“But clearly, those days are over.”
“Yes,” I agree. “Very much over.”
Ryan nods and glances around before looking back at me. “All right, fun as this reunion has been, I better go check on Beau. He was taking shots the last time I checked and if I don’t keep him in line now, I’ll get stuck laying down bail money for him later.”
“Funny, I would have guessed it would be the other way around.”
“Sometimes it is, but I made the wise decision not to drink too much tonight. Wouldn’t want one of us to lose our cool and cause a scene.”
For a second I think he’s talking about him and Beau, but based on the way he’s watching me, I know he’s referring to the two of us.
“It was good catching up with you, Sullivan. I guess I’ll see you at the wedding. If I pass by your table with the other maiden aunts, I’ll make sure to say hi.”
“How gentlemanly. And if I pass your table where they seat the creepy toads who were invited out of obligation, I’ll bring a scotch for you to cry into.”
“Always so considerate. You have a good night.”
And then it’s over. Ryan turns and walks over to his friend, who is talking up two of Cristina’s coworkers. I turn around to keep from staring when Cristina suddenly pops up in front of me.
“I cannot believe that Ryan is Jason’s friend! This is insane! The two of you really seemed like you were hitting it off.”
I shake my head and take another sip of champagne. “I can say with absolute certainty that we weren’t. How do you know what we looked like anyways?”
“Um, because I was stalking you guys from across the room the entire time, obviously. Where did Ryan go? I lost him in the crowd.”
“He’s talking to your work friends,” I say, nudging my head in their direction.
Cristina peers around me, tracking them with her eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have invited those two. They’re more or less midrange prostitutes.”
“Fantastic, then they should be perfect for him.”
“Never mind them. New plan—what are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow? Nothing, I think.”
“Good. The four of us are going out to dinner. You, me, Jason and Ryan.”
“What? Why?” I feel the floor tilting beneath me as the adrenaline of seeing Ryan evaporates in my chest.
“Why? Kara, your college ex-boyfriend just walked back into your life and is somehow the childhood friend ofmyfiancé. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t force you guys together at every turn? Have we met?”
I can’t think straight. I take a deep breath, but it doesn’t help. Ryan is back and so are the ghosts of our relationship, twitching and howling as they claw to the surface after a ten-year sleep. I can feel the all-too-familiar stab of guilt starting to throb again, but I compartmentalize it and push it down. I always do when I remember what we did.
“No, I don’t think this is a good idea at all,” I say.
“Of course, it is. It’s an awesome idea. I just watched your whole interaction and he legit stared into your eyes for ten minutes straight. Plus, Jason said he was completely shaken up when he found out you were going to be at the party.”
“Well, he wasn’t shaken up in front of me, that’s for sure. He had all the calculated confidence of a serial killer.”
“Okay, are we maybe overreaching now?”
“Maybe,” I concede.
Cristina looks me over with a curious expression. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this combative side to you before. I have to admit, it’s very interesting to witness.”
“That’s because I’m not combative,” I say, taking a frustrated breath. “Something about Ryan always turned me into a raving lunatic.”
“Fine, yes, I did sense some tension between you guys, but it was nothing definitive. I couldn’t tell if you were going to tackle each other to the floor in a good way or a bad way.”
