a new one to me. While Meg and Skylar chatted, he inclined his head towards me and dropped his voice. “That was a lot less dramatic than I expected it to be.”
I guzzled the beer in one lengthy swallow. “I told you, we buried the hatchet.”
Kyle eyeballed me in a way that made me squirm. “Yeah, well, I didn’t really believe you.” He looked at Meg, then at me again. “What’s up with you two? That was weird even by your standards.”
I opened my mouth to give him some crap line when a woman came into the room, eyes red-rimmed and her face blotchy from crying.
“Hi, Josie.” I greeted Kyle’s ex hesitantly. Josie had been Chelsea’s best friend up until a few months ago. She had dated Kyle for years. We had all vacationed together, spent holidays together. But I hadn’t seen her since Chelsea and I split up, and Kyle had broken up with her.
But it was common knowledge she hadn’t taken the breakup well. Josie was a sweet girl if a little clingy. And the truth was Kyle had never loved her the way she loved him. I couldn’t imagine that Kyle had invited her to the BBQ, and from the look on his face, it was obvious he hadn’t.
“Josie, what’s wrong?” he asked with concern. He may not love Josie, but he was a nice guy. He would never tell her to leave, even if her emotional neediness was the very reason he had ended things with her in the first place.
Josie’s lower lip wobbled slightly, and she looked sheepishly at Skylar and Meg, who was trying not to stare. “Can we go somewhere and talk?” she whispered, wiping her eyes.
Kyle’s jaw tightened slightly, but he gave her a slight nod, taking her by the elbow and steering her from the kitchen and out into the backyard.
Skylar and Meg trailed over to where I was standing. Skylar, ever blunt, jutted her thumb in the direction Josie and Kyle had disappeared. “What was that all about?”
I shrugged, grabbing a handful of chips and shoving them in my mouth. “She was upset about something, apparently.”
Meg’s expression was pinched. “I still can’t believe Kyle dated Josie Robinson.”
Skylar made a face. “I know. I can’t believe we lost two friends to the dark side.” She gave me a pointed look, and Meg smirked.
God, I wanted to kiss that teasing mouth of hers.
“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in. I deserve it. At least I’m making my way back to the light.” I bumped Skylar with my shoulder.
“We’ll see,” Meg mumbled.
I cupped my ear with my hand. “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear your disapproval.”
Meg opened her mouth, no doubt to throw a barbed comment back at me, but Skylar held her hands out between us. “Enough you two. I don’t have the emotional energy to play referee.”
I wrapped an arm around my friend’s shoulders. “How’s everything going, Sky? Heard from Mac?”
She jutted her chin out defiantly. I knew Skylar was hurting, but she wasn’t one to show it. Ever. She was the kind of woman to exude strength no matter what it cost her. I respected her for that.
“I’ve got Morla. That’s all that matters.”
Meg held up her fist, and Skylar bumped it with hers. The two women grinned at each other. No matter how close the two of them were growing up, I never felt like a third wheel. The four of us had always fit perfectly together. There was no jealousy or vying for attention between us.
And strangely, even with the weird antagonistic desire currently arching between Meg and me, that familiarity was still there. It had been over ten years since the four of us had been in the same space. And it felt right. Like coming home. There was something to be said about childhood friends. They were the pieces of memory you never wanted to lose.
“I also decided not to renew the lease on the apartment,” Skylar went on.
“Really? Where are you going to go?” I asked her.
At that moment, Kyle came back into the kitchen—without Josie. He looked a bit on the haggard side. He grabbed a beer and joined us. I met his eyes over Skylar’s head, and he gave me a half-smile that wasn’t very genuine. Meg, picking up on his downturn in mood, moved closer to him and put an arm around his waist. He squeezed her close.
As I said, jealousy had never been an issue between any of us before. I knew