Still, I havedifficulty relinquishing it into Hollie’s outstretched hand. Shesettles back on the couch and holds it so both she and Louisa cansee it. I watch their faces as their eyes scan the insert. I readit so many times last night, I have it memorized.
“Wow,”Louisa whispers.
“That’sall I could say too,” Stella says, handing her a tissue.
Louisa dabs at herface; she and I have always been the criers in our group. “Thisis…”
“Themost romantic thing I’ve ever read in my entire life,” Holliefinishes for her.
My gaze swings toStella. After we listened to the CD last night, I continued toquestion Wesley’s true intentions. She claimed I was in denial andshe was calling an emergency breakfast meeting for today so thefour of us could dissect this together as a group the way we’vealways done with big things in life.
Stella smiles now,nodding her head slowly. She must see that I don’t need any moreconvincing. The knowing look in her eyes fills me with a hope Idesperately try to tamp down.
“Youneed to get Wesley alone as soon as possible and talk to him,”Stella says.
“Youknow something we don’t,” Hollie says.
I should redirectthe conversation and stick to the silent promise I made last nightnot to put Stella in the middle. But today is a new day and there’sa fire burning in my belly. “Something happened at your familyThanksgiving that ticked you off and made things weird between youand Wes. Then suddenly, things were fine again. I promised myselfI’d mind my own business, but I know it had something to do withme.”
Stella twirls astrand of hair around her finger, winding it so tightly, the digitturns white. “I really think you should talk to Wes…”
“AndIwill,” I say.“But I need to know what I’m walking into. I heard you telling himto stay away from me on Thanksgiving night.”
“Howdid you—? You know what, nevermind.” She releases her hair andwaves a dismissive hand. “Fine, I’ll give you the condensedversion. Wesley told my parents and me that he and Ashleigh brokeup a few weeks ago. He was sparse on the details, despite myparents’ prying. When we were alone later that night, he told memore details, including the fact he was applying for a job here inBellevue.”
“What?” The word is a shocked chorus,spoken in unison by Hollie, Louisa, and me.
Seemingly feedingoff the excitement of the moment, Stella’s eyes grow wide and sheleans forward in her seat. “I don’t know the details or whathappened, but apparently he had an interview with Hugh MacKinnonyesterday at Bellevue Village.”
“Okay,but that doesn’t explain why you told him to stay away from Evie,”Hollie says, taking the words right out of my mouth.
The way Stella’sgaze moves to the ceiling and her mouth twists to the side makes methink she’s choosing her words carefully. I squirm in my seat,nearly ready to burst when she finally speaks again.
“Wesleytold me he’s always had feelings for you, Evie,” she says. “He saidthe timing was never right, but itcouldbe if he moved back toBellevue. He wanted to talk to you about it on Monday, but I nixedthat idea. I told him he needed to be sure he was actually movingto Bellevue first so he wouldn’t get your hopes up for nothing. Ialso told him he needed to be one hundred percent sure of hisfeelings for you and that you wouldn’t be a rebound afterAshleigh.”
Mypulse gallops in my ears, and the room spins before my eyes. Wesleyreally does have feelings for me, and he might be moving back toBellevue. I might finally get the chance to be with him—somethingI’ve been waiting and wishing for the past twenty years. But wait…“You said he had an interview with Hugh MacKinnonyesterday?” I ask, andStella nods. “And he didn’t tell you how it went?”
Stella’sexpression turns rueful. “No. That was why I left him that angrymessage last night. He ignored all my calls and texts all dayyesterday and so far this morning too.”
I jumpup from my chair and grab my phone, jabbing at Wesley’s number. Itrings and rings as I pace around the living room. Adrenaline surgesthrough me when I hear a softclick, but it’s only the lineswitching over to voicemail. I end the call and send him a quicktext that simply says:Call me!
Shoving mydisappointment down along with the hope I attempted to quell amoment ago, I slide back into my seat. My friends are watching mewith concerned expressions, so I give myself a mental shake andmake myself smile. It’s only forced for the span of a few secondsbefore the others’ answering grins make me smile forreal.
Today is mybirthday. My three best girls are here, they brought me breakfast,and they’ll be spending the entire day by my side. I’ve waited thislong to figure things out with Wesley; I can handle waiting a bitlonger, even though it makes me feel as if I’m crawling out of myown skin.
I reach for mycupcake and hold it up. “I love you all, and I’m so grateful you’rehere. Now, let’s eat.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
It’s after fiveo’clock, and the party is set to start in less than an hour.Stella, Hollie, Louisa, and I are in one of the spare bedrooms atHathaway Manor, which has been transformed into a salon-like setupfor the day. The four of us have been polished, painted, andprimped, and are now sitting around, sipping prosecco.
“Oh,don’t you four look beautiful!” Mom exclaims as she bustles intothe room. None of us are dressed for the party yet, but we’re allwearing the silky robes Mom had waiting for us when wearrived.
“Consider them party favors,” she’d said when she led us intothe room earlier. “You girls used to love the goodie bags I madefor you, so this is like the adult version of those. Although I dostill have goodie bags for you later.”
My friends hadgiggled like excited children. Even before my family becamewealthy, my mom was the queen of goodie bags at parties; I can onlyimagine what the adult versions will be like.
“Evelyn, honey, can I steal you away for a minute?” Mom asksnow. She was already dressed when we arrived, claiming it waseasier to be ready early since she had so many things to oversee.She looks beautiful in a plum-colored dress, with her short brownhair styled in loose waves and held back from her face with sparklycombs.
