His smile slipped as the silence lengthened.
“Who’s your friend, James?” Chloe asked, inclining her head at the woman who stood just behind him.
Her voice was innocent, but we all knew who the woman was.
James ignored her, turning to face his companion. “Melanie, would you mind grabbing us a table, and getting yourself a drink? I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
So dismissive, so very James. He used to treat me like that, too. What the hell had I seen in him?
I couldn’t help but glance back at Melanie’s face to ascertain the effect his casual dismissal had had on her. Our gazes locked, and her lips pursed tightly as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. She turned away without a word, claiming a table at the street side of the restaurant.
Chloe leaned back in her chair as she looked at James, a cynical smile playing on her lips. “Well, she’s a well-behaved little sheep, isn’t she?”
I noted the tick in James’s jaw, but again he ignored her, instead turning to face me directly. “How have you been, Bry? I thought I would have heard from you by now.”
My mouth dropped open. What? He’d expected me to call him and come groveling back? I replied in a controlled voice, “I’m fine. Happy.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. I know I hurt you, and I’m truly sorry for that.” He paused as if searching for the right words. “But I think it would be beneficial to talk it all through. Discuss where we went wrong.”
Oh. My. God. My mouth dropped open.
“James,” Chloe drawled, “you are the biggest idiot ever to walk this planet. Are you seriously asking your ex, who is the most amazing woman I know, to take you back after you cheated on her by fucking your secretary?”
She didn’t wait for him to answer. Rising from her seat, she placed both hands on the table and leaned toward him. “Don’t you get it? She doesn’t want you back—EVER! Do us all a favor and piss off!”
Chloe’s raised voice drew attention from adjacent diners. She didn’t spare them a glance, her eyes locked in battle with James. His hands clenched into fists, and he bit out softly, “Stay out of this, Chloe. This isn’t about you.”
His choice of words was odd. As if he were referring to something unsaid.
I flicked my gaze between them. It was like I’d been smacked upside the head. It was obvious now that I was looking for it. The tension between them was off the charts.
“Were you two ever going to tell me about what happened between you?” I demanded, breaking the tense silence.
Chloe cut her eyes to mine. Her face was pinched, the evidence written all over it.
My heart pounded incessantly in my chest. Was this really happening? Had my best friend also betrayed me?
As I stared at her, I scrolled my memory for any evidence of betrayal. But I couldn’t pinpoint any one moment. As far as I could remember, their relationship had always been strained, right from the first moment I introduced them to each other. But more recently, a week before I broke up with James, I recalled it had been worse, aggressive even. Sitting here, watching the two of them, I realized it had been something more. I couldn’t ignore what intuition was telling me.
“Did something happen before we broke up?” I demanded evenly.
James glanced around the room, noting the interest in our table. “Let’s not dredge that all up, Brydie. Besides, it’s in the past,” he said smoothly, reaching out and grabbing my hand. “And you’re my future.”
I froze, stunned. What the hell was going on? He believed that we could move forward as if nothing had happened? As if he hadn’t cheated on me with the woman who sat waiting for him at his table? I didn’t understand! I hadn’t made contact with him in the last two months—how did he get hope from that?
He was unbelievable. All I wanted to do now was leave—to get as far away as possible. I tugged at my hand, trying to pull it out of his, but he squeezed it tightly.
I gritted my teeth. “Let me go, James.”
Almost absently, he glanced down at our hands, as if surprised that he had a hold of me. He gave a frown, but instead of releasing me, he tugged me closer, leaning down to murmur, “I mean it, Bry. I want us to get past this. Call me—anytime you want to. I hope we can work things out.”
Speechless, I watched him walk back to his lunch date.
I turned to Chloe. “What just happened?”
She was shaking her head from side to side. “I have no idea, but if I find out that you’ve gone crawling back to that miserable worm while I’m away, I’m going to kick your ass, and we’ll never be friends again.”
“There’s no chance of that ever happening,” I said firmly, reaching for my water. My throat was parched after that confrontation, and I knew there was more to come. I put the glass back down and lanced her directly with my gaze. “Tell me.”
I didn’t need to elaborate; she knew what I was referring to. There was a small silence before she rushed out, “I was going to tell you—I had it all prepared, but then you broke up. It seemed pointless to bring it up then; it was only going to add to what you were going through.” She was absently ripping her napkin into small pieces. Taking a breath, she finished quietly, “I realize now I should have told you as soon as it happened. I’m sorry.”
My imagination was playing out scenes that I’d rather know were true or not. “Tell me what, Chloe? What happened?”
Chloe bit her lip then pushed her half-eaten salad to the side. Eyes downcast, she began slowly, “A week before you broke up, do you remember how we met up at The Bank in town? Well, that night, James followed me into the ladies’ bathroom.”
My stomach twisted viciously at her admission. “And?”
She looked up and caught my gaze, the tension visible on her face. “James said that he didn’t know what he was doing with you. That I was more his type. He tried to kiss me,” she admitted softly. “I resisted and told him to leave.”
Her nose scrunched up. “I can’t explain it, Bry. It was the oddest moment, as though James was a different person, someone with a split personality. It took him a while to understand I didn’t want what he was offering, and he eventually left. Then, when I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later to tell you what had occurred, I found you laughing together. As if nothing had happened. He was your fiancé for Christ’s sake—not some boyfriend, and you both looked so happy. It felt wrong to voice what had happened at that moment. So, I decided to tell you during the week, but then I got sick, and the next I heard, you’d broken up.” She paused, her napkin in shreds. “That’s all there was to it, I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you, Brydie.”
I released the breath I’d held, disappointment searing through me. “How could you keep this from me, Chloe? You know how much I hate secrets!” I speared her with my gaze. “We promised to have no secrets between each other—that was our deal.”
Nora had hurt me so badly that I never wanted to be blindsided again.
Chloe took hold of my hand. “I know. I’m sorry, Bry. Really, I am. I realize it was the wrong thing to do, and I know I’ve upset you. And I promise I’ll never do it again. No secrets—even if they’ll hurt you, I promise!”
I could see the tension on her face, the strain around her eyes. It was clear she’d carried this on her conscience for the past few months. I couldn’t leave her hurting, not before she flew away. Besides, I knew that my relationship with James had nothing to do with her—there had been something wrong all along. So, I admitted, “I honestly don’t know what happened between us. James seemed like the ideal man for me when we first met.” I was conveying thoughts I’d had a thousand times since we’d broken up. “We had so much in common—or so I’d thought. The cracks didn’t start appearing until after we got together.”