The Lying Season (Seasons #1) - K.A. Linde Page 0,22

a cute story like that for how I met my girlfriend. We met in a bar.” She laughed and shrugged. “So cliché.”

“That’s not cliché. That’s great!” Claire said. But then turned her attention back to me. “So, Sam says that y’all worked on the Woodhouse campaign together. Isn’t it just crazy that y’all met up again on a campaign here in New York?”

“Wait,” Demi said with an arched eyebrow, “you and Sam knew each other before this?”

“Hey, I didn’t know that,” Aspen said.

“I didn’t know it was a secret!” Claire said.

I forced out a laugh. It was hard to speak around the knife in my chest. “It’s not a secret. We both worked in Madison, like, five years ago. I didn’t even know he was in the city or anything. Just coincidence that he’s here now.”

“Yeah, I actually thought she was working with her parents still,” Sam said.

Which meant…if I’d known, I might not have applied for this job.

“What a small world,” Aspen said.

“It’s all about connections,” Demi said. “I really believe that the world is so much smaller than we think. And that once we make a connection with someone, we’re more likely to see that connection everywhere.”

I gulped and glanced over at Sam. That was exactly how I felt.

“Like, think about when you test-drive a car. You immediately see that car everywhere on the road. But before, you never even noticed it. That’s how it works with people too. We’re brought together for a reason. It’s serendipity.”

Yeah, and what happy accident brought me to this incredibly uncomfortable situation?

“I love that idea,” Claire agreed. “I lived most of my life in rural North Carolina. I like to think that it’s not so big after all. And people come into our lives for a reason.”

I swallowed. I needed to extract myself from this conversation.

I coughed hard into my hand. “Ugh, guys. I think I caught something. I’m really not feeling well. I wish I could stay longer, but I think I should just go.”

There was a chorus of people trying to get me to stay. But I pushed my chair and coughed a second time, apologizing through coughs. Sam glanced at me once, seeing through my facade. But he didn’t try to stop me as I made my excuses and headed toward the exit.

I’d seen enough anyway.

Claire seemed like a perfectly nice, perfectly normal woman. She had heart. She was genuinely curious about people. She seemed interested in being involved in Sam’s life. I could see how they worked together.

Even if I didn’t like it, there was nothing I could do about it.

Not that I even would if I could.

That was the old Lark. Bad Lark.

The separate entity that I didn’t want to rear its ugly head ever again.

I already knew how this played out. There was no point in sticking around and enduring it any longer. I didn’t want to be made a fool of…again.

9

Lark

I woke up the next morning around noon. It was the most I’d slept in weeks…maybe months. I felt like a new person after a full night’s sleep.

I planned to spend the entire day wallowing in front of my television, eating junk food. It seemed like the best way to convince myself not to go into the office or think about Sam. But even a marathon of Jane Austen movies wasn’t enough to completely distract me. I spent the time scrolling social media and texting with Katherine.

God, you must have no work to do after your banquet last night. You never text me this much.

I laughed.

No work today. Shawn gave us the day off.

I included a picture of me in sweats and a Brown T-shirt with my hair in a messy bun on top of my head. No makeup. I knew she’d cringe. But I did it for the joy in seeing how much she’d freak out.

Larkin St. Vincent! I must come save you. Put on something presentable. We’re going shopping.

I loved her. Her and every inch of her ridiculousness. Others might find her rude, catty, and heartless, but she wasn’t with me. She knew exactly what I needed, and she dropped everything to help.

Ugh! I don’t want to leave. Can’t you just let me wallow?

Over Sam? Still?

Yes. He has a girlfriend. I met her. Am I not allowed to have an ounce of your melodrama?

No. I’ll be there in twenty.

I snorted. Oh, Katherine.

Then another message came in almost immediately.

And brush your hair. We’re not animals.

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. At least