“Of course you are,” Isobel says, her brow wrinkling like she doesn’t quite understand.
“We should all have dinner some time,” Matt says.
Bianca has to hold back a snort at the suggestion and maybe she doesn’t quite do as good a job at disguising her complete disdain at the idea because Xavier gives her hand a gentle squeeze.
“That’d be great,” Xavier cuts in as she squeezes back.
“Oh, Chloe’s here,” Bianca says, her eyes catching on a woman over Matt’s shoulder, standing by herself near the door, like she might make a run for it any second. “I haven’t said hi to her yet.”
“Sorry,” he mumbles to her as they move away. “I just thought you wouldn’t want to blow our cover in the middle of this room over a dinner invite.”
“You’re right,” she whispers back. “That dude has literallynevercome out with me and Isobel before. It’s like he’s physically incapable of being somewhere women are around if there isn’t a dude to commiserate with.”
“Douchebag?”
“Not entirely, just . . . not the guy I thought Izzy would end up with. He’s just so ordinary and she’s amazing and I guess I just wanted more for her.”
He squeezes her hand gently at the admission.
“So who am I meeting now?”
“Chloe Pak, we met at summer camp when we were twelve.”
“I can’t picture you as a summer camp girl.”
“Oh, I wasn’t and neither was she. It was a trauma bond. Neither of us ever went back, but we stayed friends.”
“Nature not your thing?”
“Nature’s fine. I more hated being told what to do while I was supposed to be on summer vacation.”
“You don’t like being told what to do? I’m stunned.”
“Shut up,” she grouses, shoving a light elbow into his side, but she can’t help smiling.
They hug tightly without even saying hello once they reach her. Chloe is about Bianca’s height, but otherwise her total opposite, her skin luminous and pale, her dark hair trimmed into a neat bob around her face.
“Josh couldn’t make it.”
“Because I cared about seeing Josh.”
“Bianca . . .” Chloe says, with a smile that doesn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “I don’t want to do this right now. Tonight is about you and I’m just so happy for you, B. I’m so glad you found someone who makes you happy. You make her happy, right?”
Bianca spares him from answering and slides an arm around his back, fitting herself against him. “Of course he does.”
Chloe nods in satisfaction, but then her face sort of collapses as a thought obviously occurs to her. “God, you guys probably have great sex. It’s great, right? Of course it is.”
“I am so sorry about her; she has zero filter. Really none of them do,” Bianca says, laughing, trying to keep the tension out of her voice and not sure she entirely succeeds. Her friends can be a lot on a normal night and this night is anything but normal.
Chloe’s on a roll though. “You’re finishing up your degrees, job hunting. All that stress and then the relief, it’s gotta go somewhere. And now you’re engaged! Out of nowhere, it’s great, just . . . great.”
Her friend’s eyes are tearing up. Shit. Why hadn’t she thought about Chloe when she decided to do this? Chloe, who’s waited for years for her boyfriend to shit or get off the pot and justpropose, and now she has to watch another friend get engaged before her and . . . there’s nothing for it. Bianca needs to call a halt to this right now, but before she can open her mouth to confess, the front door opens, the music cuts and all eyes turn to the two people standing there, huge smiles on their faces.
“Surprise!”
For the second time that night the word is shouted into the room, but if she was stunned before, this is a whole new level. Her legs feel like they’re not quite up to the job of holding her up as she sways into Xavier’s side, thankful when he slides an arm around her waist to keep her steady.
A man and a woman stand in the doorway.
