Page 50 of The Ring
“Hey,” TJ says.
“Hi,” I respond.
He looks me up and down, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “No shopping bags, and your birthday is in a few days… I’m guessing you’re here putting some pieces on hold?”
“No shopping bagsyet,” I clarify. I wasn’t planning on buying anything today, but if something cute crosses my path, I won’t discriminate. I flash him a smile. “But good guess.”
Both Annabelle and Laurie are uncharacteristically silent. They are just standing there, staring at each other, almost as if they are in a staring contest. You could cut the tension with a knife, and for once, it’s nice that TJ and I aren’t the ones causing it.
I hate seeing them like this, so I decide to do something for my two best friends to force them to talk it out.
I intentionally drop my cup, trying to make it look like an accident but also trying not to spill too much to avoid making a big mess. “Fuck,” I mutter.
I crouch down and pull some wipes out of my bag—I always carry them with me. I must really love Annabelle and Laurie because I’m about to touch the floor with my hands. As I’m about to clean the spilt chai latte, TJ crouches down too and takes the wipes from my hands.
“Let me,” he says, swiftly wiping up the spill. He picks up the cup and tosses the used wipes into it.
We both get up from the floor, and Laurie and Annabelle are exactly as they were before I dropped my chai—looking at each other, almost like statues. I’m not even sure if they noticed what I did.
“I’ll go and get another one,” I say, signalling the cup TJ is holding.
“I’ll accompany you,” Annabelle tells me, breaking out of her trance.
I don’t want her to come with me—that isn’t part of my plan. I want TJ to be the one to accompany me so Annabelle and Laurie are left alone to talk things out.
I glance at TJ, giving him a look that says,Help me out here,hoping we still have that unspoken understanding we used to share.
“Don’t worry about it,” TJ tells Annabelle. “I can go with Cornelia—I meant to grab a coffee anyway,” he adds, giving me a quick glance to let me know he understood me.
“Perfect,” I say quickly before either of them can protest. I turn to Annabelle. “You and Laurie can go to Prada, and TJ and I will meet you there.” I look at Laurie. “Of course, if Laurie doesn’t mind.”
“I don’t mind,” Laurie says, his tone neutral, but his eyes still on Annabelle.
“So it’s settled.” I clap my hands before turning away and beginning to walk back to Ralph’s Coffee, with TJ following close behind.
Chapter 26
TJ
Icame to Bond Street to find a gift for Cornelia’s birthday, but I had no luck. Buying gifts for her has always been a challenge, but now that we’re not dating, it’s ten times harder. Any gift I give her will mean something. If I get her something generic, she might think I don’t care about her anymore. If I get her something over the top, she could assume I’m still not over her—which I’m not, but my pride won’t let me admit it. And the worst case? If I get her something she doesn’t like, it would mean I don’t know her as well as I used to.
I could always buy her something from the pieces she’s put on hold, but I’ve never done that, and I’m not starting now. I like to surprise her, getting her something she doesn’t even know exists but will absolutely love. The best part is seeing her open the box, watching her face light up with pure surprise and delight at what I’ve picked. This time, I won’t get to see her reaction, but knowing she’ll have that look on her face will be enough.
I knew she was on Bond Street because Laurie and I had just gone to Cartier to check out the pieces she’d put on hold,and my sales associate mentioned we missed her by about twenty minutes. I wasn’t planning to buy her anything there, but I wanted to get an idea of which jewellery pieces she was eyeing. Cornelia goes through phases where she’s especially into a particular type of jewellery. When I saw she is currently into necklaces with big pendants, I knew I was done here. I wasn’t going to find her gift on Bond Street—she knows all the stores and their entire inventory like the back of her hand. But the temptation to see her was too strong, so I suggested to Laurie that we visit a few other shops, hoping we’d cross paths with her. He accepted, as he still hadn’t decided what to get her.
When I saw her a few minutes after leaving Cartier, it was perfect.
What was even more amazing was whatever was happening between Laurie and Annabelle that made Cornelia want to leave them alone. I had noticed some tension between them, but I don’t know what is going on. Cornelia used to be my go-to informant. I could have asked Laurie about it, but I’m not exactly allowed to. For a while now, Laurie has placed a permanent ban on Cornelia and me interfering in his love life. Not that it stops Cornelia from meddling in it, anyway. But he could never stay mad at Cornelia for long. Me, on the other hand—that’s a different story.
Anyway, whatever is going on, I’m pleased about it because it’s allowing me to spend some time alone with Cornelia.
I follow her to Ralph’s Coffee, quickening my pace to walk alongside her. “So, Vivienne Rose Tipton is in town?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
She smiles. “The one and only.”
God, she is beautiful. What I wouldn’t do to see that smile every day again.
Vivienne being in town always puts Cornelia in a goodmood. She loves her maternal grandmother. Vivienne is kind of a maniac, but unlike her eldest daughter, it’s in a good way. She was the one who gave us our first sip of alcohol—and the next fifty—but the very next day, she was the one taking care of a bunch of teenagers with hangovers.
