Technically, she looks better.
The same but better.
“I wasn’t going to tell you who I was. I planned to leave you in ignorant bliss.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Probably because you’re a hypocrite.”
Her mouth falls open. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Yeah. You have a lot ofstrongopinions about marriage for someone who had a whirlwind wedding when you were twenty-one and plans to file for divorce in six months. Are you sure you’re the best person to give your little sister marital advice?”
She steps back like she’s dodging my words. “Ours was a completely different situation. It was a mutually beneficial business agreement where we both understood the terms and outcome. It was based on logic, not heart.”
“I’m just saying, maybe you have no room to talk. At twenty-one, you were able to make a big decision about your life. I think it’s only fair to let Selena do the same thing.”
“The difference is, she wants the marriage to work out, and it won’t. Statistically speaking, it will end in divorce.”
“Are you always this pessimistic?”
Her chin lifts. “When it comes to marriage, yes.”
“Charming.”
“You can judge me all you want, but I see divorce every day. I successfully settled thirty-six divorce cases last year.”
“That’s not the flex you think it is.”
“Just further proof that I know what I’m talking about.”
She brushes her dark curls back from her face, and I spend a quick thought wondering what it would feel like to touch them. Could I pull down on one strand like a coil, and would it bounce back up? I change the subject as a way to distract myself from reaching out and trying.
“You know, I’ve wondered about you a time or two over the years. Wondered if you still never intended to marry for love like you said.”
“Interesting.” She smiles in a teasing way. “I haven’t thought about you once in the last five and a half years.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” I joke. “You’re not a very good wife.”
“I never claimed to be. I may not have thought about you, but do you know who I have thought of?” She pauses for dramatic effect before answering. “Sam!”
“Sam.” I nod with fondness. “Whatever happened to that guy?”
“You’re not still friends with him?”
“We were never friends. He was just some guy in my biology class who heard me talking about how I needed money for my business. He came to me with your proposition.”
“That’s crazy that you didn’t know him either. He was just some guy in my political science class that I asked to help find me a guy desperate enough to marry me.”
“How many times do you think he’s told the story of us at parties?” I ask.
“Oh, a lot. We’re definitely his number one party story, and I hate that. If I were smarter back then, I would’ve made him sign something that he couldn’t talk about us.”
“I bet people don’t believe him when he says we met at the Waffle House and got married thirty minutes later.”
“True. But the weirdest part is knowing you ate the leftover waffle bites of someone you barely knew,” she muses.
“Nah, that’s nothing compared to marrying someone I just met.”
