“Does it bother you?”
“No. I don’t know if that’s good or not.”
“Dan’s a brother to me. Or a close guy friend. He’s like Liam.”
“Ha!” Elise yelled. “Liam? He better not be like Liam. You two…”
“What?”
“Nothing. I still don’t know how you two didn’t end up together.”
“It doesn’t matter. But… listen to this…”
I ran through the story of Miranda, Boston, the wedding, and what she wanted me to do with Liam.
“So wait a second,” Elise said. “You’re telling me you’re planning Miranda’s wedding…? You’re going to be Miranda and Liam is Liam. And you two are going to hang out?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you get yourself into this stuff?” Elise asked. “Honestly. You won’t give a guy like Jeff the time of day but you’ll do this for Miranda?”
“She’s my friend.”
“Friend is a loose term for her,” Elise said. “But, you know what? It’s your life. Do your thing.”
“It’s with Liam,” I said. “We’re old friends. It’ll be fun to hang out with him. We haven’t hung out in years.”
“Right,” Elise said. “Hanging out.”
She gave me a total Mom look.
“Stop it,” I said. “Don’t even think it.”
“What?”
“I’m not that kind of person,” I said. “He’s engaged to Miranda. We’re friends. It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“Okay,” Elise said. “I believe you. I just want you to be happy, Emily. I’m not saying get married and have kids. Just be happy.”
“I’m fucking fantastic,” I said.
“Aunt Emily!”
I looked to my left and Henley was in the doorway to the dining room.
“You’re like a ninja!” I yelled. “Put some damn tap shoes on her so I can hear her coming next time.”
Elise shook her head.
So did Henley.
“Bad, bad word,” Henley said.
I shrugged my shoulders.
What. The. Fuck. Ever. Right?
Henley took her bath and I tucked her into her bed.
We read five bedtime stories, discussed the lives of her favorite stuffed animals, and strategically talked about how Santa Claus flies around the world in one night.
Henley had a big imagination and more than that, she had smarts.
She was a dork like Dan but had the fire of Elise.
Which was scary to think about.
For all I knew, the girl was going to grow up and become President.
I’d vote for her.
I said my goodbyes to Elise and Dan.
Elise hugged me, rocking back and forth.
When I hugged Dan, I told him I hid the last donut in the back of the fridge for him as a peace offering for ratting him out earlier and calling him a dork.
Then I went back home.
To my lonely apartment.
It was too late to check on Miss Crabapple and Buzzy then head up to the roof.
I really didn’t like going up there alone either.
So I went to bed, thinking I’d get a head start on my day.
I fell asleep, but only for a little while.
I woke up to the sound of my phone receiving a text message.
It was really late.
Way after midnight kind of late.
It was from Liam.
Just like old times, Em! See you tomorrow!
I shook my head and didn’t bother responding.
I rolled over and my eyes stayed wide open.
I smiled.
I was looking forward to spending time with Liam too.
We were friends… that was all it ever was.
Chapter Fifteen
Liam
I woke up, stretched out across the otherwise empty bed and took a deep breath. Then I rolled to my right side, took the covers with me, and looked at my phone.
I had no recollection of how I went from the couch to the bed.
When I saw the text to Emily, I groaned.
It could have been a lot worse than what I had sent.
And I also could have sent nothing to her.
I could have just avoided the situation all together. Gently. Or let her get in touch with me. She was the one put on the spot in front of Miranda and I.
It still pissed me off that she did that.
The way she did it.
There wasn’t anything I could do about it.
Miranda was in Boston.
Emily was at her bakery.
And I was still in bed.
I managed to pull myself out of the bed and took a cool shower to try and wake my hungover ass up.
I wasn’t twenty-one anymore.
That much I knew for sure.
My body reminded me of that with an icepick to the back of my eyes feeling that refused to go away.
Even after the shower. Even after I got dressed. Even after I ate something.
Today was just going to be that kind of day.
I grabbed a pair of sunglasses and headed out the door with a little bit of time to spare.
Just to be safe, I texted Jacob and told him I was running late.
I wanted him, David, and Maria to work on the depositions on my desk.
I loved text messages when it came to work stuff.
I gave the command and Jacob replied with a thumb’s up emoji.
That was the extent of my work conversation for the morning.
I waited for my ride while scrolling through two dozen emails.
After getting into the car and the driver asking me where I was going, I blurted out Emily’s bakery.
Which hadn’t been my plan.
I shrugged my shoulders.
More coffee wasn’t going to make the hangover worse.
Plus, this was what Miranda wanted.
“Miranda,” I whispered. “Shit.”
I grabbed for my phone to send her a good morning text.
I stared at our text message thread and swallowed hard.
It wasn’t a good feeling to feel forced into texting your fiancée good morning…
I walked into the bakery and saw how busy it was.
I took my place in line and like everyone else, I went face down on my phone.
This was what society was like.
Everyone in their own world, worrying about their shit, full of loneliness and anxiety, yet they were surrounded by people.
Feeling dark there, Liam?
I put my phone away and shook my head.
I needed a pick-me-up.
And I needed it…
Emily walked from the back of the bakery and looked right at me.
She smiled and put her hands to her hips.
She wore a dirty apron with her hair pulled back in an I’m late and don’t care kind
