Verity snickers, and I try not to join in with her because poor Weston is trying his best to be polite in a house full of strangers and I can’t blame him for a simple mistake. “Weston, this is Samuel. My mom’s husband,” I tell him, gently placing my hand on his bicep. “Notmy dad.”
“Oh. I’m sorry,” Weston apologizes, and his cheeks flare red.
“All good,” Samuel says. He bypasses Weston to give me a comforting squeeze.
I realize it’s difficult for anyone to know what to say about Luca. Any reassurances aren’t helpful. It’s the kind of pain you just have to suck up and deal will. Eventually, it’ll just become part of me. And, for now, the hugs are nice.
“Come through, guys, come through!” Mom says excitedly, steering us all into the kitchen. The table is only set for four, and as she pulls out another placemat from a drawer, I realize in hindsight I should have probably forewarned her that I was bringing Weston. But Mom always cooks enough to feed everyone seconds, so there’s plenty of food to go around. “Take a seat!”
“Here,” I tell Weston, pointing him to the spare seat next to mine. I may have moved out four years ago, but I still have my reserved seat at the table. Weston sits down next to me and arches a brow when he spots me pulling out my camera. “I’m filming today, by the way,” I announce to the table.
And, usually, this isn’t a big deal. My mom and Verity are used to appearing in my videos every now and again. Samuel is a bit shyer, so tends to dip out of the frame. It’s perfectly normal for me to have a camera in my hand at all times. Today, however, I am met with perplexed looks. They’re wondering how on earth I can film content without Luca when our entire brand is aboutusas a couple.
“That video you uploaded yesterday is so obviously fake,” Verity says, clicking her tongue in disapproval. “And yet you’re still filming new stuff? Without Luca? Your viewers aren’t stupid, Gracie. They’re going to put two and two together.”
I flippantly wave her away and hold up my camera, the lens facing me. She’s right, of course, but I plough on with forced naïveté regardless. “It’s been a while since you guys last saw Verity, but here she is!” I tell the lens. I lean toward Verity, positioning her in the frame with me. She waves, then pulls away again because it’s painfully clear she doesn’t want to partake in my false narrative. “Mom’s made burritos and Lucalovesmy mom’s cooking, but I’ll just have to eat double on his behalf. Seriously guysss, justlookat this.” I flip the camera around to show off Mom’s homemade guacamole as she sets the dish down on the table.
A little puff of laughter escapes from Weston. I instantly quit recording and glower at him. His mouth is pressed tightly together, fighting back his amusement.
“Weston!Now I have to do that again!”
Verity narrows her eyes in scrutiny, like she hasn’t quite figured Weston out yet. She’s not buying this whole friends thing, but it’s the truth. Wearefriends. “You’ve never seen her vlog before, have you?”
“First time,” Weston admits, then pouts his lips at me and mouths, “Sorry.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Samuel says, and he helps Mom carry over the remaining food. Warm tortillas, perfectly cooked minced beef, rice and beans, salsa, cheese, veggies .?.?. My mouth waters as I film a clip of all of the food.
Mom passes out cans of soda around the table and sits down to join us all.
“So, you haven’t been friends for that long,” Verity presses, her chin resting in her palm. I fix her with a death stare as I sprinkle jalapeños into the burrito I’m assembling. “How do you know each other?”
“Yes, Gracie,” Mom says with a suggestive nod toward Weston. “Howdoyou know each other?”
“My friends took me out for my birthday, and Weston got into a fist fight inside our booth and ruined the entire night. We all got kicked out,” I say truthfully. I look at him and smirk. “Deny that. I dare you.”
Samuel laughs, whereas Mom looks thoroughly alarmed.
Weston scratches at his temple with a sheepish grin. “Well, thatistrue .?.?.” he says. “But I’m a decent guy, I swear. That was a one-off. I’m normally a great follower of the rules .?.?. I’m a cop. I answered a noise complaint made against Gracie and her friends, actually.” He flashes me a teasing wink. Payback.
“Gracie!” Mom exclaims.
“Too much wine,” I murmur, then elbow Weston in the ribs.
He laughs and says, “We let them off with a warning.”
As we all put together our burritos and tuck in, Samuel picks Weston’s brains about life working the beat, Mom asks me careful, safe questions that skirt around the subject of Luca, and Verity relentlessly fires me skeptical glances. Having Weston sit with us for dinner isn’t as awkward as it could have been. He fits right in.
As always, Verity and I take care of the clean-up afterward. I wash the dishes, she dries them. She purses her lips at me as I rinse off a plate.
“What?”
She glances back at the dining table where Mom and Samuel chat with Weston, then huddles in closer to me. Her expression is strangely solemn as she quietly asks, “Did Luca end things because you met someone else? You can tell me the truth, Gracie.”
I recoil from her in shock. How can she make such an accusation? Quite frankly, I’m hurt Verity can evenconsiderthe idea of me stepping out on Luca. I loved him with every fiber of my being. I am absolutely broken without him. “Of course not, Ver. How can you even ask me that?”
Verity’s gaze moves slowly to Weston, and she says, “You look at him the way you always looked at Luca. It’s something in your eyes. Like, they just looksoft. I don’t know. I thought maybe .?.?.”
“You thought wrong,” I cut in, angrily scrubbing a bowl. I slam it down on the drying rack and turn back to her. “You really think if Luca had left me because I’d met someone else that I’d then bring that manhomewith me to parade in front of Mom? We’re friends. His girlfriend left him too, so we’re helping each other through a tough time. That’sit.”