“Because you’re blushing,” she sing-songed. “You wouldn’t be blushing if it was just a one-off date.”
“So?” Maisie prompted, tilting her head.
My shoulders lifted with a subtle shrug. “You all know my story. Or, I guess, my parents’ story.”
“Oh, yeah,” Holly said with a little snort. “And, Shelly’s moved back to town. She’s going around telling anyone who’ll listen how sad she is that she lost her best friend.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Shelly,” someone muttered.
I appreciated the sentiment.
“So, what happened?” Tish asked, her voice careful. “I don’t know the story because I only moved here recently. Although if you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”
I desperately did not want to delve into it, but it was what it was. Thankfully, Amelia jumped in quickly. “Tori’s dad had an affair with her mom’s best friend. For, like, a decade. Nobody knew—until everybody knew. Then, he left and married the best friend. After that, he had an affair on her. Sometimes karma bites back fast.”
Tish’s eyes went wide. “Oh.” Her brow furrowed when she looked toward me again. “I’m so sorry.”
I twisted my lips to the side, shrugging lightly. “No need to apologize. It sucked for my mom and me, but life goes on.”
Maisie pursed her lips and shook her head. “I hadn’t heard that until Cade and Beck told me what happened. So hurtful.”
“He worked with Cade’s dad,” Amelia explained. “Rex is still pissed.” Amelia’s gaze swung to me, the concern clear in her eyes. “We don’t have to talk about it,” she added gently. “But I find things lose their power when we just put them out there. Takes all the oomph away.”
“Honestly? Thank you. It’s easier if I don’t have to explain.” It really did feel like a bracing breath of fresh air. The gust of the truth blew away some of the shame I still carried, even though none of it had been mine to bear. I had just been caught in the swirl of everything I believed about my family going down the drain.
“How’s your mom handling Shelly being here?” Amelia asked.
“Better than me,” I admitted, sighing. “She says they’ll never be friends again, but she’s let it go. Because she wants peace. Shelly, on the other hand, keeps trying to talk to me.”
“Maybe just talk to her so you can sweep it away, like dust under a sofa or something,” Amelia offered.
Holly’s nose wrinkled. “That’s one way to describe it. But—” She eyed me, her gaze considering. “I imagine trust isn’t easy.”
“Oh, my God, no,” I said flatly. “I’m not really looking for a relationship,” I added after a pause. “I’m not sure I ever will be.”
“I get that,” Maisie said. “Maybe someday it’ll feel right. And, if it does feel right, I think Kincaid’s a great guy.”
Blessedly, that seemed to be that—for now, at least—for curiosity about me and Kincaid. Conversation rumbled on, covering everything from Amelia and Lucy’s building projects to how long it took Elsa to find a new washer and dryer set.
Eventually, Casey leaned in again. “You won’t believe this. Remember how I mentioned the woman with the divorce party?”
“Oh yeah, I waited on them,” I replied.
“Anyway, she’s moving here.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Good for her,” I said.
“So if you see her around town, be nice and welcoming,” Casey said. “She’s not officially here yet, but she was flying back to ‘the scene of the crime,’ as she put it, and she’s planning to come back for another trip.”
I left that evening feeling filled up in a way I hadn’t in a long time. Not just from the nachos and the laughter, but from something deeper. Even my emotions around friendship had been tangled and bitter for years. Because Shelly—well, she hadn’t just been a friend of my mom’s, she had been that friend. The one my mom turned to for everything. Her confidante. Her sister in everything but blood. Her actions had ruined it so painfully. Even though she hadn’t been my best friend, I knew how much she’d meant to my mom, and I’d watched what the betrayal did.
That night, as I lay in bed, I kept thinking about the group around the table. I couldn’t imagine any of them doing what Shelly had done. Maybe that was naive. Maybe not.
I knew I needed to have the conversation with Shelly eventually, to air it out, to get it over with. But I just wasn’t quite there yet. My emotional capacity was already pretty maxed out.
