“It’s definitely because of you,” she counters pensively. “I mean that you’re at the heart of it, not that it’s your fault.”
As she tries to process this new information and what it implies, the waiter comes to take our orders. Because I haven’t had time to pick anything yet, I panic and ask for the Caesar salad.Fuck, all this and all I’ll have is lettuce and chicken…
“That man…” Michelle frustratedly mumbles once we’re alone again, shaking her head. “A decade of knowing him, three years as his therapist, and I still can’t understand him.”
“Definitely one of a kind,” I concur.
Her phone dings on the table next to her, and she checks it with a quick glance before dismissing it. She does a double take a fraction of a second later, and her eyes go round.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“The friend who couldn’t come booked another flight. She just arrived,” she explains, looking behind me toward the entrance. “I’msosorry, Andy. I swear this wasn’t planned.”
“It’s okay, I can leave.”Please, say yes…
“No, she’ll want to talk to you.”
What the fuck?!
Michelle looks toward the entrance behind me, seeking her friend, and a tense smile bends her lips as she waves. Curious and confused, I twist around in my chair to find the woman unexpectedly joining us. Tall, elegant, and slim, she’s easy to find among the seated guests. She looks professional in her dark pantsuit, light pink shirt underneath, and pointy heels. Her face is strikingly familiar, giving me the strangest feeling that I know her from somewhere. She has nicely arched eyebrows, full lips currently turned up into a genuine smile, a thin nose, a definedjawline, and light eyes. Her straight, dark hair is split in the middle, cut in an immaculate, angled bob at shoulder length.
“Hey there, hot mama,” the woman enthusiastically says when she reaches Michelle.
The latter embarrassedly stands to hug her. I sit there, trying so hard to remember where I know her from as the newcomer then focuses on little Maddy, sleeping in her stroller. It’s only when she turns to me that it hits me like a wrecking ball. I know those eyes. Intimately. I drowned in them for what felt like hours on end.
“You must be Andrea,” she greets me, extending her hand. “I’m Lucy. I’m—”
“You’re Lex’s sister,” I finish for her, stunned.
She seems surprised that I guessed, but how could I not? She’s the female version of Lex, but eight years older.
“I am, yes,” she confirms, her hand still reaching out for mine. I promptly shake it, remembering my manners.
What the hell is she doing here? How am I supposed to sit here with my ex’s sister and one of his best friends, like everything’s normal?
The waiter arrives right on time to get the long coat she removes, and as soon as she’s seated, he hands her a menu.
“We’ll talk about you and your precious girl in a minute,” she tells Michelle. “But first…” She’s beyond inquisitive as she turns to me, eyes scanning my face with intensity. “So, you’re the woman who broke my baby brother’s heart.”
Wow, so she doesn’t just look like Lex. She has his directness as well. “I—uh, I didn’t—”
“Lex is the one who broke it off,” Michelle explains in my stead.
Lucy’s surprise matches Michelle’s earlier. “Really? Well, well, well… The plot thickens, then.”
Several seconds pass, and I swear to god I can feel my heart in my throat, about to be puked all over the fancy dishes and bright white tablecloth. “I think I should go,” I say, grabbing my bag.
“Nonsense. I changed my flight to meet you, Andrea, so please, stay for a moment, at least.”
My eyebrows come together, wary. “You did?”
“Yes. It’s not every day I can meet a miracle-maker, after all.”
“And what miracle would that be?”
“Lucy, I don’t think it’s—” Michelle starts.
But Lucy ignores her, cutting her off with, “You made my brother fall in love, which is something I had given up on.”
