I clear my throat to make my presence known and she turns to face me. She pads toward me at a determined pace. “Is that Drew?”
I shake my head as Lauren says, “Is that Gretchen?”
“Yeah it is,” I answer into the phone, before I point at it, look to Gretchen and say, “It’s Lauren.”
She slaps her hands to her cheeks, comically pushing them together in the most adorable way. The action nudges those librarian glasses farther up her nose as she mouths,“I’m sorry.”
“Tell her I said hi,” Lauren says. Whether she intended it to be an olive branch or not, my heart does something at her words.
I meet Gretchen’s stunned gaze and grin. “Lauren says hi.”
Gretchen straightens, hands falling to her sides like paperweights. Her expression turns quizzical. My shrug in response saysit’s a surprise to me, too.
“Hi, Lauren,” Gretchen hollers toward the phone and immediately winces as though she’s been rehearsing the words for hours and it still didn’t come out right. It’s so endearing, I have to place a hand over my mouth to keep from smiling.
Two thumbs hiked over her right shoulder, she signals she’s goingback inside. She makes it two steps before she pauses and grabs the top of one of the empty patio chairs. The look she gives me over her shoulder is adorably wicked. Gretchen locks our gazes together as she stalks toward the balcony door, dragging the chair behind her. The long-suffering sound of iron scraping concrete fills the air.
My chest quakes on a silent laugh. Nothing like a goodPitch Perfectreference to lighten the mood. The next breath I take is the easiest one I’ve felt in weeks.
“Gretchen says hi back,” I say into the phone, eyes on the woman in question as she abandons the chair and runs inside.
“So, listen, there is something I wanted to tell you all this time that you’ve been ignoring me,” Lauren says.
“Okay. Ouch. I thought we were friends.”
“Well, admittedly, the first few weeks I mainly just wanted to scream at you, but then I…um…I met someone.”
I definitely wasn’t expecting that.
“It’s not serious or anything,” she rushes to add. “We met a couple weeks ago and we’ve only gone out a few times, but I didn’t want you to hear it from somebody else.”
Of all the thoughts perking up in my brain like little meerkats, none of them are hurt or disappointment or jealousy or judgment. As true as the day is long, my next words come from the deepest, purest part of me when I say, “I’m happy for you.”
“I’m scared people will think it’s too soon.”
“Forget what everyone else thinks. You deserve to be happy.”
She lets out a sigh that sounds a lot like mine, full of contentment and hope for the future. “Thanks, Connor.”
The door to our relationship may be closed for good, but Lauren’s okay.Weare okay. And if she’s able to move on, maybe it’s okay that I do the same.
Chapter Eighteen
MY EYES ARE UP HERE, GRETCH
Gretchen
Drew
Glad you made it safe. Have a great time and don’t worry about us. We’ll talk when you get back.
Love you more.
The pingof my brother’s texts wake me from a deep sleep mere seconds before the memory of me awkwardly inserting myself into Connor’s conversation with Lauren plows into me like a freight train. I could crawl into a hole and die, I’m so embarrassed. Which is most definitely what I’d been thinking when I climbed into bed last night, shut off all the lights and promptly pulled the covers over my face. Mercifully, with the lengthy day of travel and the time difference, sleep came quickly so I didn’t have to face Connor after he got off the phone.
The plan is to hike Devil’s Bridge today; a hike I’ve read online is quite intense, but with a stunning panoramic photo op at the endthat, supposedly, makes the climb worth it. The earlier we can get started, the better, to get ahead of the heat.
I put on my glasses and climb out of bed. Careful not to wake Connor if he’s still asleep, I open the bedroom door. A sofa bed with sheets all askew greets me, but Connor’s nowhere to be seen. He’s probably one of those monsters who works out when he’s on vacation.Ugh. Diabolical.
