“We’ve never had friends like you and Lils before,” Isabel started to explain.
Georgina winced. “That came out wrong.”
“What she means,” Naomi said, “is we’ve watched it happen to girls who didn’t grow up here, who married in. But it’s different when it’s someone you care about.”
Bea’s throat pulled tight. “It wasn’t just that you guys didn’t warn me. It was the feeling that you’d all decided for me.”
Georgina’s lip trembled slightly. “I wasn’t loyal. I should’ve been. I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” Isabel said quietly.
Naomi sighed. “Me the most. I had firsthand experience and I kept it to myself.”
Bea pressed both palms to the edge of the sink. Slowly, she nodded.
“How have you been?” Isabel asked.
“Ihaven’tbeen. I haven’t moved things forward.”
“Like what?” Naomi asked.
“The wedding planner,” Bea said as she rinsed a plate she’d already washed.
“You paused the planner?” Georgie repeated.
“Yeah.”
“And Rafael didn’t combust?”
A short laugh escaped her. “He’s…adjusting.”
“He’s obsessed with you.” Georgie chuckled. “And that’s how it should be. The law’s only romantic when you trust himandhe’s obsessed with you.”
Naomi leaned forward. “Why don’t you come to Westhelm next weekend? We’ll host. You missed the last one.”
Bea turned off the tap. “Next weekend? That’s short notice.”
“I’m free,” Isabel said.
“I can shuffle things,” Georgie seconded.
Bea glanced at the screen as she wiped her hands with a dish towel. “You’re sure? With…everything.”
Everythingbeing that her ex was also Georgina’s cousin. A man Georgie had always adored. Bea couldn’t expect her to switch allegiances just because Gage was in London.
“I checked with him,” Georgie assured her. “He said you deserve a good day.”
Bea didn’t answer for a second, unable to form words through the unexpected swell of feeling.
She folded the towel once, then again, lining up the edges with unnecessary care. Finally, she said, “What about rehearsals?”
“Let my understudy have her moment. This is more important.”
Lillian padded into the kitchen, hair wrapped in a towel and smelling like coconut bodywash. “What is?”
Bea glanced over her shoulder. “Going to Naomi’s.”
“Ooo. Can I come?”
