This is ridiculous, she mentally chastised herself. They should be able to weather one little argument. Nothing had to change, she would make sure of it. With new resolve, she forced a smile and turned to him.
“So,” she said, her tone light. “Hot date last week?”
He dragged his gaze to her and raised a questioning brow.
“Last week when you missed dinner,” she continued.
Again, he didn’t answer. Instead, he reached for the wine bottle Emma had brought over and poured himself a glass.
She frowned and stabbed the tuna steak on her plate. Leave it to him to carry a grudge, to sit there and ignore her like—
“No Nadine this evening?” Knightley murmured, interrupting her thoughts.
“We don’t spend every waking moment together, you know,” she replied.
“Ah. That’s good.”
He moved to turn away from her and panic set in, as if her window of opportunity was closing.
“Are we okay?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.
He paused. “I’m sorry?”
“It’s just…” She let out a long sigh, trying to organize her thoughts. “I hate feeling like we’re fighting, when really it was just a stupid disagreement. One fight shouldn’t be the end of the world, right?”
A small grin crept onto his lips. “Indeed.”
“So… friends?”
“I’ll always be your friend, Emma,” he said so softly that only she could hear, and something in her stomach tumbled.
She ignored it and smiled brighter, taking a deep sip of her wine. “Good. Because no one was really at fault or anything.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. At the end of the day, we both want what’s best for Nadine, right?”
His expression grew tired, and he leaned back. “Okay, Woodhouse.”
She nodded. “All that’s left to do is find her a new guy to take her mind off the breakup. I already have her on all the apps, so now it’s just a matter of helping her pick the right guy. Preferably someone who can show her the city, you know? And someone ridiculously hot because she’s gorgeous.”
“You have a checklist?”
Emma smiled. “Oh please, everyone should have a checklist.”
“We can’t always get everything we want.”
“Why not?”
He chuckled to himself. “Because in the real world, no one is spoiled enough to think that way. Except maybe you.”
It hurt, like a slap that’s over quickly but still leaves a sharp sting behind.
“Right. Of course.” Her smile faltered and she tried to cover it with a laugh, but the sound came out thin and fragile.
The humor in Knightley’s expression fell away as he watched her reaction. Then he leaned toward her, his brows knitted together. “Emma—”
“Attention, attention!” Margo announced from a few seats down. She was standing up, a huge smile on her face as she heldBen’s hand. “We have some news. And since you’re all the most important people in our lives, we wanted you to be the first to know. We’re—”
