Boone and another woman sit at a table in a restaurant, their heads bowed close together as they talk. They’re even sitting on the same side of the booth and their shoulders are touching. If one of them looked up, their lips could lock with ease. While they aren’t arm in arm, it’s clear as day that they’re having an intimate, intense conversation.
I know who the woman sitting beside Boone is without even reading the rest of the comments. It’s Lucy, Boone’s long-lost love—hisreallove.
How can I compare to that?
Hot, angry tears pool in my eyes. I fight hard not to cry, knowing that I have no reason to weep over this. Boone and I had agreed that neither of us could have feelings for each other. But my feelings are threatening to swallow me whole right now.
“It’s okay, Sutton,” Kali whispers in my ear.
She and Liv hug me tightly, desperately trying to comfort me. Guilt washes over me in ragged, painful waves. I wrench away from them and shake my head hard, desperately holding back tears. And failing miserably. They stare at me with confused, worried eyes.
“You don’t get it!” I cry out sharply. I can’t carry on this façade anymore. I can’t deceive my best friends when I have no right to be this upset to begin with. “All of this was fake. Boone and I were fake. Our date was fake. Our emotions were fake. I lied to you because I didn’t want to admit it. We were faking our whole relationship so that rugby groupies would stop hounding him and the Glammers would give me more attention. I’m not supposed to be upset about this. Ican’tbe upset about this!”
My shoulders go stiff as I wait for my two best friends to rage at me. I wait for their anger, their disgust, their scorn. But instead, they both pull me back into their arms and hold me even tighter.
Kali wipes my tears and rubs my back. I cling to them, my deep guilt flowing stronger.
“If this is your reaction,” Liv begins gently, “then I don’t think anything about you and Boone was fake after all.”
I slowly lift my head and gaze at the two people who can always keep me floating even when I feel like I’m adrift at sea.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve friends like the two of you,” I croak out, my voice rough from crying.
While Liv dries my face, Kali smiles at me.
“You didn’t have to do anything,” Kali says. “We’re friends because of who you are. We adore you, even if you make a mistake.”
Liv eagerly nods. “None of us are perfect, but we make perfect friends.”
I hug my two besties tighter, but before I can say anything, my phone chimes one more time. Trembling, I hesitantly glance down at the screen.
It’s a text from Boone.
We need to talk.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The jade roller is cool against my cheek as Kali hums under her breath and leans toward me where I sit on my bathroom’s spacious vanity. My eyes are closed, but I can hear Liv nearby tossing my clothes over her shoulder from inside my closet and muttering to herself.
D-Day has arrived. My stomach is in knots simply thinking about it.
Boone will ring the doorbell any minute now, and I’ll have to sit there and listen to him tell me that he doesn’t want to fake-date me anymore and is getting back together with the real love of his life. At least I’d told him to meet on my own home turf to limit the humiliation.
“Eureka!” Liv cries from the closet. A second later, she scampers across the bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom to stand beside Kali. “Sutton, don’t you worry. I found the perfect outfit for you. It’s going to make Boone’s jaw hit the floor.”
“And your makeup is going to be flawless,” Kali chimes in proudly.
I slowly open my eyes and smile at my two besties.
“I can’t believe you guys are being so nice to me even after I tricked you,” I say, still in awe. “If I were you, I’d be so mad.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Kali says. “Girl, I know you. If Liv or I managed to put on a show like you did, you’d be downright impressed.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Liv agrees with a nod.
Laughing in spite of everything, I lean back against the mirror and let Kali finish gently rubbing moisturizer into my face before she starts applying makeup. We’d agreed on simple but gorgeous as the theme for my breakup fashion statement.
“I'm so glad I have you two in my life,” I whisper.
