His lips pressed together. He glanced away, his mouth a mutinous line.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I sure wish I had my friend back.”
He shook his head. “I’m not the one who’s been drawing away. That’s you.”
“I haven’t.”
“You have. You’ve cancelled our Saturdays, you’ve gotten caught up with all this, and you’re acting like a different person than the girl I always knew.”
“Well, I’m not that girl anymore,” she snapped, conscious that Gwen and Eric had drawn near.
“That’s for sure.” He folded his arms. “Your family is worried about you, EJ. They missed you last weekend.”
She heaved out a breath. “I told you—and them—I was busy.”
“But they’re your family. You should’ve heard your mum going on about it last week at the bonfire.”
“The bonfire, the bonfire.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m tired of stupid bonfires and don’t want to do things like that anymore. Why is that so hard for everyone to understand?”
His lips whitened a little. “Your family loves you, EJ. They miss you.”
“And I miss them. But maybe, just maybe, I don’t want a stupid bonfire for my birthday and don’t want to live in Hick Vegas anymore with people who don’t understand me and don’t have a single iota of ambition in their life. Maybe, just maybe, I don’t want to be eating scones and homemade cake and having to make small talk with gossipy old ladies like Miss Bates. Maybe I would rather go and eat fancy food at Bennelong and watch the ballet and feel like a princess for once in my life. Why is that so bad?”
“Hey, you two aren’t exactly giving off party vibes over here,” Gwen soothed.
“We had a great time at Bennelong, didn’t we, babe?” Eric kissed her cheek.
Jordan stared at her. “You … you went to Bennelong?”
“And not at the bar. We had a reservation for the best table in the house.” She pressed her lips to Eric’s cheek, heard his swift intake of breath. Or maybe that was Jordan’s. She hoped it was, given how mad he’d made her. She smiled tightly at him. “See? Some people pay attention to what I like.”
“I’d be happy to pay attention to you for the rest of my days,” Eric said, smooth as ever.
EJ’s heart hitched, and she glanced at Jordan. He’d gone pale. He glanced at Eric, then at EJ. “Can I talk to you a minute?”
“You are talking.”
“Alone?”
She tossed her head, that same stupid impulse to make him mad still propelling words from her mouth. “You can say whatever it is you want to say in front of my friends here.”
He snorted. “Fine, you asked for it.” He heaved out a breath. “You can fool yourself all you like, EJ, but it’s better to be without sense than to misapply it as you do.”
Her mouth dropped.
“These people are not your friends, EJ.”
“Hey—” Eric objected.
“I don’t know what it is they want,” Jordan powered ruthlessly on, “but they’re not going to be honest with you like I am. And I can’t see you behaving like this without speaking my mind. How can you be so unfeeling to your family? To mine? Even those old ladies you despise. You know those gossipy older ladies like Miss Bates only want your best. They are interested in you, they pray for you, they care about you. All this, when they certainly don’t have your advantages. They should attract your compassion, not your contempt.”
Her heart stung at his words.
“You might think your small town is beneath you, but the people there love you, EJ. Although whether you with all your fakeness deserve their love remains to be seen,” he added in a lower voice.
Her bottom lip trembled as moisture sliced her eyes. How could Jordan say this?
“That’s enough,” Eric said. “You can leave if you’re going to make EJ cry.”
