plate and grabs a couple more fries. “You can really stick it to her.”
“Sure. Sounds great.” My voice is less than enthusiastic and she knows it. Her shoulders deflate and she slowly shakes her head as she studies me.
“Don’t act pathetic right now, Theo. Seriously. Be strong.” She reaches out, and this time instead of stealing my food, she rests her hand on my arm, giving it a squeeze. “I know she did a number on you. And you were pretty down in the dumps for a long time.”
Everyone in my family—even my brothers and father—let me be sad and angry for approximately one month after the break up. Once the expiration date hit, they told me I needed to get it together. No woman is worth that much misery and pain.
I couldn’t disagree with them. Deep down, I knew they were right. But that didn’t erase the misery and pain Jessica inflicted on me. The utter humiliation. We sent out wedding invites, for God’s sake. We lost our ass on deposits for the wedding and reception—mostly Jessica’s family did, but I did too. My parents felt sorry for me, and I hated that. Then I had to explain to my hard-of-hearing, eighty-nine-year-old grandma what happened, and that sucked probably most of all.
Disappointing my family isn’t high on my agenda. Looking like a complete loser isn’t either.
So I toughened up and acted like nothing bothered me anymore. I was over her. Fuck that chick! She’s a bitch.
I said that a lot to my brothers, because that’s what they wanted to hear. I didn’t really mean it, though. Jessica’s not really a bitch. Coldhearted and unfeeling, yes. I can’t be mad at her anymore.
In a month, she’ll be family.
“You seemed better. I know you were better, but getting this invitation is not the reason to spiral down the toilet bowl of life, okay?” Kelsey squeezes my arm again, an encouraging smile on her face, and I can’t help but smile back.
“Yeah, you’re right. I won’t spiral down the toilet bowl of life, whatever that means,” I tell her.
She laughs. “Good, she doesn’t deserve you thinking about her. You know she’s not thinking about you, right?”
Ouch. Way to keep it real. “You’re probably right.”
“I am right. Trust me.” She gestures toward my plate. “Ready to cut me off a piece of that burger?”
Sighing, I do as she asks, setting about a quarter of my burger onto the edge of her salad plate. I let her take over the conversation, watching her mouth move as she talks. As she eats. When Kelsey gets going, she never stops talking, which I initially found surprising. She has a bit of a mysterious way about her. She doesn’t talk much about her family or her past. And trust me, I’ve asked. I’m a freaking open book, while she’s sealed up tight.
Makes me wonder if she’s hiding something.
Three
Kelsey
“I need to find a gorgeous dress that will make every woman who sees me jealous,” I announce to my friends.
We meet at Sweet Dreams Bakery and Café at least once a week for lunch. I drive in from Pebble Beach. Stella’s family owns the place, and she works there. Caroline and Sarah both work nearby. So does Amelia. Eleanor used to work at a salon up the street, but she’s moved to Las Vegas to be with her man.
If I fell in love with a professional football player like Eleanor did, I’d move anywhere he was too. Though I miss her. Terribly. We all do. She’s the sunshine, optimistic queen. So is our friend Candice, but currently she’s on vacation in the Bahamas with her husband, Charlie. The lucky B.
“Just look in your closet,” Stella says, her voice dry as she contemplates me. “Pretty much everything you wear makes other women jealous.”
I blow out an exasperated breath. Look, being born with this face has been both a curse and a blessing. I have no control over it. I got my looks from my mama. When she was my age, she was gorgeous. Stunning. And she knew it. She wielded her beauty like a weapon, and she was ruthless. She’s been married five times. She’s had endless boyfriends and fiancés throughout her life, right up until the very end. I have no idea who my father is, because she divorced him before I was even born. Or were they even married?
I have no clue, and I never was allowed to ask. Anytime I had a question about him, she shut