building something that’s going to be bigger than this tiny little space in the East Village, that their plan to put me out of business isn’t going to work. But I don’t. He’ll find out in due time.
“Yeah, okay. Catch you later.”
