Page 124 of When We Had Forever
“Yeah. I mean, I know Grayson’s sinfully hot and all that, and it sounds like he genuinely believes he loves you, but he practically comes with a warning label that says ‘emotionally unavailable.’ Even if he didn’t, you obviously can’t date Michael’s twin.”
“No. Obviously not. But wait, you think he’s sinfully hot? You’ve never said that before.”
Kate straightens and sucks her drink so forcefully that the burble echoes off all the glass and steel. We’re probably the opposite of classy to use straws like this, but I found them left over from a tropical-themed dinner party Michael and I once had and couldn’t resist. They’re the fun kind—brightly colored and with lots of curlicues.
“Come on,” she says. “Everyone thinks that.”
“Did you think Michael was sinfully hot, too?”
“Ew.” Her nose wrinkles. “No. Don’t be gross.”
“You do realize they’reidentical, right?”
“No. No way. It’s all about presentation.”
Okay. I leave that alone, especially since I agree. Besides, I can tell that Kate considers Michael’s role in this the only one of interest. To her, Grayson is no more than some bad-boy celebrity with an unrequited decade-and-a-half-long crush.
And why wouldn’t he be?Shedoesn’t wake up from dreams of kissing him in the firelight. She doesn’t know that looking into his eyes felt like being in the exact place I belong.
She didn’t fall in love with him on a mountaintop fourteen years ago.
I push back the flush battling for real estate on my cheeks. “Enough about me, though. How’re things with Tanner? The kids?”
She gives me a narrow look but takes the bait. “Pretty good, actually. Tanner’s babysitting right now, can you believe that?”
I guzzle half my drink. “I don’t think it’s calledbabysittingif they’re his kids. That he helped make. And who he’s obligated to keep alive in order to perpetuate his own DNA.”
“Hmm. Good point. And Evelyn and Hunter are probably swallowing everything in the medicine cabinet as we speak while their dad plays a vicious game of computer chess against some dude named Boris in Russia, but hey. I’ll take what I can get.”
Amazingly, that makes me laugh. Even more amazingly, it feels good. Natural.
“You know what?” I say. “Forget Michael. And Grayson. Why don’t we go out? Like,outout. To an actual restaurant. Or a bar. Talk to some people we don’t know.”
Kate’s eyes round. “Excuse me?”
I repeat myself.
“Um...exactly who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”
I flash a rueful smile. God, she’s been so loyal, all these months when I had nothing to give back. I owe her so much. “I guess we’ll call me Mina two-point-oh. But I just happen to have Mina one-point-oh’s credit card, so I’m buying. Sucks to be her.”
Over the weekend, I list everything in the house for sale.
The red lantern keeps its place of honor beside my computer, but everything else—the black leather sofas, the chrome lamps, the glass tables—goes. I refurnish with one exhausting spree through the West Elm store in Seattle, which I’ve always loved but could never convince Michael to visit. The whole time, I’m on high alert, awaiting a familiar whiff of forest and rain.
I don’t run into Grayson, though. It’s a big city, and he’s probably in New Zealand, anyway.
Back in Seagrove, I open a bottle of wine and try to drink enough to forget how much I just spent. It doesn’t work. Mostly, I just go to bed wondering if I’ve made a gigantic mistake.
But when everything arrives and my home fills with light, bright fabrics and warm wood, I suddenly live in a different house.Myhouse, complete with pops of color in the form of vibrant purple throw pillows and actual artwork on the walls instead of grayscale pictures of buildings.
Not a prison, but a haven. Lit by lantern light.
The only room I leave untouched is Michael’s office, where the divorce papers and magazine clippings still cover the floor.
I don’t know which intimidates me more, so I never once open the door.
BEFORE
