Page 83 of Run
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t kid about that.”
Gino smiles at her. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I caught your name. Dee, is it?” He turns to face Soph full-on. Ari overhears their interaction and goes quiet. She darts her eyes to me, then down to the table, and I know she’s eavesdropping.
“No, I’m Sophie.”
“Sophie,” he repeats. “I’m Gino.” He sticks his hand out and she takes it. “You work with Lizzie?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’m friends with Ari. Who is, uh,withEthan, andheworks with Lizzie.”
“Oh, that’s simple.”
“Totally.”
“We just came from a job site, so that’s why we’re a bit of a mess. We were hanging drywall today, hence the dust.” Gino awkwardly runs a hand through his dark, messy hair, which has some gray dust in it.
Sophie doesn’t miss a beat. “Oh, so it’s not a severe case of dandruff?”
Gino barks out a laugh. “Alright, you got me!”
The two blush at one another.
Ari turns her head toward me slightly and gives me wide eyes.
“So, you guys are coming to the party, right?” Lizzie gets my attention, looking between Ari and me.
It takes a minute for Ari to realize Lizzie is talking to us, and she has to pull herself away from the conversation happening next to her. “Um … I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
Lizzie laughs, knowing she caught Ari being nosy. “I asked if you and Ethan are coming to our party next weekend?”
“Yes,” I answer, and Ari looks at me in question. “I completely forgot to mention it,” I say to Ari. “Knox and Lizzie are having a … a what? A vow renewal?”
“Eh, I’m not really sure what to call it. We were never really divorced.”
“Actually, we were never legally separated,” Knox cuts in as he drapes an arm around Lizzie. “I mean, I guess we were separate, but we were never truly apart.” They lock eyes and communicate something between themselves.
“I guess we just want all our friends and family to come over and help us celebrate the fact that we found our way back to each other,” Lizzie says.
Knox cups her face in his hand. “There was never any other option, baby.” He leans in and kisses her so sweetly that the rest of us have to look away.
“So, anyway,” I say to Ari, “Lizzie asked me the other day and I totally forgot. Are you free next Saturday? I want you to be my date.”
“You have to come,” Lizzie says, done sucking face with her husband. “We’re having it outdoors at our house and I know it’s supposed to be cold, but we’re renting some of those big outdoor heater things and we’re going to have bonfires and lights and music and it’s going to be awesome.”
“Yeah, totally,” Knox says as he rubs his thumb and fingers together—the international sign for money. I cough to hide my laugh, and Lizzie elbows him in the ribs.
“Yeah, I should be free,” Ari says, and her eyes linger on mine.
“What?” I ask.
She grins. “So, a date, huh?”
I smile widely back at her. “Well, I figure it’s about time.”
CHAPTER 28
ETHAN
When we get to Ari’s place, she types in the code to activate the garage door and it slowly rises, then we dip inside and make our way to the door to her apartment, which she just opens.
