Of course Cameron freaked out over the jersey. Linden was the guy who blew up their perfectly happy relationship.
Of course this isn’t going to last. I don’t understand the spotlight or the pressure he’s under.
Of course I’m just a convenience to him—the one he’ll fuck, not the one he’ll fight for.
I have no idea how Cameron dealt with that kind of mental warfare for two years. I can hold my own, but her tone, the way she said it, made it all seem so… obvious. Inevitable, even. Like the conclusion was foregone and I was the only one too naïve to see it.
Her words spiral through my mind on repeat, each one landing like a paper cut. One that doesn’t bleed but stings like a bitch. Joke’s on her, though, because the reason our relationship won’t last has nothing to do with anything she listed. Because despite how it sometimes feels, it’s not actually real.
“Damn straight,” Maya says with a succinct nod. “You have a boyfriend who’s crazy about you, Kenn, so ignore her.”
“Right,” I say, maybe a beat too late.
If she notices the slight edge in my voice, she doesn’t call me on it. Instead, she squeezes my hand. “Gigi’s just threatened because she sees what you two have.”
“I know,” I say, injecting faux brightness into my tone. “I’m being ridiculous. She’s his ex for a reason.”
“Exactly.” She settles back, satisfied. “Do you?—”
My phone rings, cutting her off.
She eyes the name on the screen and lifts a brow. “You didn’t tell Amelia you’d be in the city, did you?”
“She’s out of town this weekend.” I roll my eyes and hit the accept button on my steering wheel. “Hey. What’s up?”
Not one to waste time, my sister jumps right in. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d be in New York this weekend?”
I whip my head over my shoulder and scan the gridlocked vehicles around us. How the fuck would she know that? What’re the odds she’s in a car behind me?
“I have your location. I can see you’re in Scarsdale, Kennedy,” she says as if I asked the question aloud. Her sighis loud through the car’s audio system. “And unless you have a friend I don’t know about who lives in Upstate New York, you’re heading to the city, and for some reason, you didn’t feel the need to tell me.”
“You’re at a wedding this weekend,” I defend. “I didn’t think you’d be in town.”
Amelia lives in Manhattan, while Frankie moved to San Francisco a few years back. We’re all busy, so finding time to catch up is a challenge. That’s how the idea of a shared calendar came about. I update and check it about as regularly as I remember to floss… which, much to my dentist’s annoyance, isn’t very often.
But I do remember that my brother-in-law’s friend is getting married in Miami this weekend.
“If you’d looked at the shared calendar anytime in the past few weeks, you’d know it was canceled.”
There’s a subtle dig there, but I’m too focused on the juicy gossip to care. “Oh my God, what happened? Did one of them lead a secret double life? Get caught in a Ponzi scheme? His fiancé had shifty eyes, so I wouldn’t be?—”
“You get no details until you tell me what you’re doing here.”
My shoulders drop.Ugh. I hate when Amelia puts hermomvoice on. It means there’s no arguing my way into getting gossip before I share my information.
“I’m with Maya,” I tell her. “We’re on our way to the Titans-Bobcats game.”
“Hey, Maya,” she says, correctly assuming she’s on speaker phone.
“Hey, Amelia,” Maya says through a mouthful of the trail mix she’s now munching on. “How are you?”
“Good, but I’d be even if my sister had told me she was coming to Manhattan,” she answers without missing a beat.“And you’re an accomplice, so I’m pissed at you, too, by the way.”
“Oh my God,” I groan. “Let it go. I’m sorry. I thought you’d be out of town, so I didn’t think to text. This wasn’t some grand scheme to purposely avoid seeing you. Do you want to come to the game with us? I’m sure Cole can get extra tickets.”
Or Cameron, but I don’t mention that.
“We’re taking Hope to seeThe Lion King,” she reveals.
