Jude helps me out of his car and I think he can sense the theatrics happening inside my anxious mind. He doesn’t let go of my hand while we cross the street toward the restaurant, where we’re meeting his friends. Instead, he squeezes my hand tighter. Him touching me like this makes me feel…good. Calmer.
“Everything is going to be fine, Petal. Don’t be nervous. Faith will love you.” He drops a kiss on my cheek as we enter the front door. And I get so busy tangled up with all these flapping butterflies that I forget all the things I’m supposed to be insecure about.
Faith and Maxwell are already at the table when we walk in. I know it’s them because this gorgeous blonde woman is excitedly waving her arm around and grinning in our direction. We haven’t even said hello yet and her contagious energy is already drawing me in.
Maxwell stands to greet us. The guys do a weird man-hug thing.
Then, Jude winds an arm around my waist. “Guys, this is Iris.” He glances at me, searching my face. “My…”
“…Friend from college,” I jump in because I’m not sure I’m ready to find out exactly what this man thinks of me. We were most definitely not friends in college, but it’s much less complicated like this. This way, I don’t have to face what I think of him yet.
“I’m Faith!” The woman hops up and comes at me, arms out. “I…Can I…? Oh, forget it. I’m a hugger. I’m gonna hug you.”
I laugh. “Okay,” I consent, although it’s already too late, since she’s practically rocking me from side to side already.
Faith is literally stunning, as I expected her to be. Her blonde hair is similar to mine, but hers is styled much nicer. She has bright blue eyes, a thin frame. She has at least a few inches on me. More, with those heels she’s rocking.
“Sorry, I’m just excited.” She clasps her hands over her heart. “Jude has never brought a ‘friend’ around us before.”
Kirk never used to bring me to work dinners. It always made me wonder if he was ashamed of me or if he somehow knew I wouldn't fit in with his colleagues. But now I realize it was probably because he was fucking half the female faculty members.
I exhale to push the thought away. I don’t want to focus on my insecurities and past hurts tonight. I want to relax, maybe even have fun.
When Faith moves on to hug Jude, Maxwell turns his smile on me. “Nice to see you again, Iris.” He gives me a hug. Far less enthusiastic than his wife’s thankfully because I don’t think I could survive being swung around like that by a towering pro-athlete.
Jude and I take the remaining chairs at their small square table. Before I can even pick up the menu, Faith draws me into a conversation.
She compliments my dress. And my shoes. And my eye makeup. Then, she asks about my haircut, and I give her my mom’s business card. She talks me into ordering a glass of her favorite wine and helps me sort through the overwhelming choices on the menu. Somehow, the conversation turns to wedding dresses and Faith realizes I’m Lexi’s best friend. Turns out Faith bought a wedding gown from Lexi recently when she and Maxwell renewed their vows for the third time.
She’s definitely a talker, and she exudes so much positivity that I have no choice but to match her personality. Soon, I find myself laughing and rambling on, too. Jude watches me with the widest smile on his face because he knows this is out of character for me. I’m the shy girl, remember?
Jude brags about my flower garden and Faith seems genuinely interested. She says that she personally has the thumb of death and she accidentally kills every houseplant that comes her way but one of her sisters is married to a farmer.
When I ask Faith and Maxwell how they met, they tell a wild tale, complete with a catfish incident, a fake engagement and a road trip to Vegas. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard or had such an instant connection with new friends.
As our dinner winds down, the topic turns to business. I wrongly assumed that Faith didn’t work since she travels around to watch Maxwell play football. But it turns out that on top of her job as director-general of the Reyfield Community Centre, she runs a