“Sorry, ran into an old friend from business school by the bathrooms.” The lie rolls easily off my tongue.
Amelia seems unconvinced, but I’m too busy watching Nikki squirm in her seat. I’m wondering what excuse she gave for her change in appearance. Her hair is now down, and she no longer wears that luscious pink lipstick I made sure to kiss off her.
“Is it a full moon or something tonight? Because everything feels… off. I need to get Nikki away from that table and figure out what the hell she’s doing with Justin and his family. Because something is up with my bestie. Actually, things have been off ever since you guys came back from vacation.” Amelia narrows her eyes at me while Evan bites down on his bottom lip. Asshole.
“What are you looking at me like that for?” I mumble into my whiskey glass.
“Did you do something to my best friend?”
I fell in love with her.
“Did you make her cry?”
My name in ecstasy.
“Did you break her heart?”
Never, it’s my most prized possession to protect.
Wait, what?
“Break her heart? What are you talking about, Amelia?” I ask.
She points a finger dangerously close to my face. “Don’t play coy with me! Anyone with half a brain can tell that you two have always had something simmering beneath the surface. Why else would you guys constantly be at each other’s throats and bickering like an old married couple?”
I’m unable to call upon the muscles needed to pick my jaw up from the ground. Is it true? Has Amelia always sensed there was more between Nikki and me? Have we really wasted all this time? Because if so, I’m about to bash my head against this table.
Amelia leans back and crosses her arms across her chest, revealing a triumphant smile. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
Before I get a chance to answer, I hear Nikki gasp and loudly say, “You guys knew we were broken up?” She stares at Justin’s parents in disbelief. This restaurant is small enough that Amelia’s chair backs up to Justin’s parents, and she has rotated her body completely so she is facing Nikki in silent, yet confused solidarity.
Justin’s mother pats Nikki’s hand across the table. “Just a small break. Not a breakup. Couples do it all the time. Once Justin explained the situation over Christmas, we knew what needed to happen, so that’s why we’re here tonight.” She nods toward a nervous-looking Justin.
“Nikki,” he starts. “I know that I was asking a lot of you by expecting you to move to Florida to live on my family farm with me. Especially as my girlfriend. I feel stupid that I didn’t see it before. That a woman like you needs more of a commitment before she uproots her life and moves to a different state for a man.” He nods toward a waiter, who’s waiting in the shadows, and I watch as a sparkler is lit on a dessert plate.
“Oh no. Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is,” Amelia says loud enough for Justin’s mom to look back and shoot a glare at her.
“What’s happening?” I ask my sister, my brain too slow to catch up.
Justin moving out of his chair and down on one knee answers my question for me.
Looks like I’m going to have to Hulk smash a table after all.
I move to stand, but Evan shakes his head. “She’s got this, man. Let her handle it.”
The look on my face must be murderous, because he has the decency to look sheepish and say, “Just give her a minute before I have to pull up the getaway car.” Yet he stays planted in his seat.
The dessert dish carrying the sparkler and a small velvet box is placed in front of Nikki. Justin grabs the ring box and opens it. “This is my mother’s ring. It was my grandmother’s before her. It’s actually been in the family for almost eighty years. A true family heirloom.”
The look of panic on Nikki’s face tears through my soul, and I’m about to rescue her from this whole ordeal when she does the unthinkable.
She starts… laughing.
And not a normal or silly laugh, but a high-pitched laugh that would put banshees to shame. She has to stand and hold on to the edge of the table to keep herself from falling over. If my desire to rip Justin’s head off clean for thinking of putting a ring on my woman’s finger wasn’t roaring in my ears, I probably would’ve joined in with a chuckle.
“Oh God, I think she’s snapped. We can’t let her get close to any sharp cutlery,” Amelia whisper-shouts.
Nikki straightens and has to put a hand on her stomach to center herself. Then she wipes the tears that escaped during her laughing fit. “Justin, get up. We’re not getting engaged,” she says as casually as reading the dinner menu.
