“No. I just…he didn’t know that you hired me. And he didn’t know that Gavin and I were seeing each other. And he didn’t know I’m pregnant.” My words fumble out of my mouth, and I can’t help but feel like I’m making things worse.
“Okay. But he knew that you’re his ex. You’re Charlie.” She says it like it leaves a bad taste in her mouth.
“Trust me, I hate the nickname too,” I mutter. “Also, Gavin had no idea either. He didn’t know about Ben, the baby, or any of it.”
“That’s pretty messed up considering you two are blatantly in love with each other,” she says. “Or at least you were before you kept his baby from him.”
“I wasn’t ready to tell him yet,” I say. “And what do you mean,blatantly?”
“Come on, Charlotte. Everyone knew. You two were so obvious. All that bickering and flirting.”
“Everyone knew?” I ask. “Wait. Who is everyone?”
Holly gives me an incredulous look, and I bite my lip. “Right. This isn’t about me. Holly, I never meant to hurt you. Neither of us did.”
“Oh, really?” she asks. “Then why didn’t either of you say anything? God, I must have looked so stupid. You two pretending to be perfect strangers while I was rambling on about how perfect everything was.”
Tears form in my eyes. “Holly, you’re not stupid. And I can’t even tell you how stupid I feel.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?!” she cries and tears swell in her eyes too.
“Because we didn’t want to upset you,” I say meekly. “And I know how ridiculous that sounds now. Obviously, that omission ruined everything. But we weren’t hiding anything from you, I promise you that. Ben and I are over. Over, over. There’s nothing between us anymore, and even when there was, it was nothing like what you two have.”
Holly crosses her arms over her chest, sniffing and blinking back tears. I am not so lucky. My cheeks are already burning from tears.
“Do you wanna…grab a cup of coffee…or something?” she asks reluctantly. “And we can talk more. I’d just…rather not have this whole conversation in front of the dress shop.”
“Agreed,” I nod, and we make our way to the coffee shop across the street.
After grabbing lattes that I don’t know if either of us can stomach, we look at each other. It’s an odd thing, staring into her bloodshot eyes. We have little in common, yet we are strongly connected by those Lacey men.
“You know what the craziest part of all of this is?” Holly asks, stirring her latte. “I don’t hate you.”
“Well, I guess that’s a good thing,” I say with a small smile. Holly doesn’t smile back, and I don’t blame her.
“Like I genuinely liked you when I met you,” she says, almost as if it annoys her.
“I felt the same,” I admit. “Which was interesting once I realized who your fiancé was, and then it was a cocktail of different feelings. Not because I still have feelings for Ben, I don’t. But seeing who he asked to be his wife was a real eye-opener for me. I mean, he never even introduced me to his family or friends when we were together, and we lived together.” I look down and start stirring my own latte.
“I think that’s what intimidated me,” she says. “We haven’t been together very long at all. It’s been a whirlwind from the day wemet to the day he put a ring on my finger. It all happened so fast. It makes me wonder if it was too fast.”
My eyes flash up to her. “Would you be saying that if all of this hadn’t happened?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” she says pensively. “Probably not.”
“Well, I think you’re perfect for each other,” I say, hoping that’s not too bold. “You’re both wild and carefree, yet consistent at the same time. It’s exactly what Ben needs.”
“You think so?” she asks skeptically. “Because I always wonder if he needs someone more grounded. Someone who is organized and doesn’t just go along with all his whims. Someone structured, you know?”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s what he needs,” I mumble. I think it clicks that I am referencing myself because her eyes widen.
“It’s not a bad thing, you know,” she says.
“Sure,” I laugh, taking a sip of my coffee. “You don’t have to try to make me feel better about being high strung. I already know that’s who I am.”
“That’s part of what I loved about you,” she says, and this time I’m the one with saucer eyes.
“You’re joking,”
