I smiled wide. “Yes, we are definitely done here,” I said. “Lead the way.”
* * *
“He did what?” Lacey stopped rummaging inside her suitcase, her mouth falling open.
“I couldn’t believe it, either,” I said, flopping down on her bed. “The dude specifically said Freddie was opening the curtain, but when the time came, Nick charged on over and pulled.” I buried my face in my hands. “Petty Curtain Shenanigans is a band name, not a lifestyle.”
Lacey chortled, her laugh echoing through Guest Room Number Four—the one with the best Wi-Fi signal, but also the ugliest bedspread. “That is some passive-aggressive shit right there from Nick,” she said. “It’s almost aggressive-aggressive. Did Freddie freak out?”
“He just acted like it was always in the plan, and then backstage he said he had a date and left,” I said. “Nick swore it was a brain fart, but I don’t believe it.”
Lacey curled up on the bed and propped her head up in her hand. “A brain fart seems very unlike him, but so are petty curtain shenanigans,” she said. “Have you talked to him about it?”
I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, which featured an incongruous fresco that would have looked more at home in an Italian villa. “He told me that sometimes he wants Freddie to, and this is a direct quote, shove it.”
Lacey made the universal yikes face.
“I know,” I said. “And he’s so laser focused on getting back into everybody’s good graces that he’s hardly ever home.”
Lacey started to braid a chunk of my hair, the way she often did when we were sitting around sharing confidences like this. She was back from Kenya for a visit pinned to our birthday, and although I’d done a sterling job convincing myself the long distance had been no big deal, I had nearly cried with relief when she climbed out of the Range Rover.
“It’s really good to see you,” I said. My voice sounded shaky. “Sometimes I feel disloyal dragging Cilla or Bea into all this, because they were Nick’s friends first. And obviously I can’t go to Freddie.”
“Yes, you’ve been down that road before,” Lacey said. “You need healthy boundaries there.”
“We’re always going to be close,” I said defensively. “We can’t pretend for the rest of our lives that we’re only mild acquaintances.”
Lacey lifted her hands as if to surrender. “I’m just saying, you and Nick know better than anyone that sometimes space is what you need to move on.”
“Nick and I took some space and it backfired,” I reminded her.
“You and Nick ran off and pretended to be different people. It’s not the same thing,” Lacey said.
“Since when are you all wise and measured?”
“Since I took some space to move on,” she said. She visibly bit back a dreamy smile, and I peered so intently at her that a flush ran up her face.
“Aha,” I said, whacking her arm. “The esteemed Dr. Oliver Omundi, I presume? When did that officially happen?”
“A while ago. I didn’t say anything because I got funny about jinxing it, which is how I knew it was real,” she said happily. “He’s the smartest, kindest person. I like him so much that it’s terrifying, because my internship is ending soon, but I’m also calm? Like I trust what we have already.” She absentmindedly began braiding my hair. “I never felt like that with Freddie. I wish I could go back and tell myself that wasn’t real love. It would’ve saved a lot of aggravation.”
“Have Dr. Omundi apply his brains to time travel,” I said. “It’s the least you could do, considering.”
Lacey pinched me, and I shrieked. “Serves you right,” she said.
“Oh no, what’s Bex done now?” Nick said, sticking his head in the room.
We turned to face him. He had just come back from a senior citizens fitness event, and he looked sweaty in his charity-branded polo shirt. It was surprisingly appealing.
“The usual,” Lacey said. “Incurable smart-assery.”
“Tell me all about it,” he said, stretching out across the foot of the bed. Within seconds a deafening snore emanated from his face.
“That has to be a speed record,” Lacey said quietly. “No wonder you guys haven’t talked much.”
“I told you.”
“All this to benefit a man they call Prince Dick,” Lacey marveled.
“I can’t figure it out,” I said. “It’s like watching a knight joust for a damsel he doesn’t actually like.”
I had been hoping a night at home with our friends would help put things back to normal. Nick and