Page 52 of The Plus-One List

I nod.

“Ahhhh, that is going to sell out on the first day, I’m sure of it. Amor, doesn’t Eloise look FABULOUS?”

“Fabulous,” Diego echoes and it appears he, like me, has learned that when Rachel goes all caps, it’s best to just roll with it.

“And YOU.” Oh god. My stomach does a backflip and lodges somewhere at the back of my throat as Rachel turns her radiance on Agustín. I quickly chug the rest of my gin and tonic. “You must be Agustín.”

“And you must be Rachel,” Agustín says, shooting her a huge smile that’s ninety percent dimples and makes my knees go weak. “We meet at last.”

“We do!” She pulls him toward her with a quick “Sorry, I’m a hugger,” and then releases him. “Ahhh, I’ve been dying to meet you, has Eloise told you I’ve been dying to meet you?”

“I’ve been dying to meet you too!” Agustín says. They both look at me, and I want to melt into the fancy fake-grass floor.

Surprisingly, Diego comes to my rescue. “Amor, why don’t you go grab a spot for us to sit and hang out?”

Yes, go. Please go.

“Eloise and I will bring over more drinks.”

What? No.

“Perfect!” Rachel says. “Agustín, come with me.”

She links arms with him, and I gape in horror at the infuriatingly smug expressions on the faces of my best friend and my plus-one. The two of them look like little peas in a pod as they head off to a cluster of couches at the far corner of the rooftop.

And now I’m stuck with Diego. Alone. Ugh. My skin prickles and my pulse kicks up a notch. I wish I could hold Agustín’s hand. Why did Diego send them away? What am I even supposed to say to him? Hey, I really wish you weren’t marrying my best friend and fucking up the delicate balance of my life? And also your wedding is massively inconvenient to me? I sound like an asshole. Oh my god, I am an asshole. I’m a huge jerk, I can’t believe I’m thinking all of this, and I’m thinking it right at his chiseled face, at his stupid fancy engagement party, what is wrong with me, why can’t I—

“Sorry about that,” Diego says quietly. “I thought maybe it would be easier to let Rachel get all her questions out one-on-one with him, so you wouldn’t feel like you’re under a microscope. She’s been really excited to meet him.” He glances over to where the two of them are chatting away enthusiastically. “Like, really excited.”

He chuckles warmly, his gaze soft and glowing as he watches her. I feel a couple of realizations smack me in the face.

Diego is really in love with Rachel.

Diego was trying to do something nice for me.

The epiphanies wedge uncomfortably against my sternum.

“Do you want the same thing you were having?” Diego asks as the bartender takes his order.

I nod, then clear my throat. I should probably start using my words around him. “Yes,” I say quietly. “Gin and tonic. Please.”

He smiles. “Cool.”

I glance back at Agustín and Rachel, wondering what they’re talking about and hoping against hope it’s not me.

But it’s definitely me.

24Agustín

“Eloise has been so cagey about you,” Rachel says. “Did you really have to go to your second cousin’s wife’s birthday party two weeks ago?”

“What?” I say, chuckling and shaking my head. “No. I’m guessing you didn’t really have a graduation barbecue last Saturday.”

Rachel chokes on the last sip of her drink. “Graduation from what? It’s July,” she cackles, then glances over at where Eloise and Diego are getting the drinks. “That girl,” she says, with a sigh that’s completely infused with love.

“You have been friends for a long time, right?” I say.

“Since elementary school.” Rachel scratches her ear. “We were both the odd ducks of our class. I was the kid in foster care and Eloise … did she tell you about her parents?”