Lila set down her glass. “I cannot believe this. Nothing we thought about Grady is true.”
“Other than he’s a wonderful person,” Gillian said. “We all know that.”
“So he’s just going to walk away from a fortune and continue to live in his hovel of a place?” Delphine asked. “That’s totally ridiculous.”
“It’s not up to me, obviously,” I said. “I’m just his friend. Which means I have to be supportive of his decision, just like I would if it were one of you.”
Delphine leaned forward, elbows on the table. “I need to say something, and you’re not going to like it.”
“When has that ever stopped you?” Gillian said.
Delphine ignored her. “You’ve been telling yourself a story about Grady for years. That he’s flaky. Broke. Unambitious. Not husband material.” She held up a hand before I could interrupt. “I know. You believed it. We all did. But none of it was true, was it?”
“No,” I admitted quietly.
“So what else might not be true?” Seraphina asked, one eyebrow raised.
I knew what she meant. “He doesn’t feel that way about me,” I said. “We’re just friends.”
The silence that followed was so loud I almost laughed.
All four of them stared at me.
“What?” I said.
“Esme.” Gillian set down her water glass with a deliberate clink. “Honey. No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“That man’s in love with you,” Lila said. “It’s so obvious it’s almost painful to watch.”
“You don’t know that?—”
“I do, actually.” Lila crossed her arms. “Because I have eyes.”
“We all have eyes,” Delphine said.
“That’s right,” Gillian said. “He’s always there for you, without expecting anything back.”
“I just don’t understand why one of you won’t admit it to the other,” Lila said.
“You know why,” I said. “At least from my side.”
“Right. Not husband material,” Delphine said.
“Which, until we learned the truth about who he is, makes perfect sense,” Seraphina said. “You don’t want another flaky husband. You’ve already done that.”
“It’s true,” I said. “And I don’t know that any of that’s changed.”
“Grady thinks he doesn’t deserve you.” Delphine looked at me with those calm, serious eyes. “Because of his father. Because of the money. Because he’s built a whole story about why he’s not enough.” She paused, turning her glass again. “I know something about not feeling worthy. If you tell yourself that, then you never have to act. It feels safe. Reasonable. Like you’re protecting yourself.”
The table was very quiet for a moment. Delphine rarely opened up to us in this way. I wanted to keep her talking, but our food arrived—salmon for Gillian, pasta for Lila, and steaks for Delphine and Seraphina. I’d wanted a burger but, when I saw the price, I decided on just a bowl of chowder.
“I can’t eat all of this,” Gillian said.
“But you’re eating for two,” I said.
“Trust me, I’m eating enough.” Gillian put some of her meal onto a spare plate and pushed it my way.
