My jaw hits the ground.
“Ay puñeta,” I hear Roselyn say. I can already imagine her texting some of the others about our little showdown, but I could care less at this moment.
I take a beat to collect my anger and lean into Evan, so that our faces are merely inches apart. I allow myself to take in his features once more, taking my sweet time letting my eyes sweep over his face, hoping that my pause in conversation is making him nervous, hoping he’s thinking that I’ve snapped.
I finally start. “Wow. Nice to know what little you think of me.” His features immediately soften, but I don’t let him off the hook just yet. “I would take your comments more to heart if I thought you really understood what it is to love someone.” He lets out a forced laugh and rolls his eyes, but I’m not done.
“You see Evan, love is this crazy thing where you allow yourself to be vulnerable, and trust someone with your heart. Are Sebastián and I perfect? Nope, not by a long shot. But I love him, and he loves me, so we’re willing to give it as many shots as possible to be in each other’s lives. I can’t predict what the future holds for us, but for now, we’ve made a promise to love each other for the rest of our lives, and that takes courage. That’s not desperation or settling.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the twins trying to help the waiter clear the table—Evan paid the bill over ten minutes ago. But the table has countless glasses and dishes, which means I’ve still got time to keep going.
“You, on the other hand, can’t tell me the last time you were in a relationship because it’s probably been over a decade. Now I wouldn’t be so rude as to make an assumption about your love life, but since you so callously made an assumption about mine, let’s have at it.”
Xioana chimes in. “Amelia, maybe it’s time to go. We can walk you to the train station—”
“You’re a coward Evan. You don’t let anyone in, and yet somehow feel entitled to belittle my relationship.”
“Maldita sea,” Roselyn groans.
“I know some of you still think of me as the baby of the group, but I’m a grown ass woman, and I’ve been through hell and back these last few months. So if I decide that I don’t want to waste any more time and finally marry Sebastián, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do!”
“Amelia come on, let’s grab an Uber instead, Roselyn and I have to go home and change for a date with our husbands,” Xioana pleads.
Evan pierces me with his eyes, and I swear I can feel the fury pulsating off of his skin. “It’s ok ladies, you can leave. You see, Amelia here is agrown ass woman, as she just mentioned, and therefore can hold her own.” He turns back to face me as the twins eye one another in confusion.
I turn to the twins. “No need for that Uber, myfiancéwill be picking me up a few blocks away from here, near his favorite sandwich shop soon,” I sneer.
The twins seemed satisfied enough with my answer and slowly exit the pub.
“So why don’t you answer this little question for me,” Evan begins. “Where is he Amelia?”
“What?” I say, caught off guard.
“Your fiancé. Soon-to-be husband, goes by the name of Sebastián or so I hear. Why isn’t he here with you announcing your engagement?” He pins me with his relentless stare.
“W–what do you mean?” I clear my throat and try to steel myself. “He’s not my shadow, Evan. I’m allowed to go places without him. Plus, he’s a very busy man, he’s running errands all around the city today. And even so, he should be picking me up any minute now,” I scramble.
“Bullshit,” Evan spits out. “You mean to tell me that you’re here with people that you consider family, and he’s too busy runningerrandsto celebrate with us?!” he barks.
I open my mouth to respond but words have seemed to fail me at this very inopportune time, so he continues.
“Oh, and that lovely engagement story you told us, are you fucking kidding me? You came to a mutual agreement that constantly breaking up sucks, so the next logical step is to legally commit yourselves to each other. Really, Amelia? Wow, I mean I didn’t know that was the fairytale you were banking on, but I guess I should say congrats instead of pointing out the painfully obvious?” Evan spits.
“Which is what, Evan?” I yell. The whole pub can probably hear us, but I’m so livid that I can feel my pulse on the tips of my ears.
He huffs out a breath and lowers his voice so only I can hear. “That you deserve better.”
Huh. That is not what I was expecting.
Calling me a loser, maybe. Saying that I was a delusional bride-to-be, perhaps. But saying I deserved better … not the response I was expecting.
“Well since you seem to know everything about me and relationships, why don’t you enlighten me, Evan? What is it exactly that I deserve that I am not getting?” I say as I lean back into my chair, emotionally exhausted from this unexpected conversation.
He runs his hand through his short, light brown hair in frustration. He looks down at the table, then back up to me.
“First of all, if this guy had any sense to him, he would have never allowed that first breakup to ever happen, because he would have known that a woman like you isn’t something that comes by very often.”
Gulp. What the hell.
