I could do this.
I had to do this.
I passed by a newsstand and slowly exhaled. But then it felt like I was choking. Isabella’s face was plastered on a tabloid staring back at me. With big bold letters: “WEDDING DATE SET FOR THIS WINTER.”
I lifted up the tabloid. It wasn’t Isabella. It was Poppy Cannavaro. I shook my head. God, she looked so much like Isabella. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and started to read the article. It was filled with direct quotes from Poppy:
“I knew the proposal was coming.”
“The two of us were always destined to be together.”
“Matthew has always been close to our family.”
“I’m not sure either of us knew what true love was until we met.”
“The venue was an obvious choice. It was where Matthew took me on our first date.”
Each quote made me feel more and more sick to my stomach.
At the bottom of the article there was a picture of the two of them kissing at a restaurant. No, not just a restaurant. The restaurantwhere I was supposed to marry Matt. Was that where they were planning on getting married?
My dear cousin my ass.True love? Destiny?Mywedding venue?What a bitch.
Matt wasn’t quoted at all. But him making out with her inourrestaurant was proof enough of his feelings. What had happened to him? How could he look at her the same way he used to look at me? I shook away the thought. I knew that wasn’t fair. And yet…whyher? Of all people.
At the bottom of the page it said that the rest of the article was on page 6. Was there seriously more? Maybe that’s where some quotes from Matt would be. I started thumbing through the pages.
“Are you going to pay for that?” the cart vendor asked.
“Oh. Yeah, sorry.” I reached for my wallet in my jacket pocket. I handed him a couple dollars and did my best not to crumple the tabloid in my fist.
I had no idea why I was so angry.
I was over Matthew Caldwell. I’m pretty sure I stopped loving him as soon as I saw his hands all over someone else. And I’d finally convinced my heart to stop loving him too. It had taken me years to quit him. But I had.
And seeing him suddenly staring back at me in a photo felt like a slap in the face. I hated how looking at him with another woman made my heart race and my palms feel sweaty. Like Iwas reliving that day I went to see him 16 years ago. I completely avoided thinking about him because he betrayed me. But also because I still wanted him to be happy. He was supposed to be happy.
And how could he be happy with Poppy? He was allowed to make his own mistakes. But Poppy? Seriously? She was practically Isabella’s twin. Andourwedding venue? Had I really meant so little to him?
I shook the thought away. I already knew the answer to that. He didn’t give a shit about me.
“Excuse me, madame,” a man said before I grabbed the handle to Kennedy’s apartment building.
Madame?I turned to look up at the man. He was in a freshly pressed suit and his hair was perfectly pushed to the side. It looked like he’d stopped by on his way to work.
Basically he looked put together. The complete opposite of me. I was drenched in sweat and my face was surely puffy and red from crying.
“Do you happen to know a Kennedy Alcaraz? It’s spelled A-L-C-A-R-A-Z, no tildes or anything unfortunately.” He sighed, like he was truly devastated about the spelling of her name.
That was a very weird way to ask if I knew someone. “Yes…”
“Oh, thank goodness. I’ve been trying to buzz her.” He pointed to the intercom. “But there’s no answer. And I’ve called a few times too, but she hasn’t responded. I really just need to talk to her fora moment. It’s quite urgent, actually. Would you mind letting me up?”
“Oh…um…” I stared at him. I wondered if she was dating this guy. I had kind of been hoping that she and Felix had found their way back together. The cut of his suit and his expensive shoes screamed NYC elite. Which didn’t really scream Kennedy to me. “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”
“Tanner.” He put his hand out for me. “Tanner Rhodes.”
I shook his hand. Kennedy hadn’t mentioned a Tanner. But we really hadn’t had a chance to catch up. “I’m sorry, Tanner, but if Kennedy isn’t speaking to you, she probably has a reason.”
