Page 40 of When I Had You

She shoves another fry in her mouth and shakes her head. “This is going to get out of hand fast if you’re not careful.”

“I was careful.” I roll my eyes. “Before the other night with Cash.” Swirling a fry between us, I then jab the air. “But it got out of hand when he cheated on me.”

“Now he thinks you cheated on him as well, and you didn’t.”

“I don’t care what he thinks. We’re broken up.” I take a gulp of beer, then set the glass down. Dragging my finger up the pint glass, I collect the condensation on the tip. I look around to see if any eyes are on me. There always are, but none that feel intrusive. The privacy I’m given here is one of the reasons I like this place so much. And the burgers and fries can’t be beat. “I’m over Corbin Darian and catering to his whims, him stealing my mascara to make his eyes pop for the fans, and his dumb excuses.”

“What excuses has he given?”

“None. That’s the other problem I have.” Poking myself in the chest, I reply, “I’m not even warranted a pleading for forgiveness conversation, worth lying to my face to keep me in that relationship. I don’t matter enough for him to even call me over the weekend. So I can’t give him more than he’s given me.”

Her gaze stretches across the room and she appears deep in thought as she chews her food. When she’s done, she looks back at me. “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through that on your own. I wish you would have told me.”

“I did when I knew.”

“I wish you would have told me what was going on all along. As your friend, we could have plotted his murder. Now we’re stuck with him until the end of the movie.” She cracks a smile, prompting my own. “Also, tell me about the mascara. I’m always searching for a great one.”

Laughing out loud, I cover my mouth, so the restaurant isn’t exposed to me eating. “I can hook you up,” I say behind my hand. When I can finally speak freely again, I lean forward, and whisper, “I talked to Cash yesterday.”

She does a double take, and her mouth drops open. “What the hell? Why am I only finding out about this now?” Her lips twist to the side, and she raises her brow. I’ve seen Poppy genuinely angry twice, and this isn’t one of them.

I giggle but still shrug, playing it off like it’s no big deal that I talked to the man I claim I can’t stand. I can stand him . . . too much. That’s also becoming a problem.

Two fingers are snapped in front of my face. “Marina?” My gaze darts to hers and she says, “You lied yesterday. You really do like him.”

My spine straightens in offense. “No, I don’t.”

There’s that brow again. “You sure about that?”

I dip a fry in ketchup and eat half, keeping my eyes on the condiment on my plate. “He’s positively awful.” I smile to myself while forcing my shoulders to shudder. “He broke my phone.” I glance up with all the intensity I can muster for effect. With her eyes set on mine, though, she’s not just staring at me. Poppy can see right through me.

I continue because the guilty always ramble. “He’s intolerable. Sure, he helped me out of that club and kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before, but that doesn’t mean he’s Mr. Wonderful.” Cue eye roll for added drama.

Resting her arms on the table, she whispers, “Again, are you sure about that?” She taps her chin. “What I recall from prior mentions of Mr. Ryatt, ‘absurdly attractive’ had a small part in the conversation.”

“Very small, Pops. He’s almost impossible to look at,” I lie between my teeth. Looking away from her again, I can’t stop myself from grinning as I think about him now.

“You do realize you’re an actress, right? Like this is the profession you’ve chosen, yet look at you. You’re smiling like a sixteen-year-old when the hot quarterback asks you out. And since I was a front-row witness to that event, I recognize it.” Lowering her voice, she says, “Since we both remember how horrible that turned out, I have one warning for you.”

Tilting my head, I ask, “Which is?”

“If he’ll break your phone, you better be careful with your heart.”

I nod because she’s not wrong. “Wise words.”

“If it makes a difference, though . . .” She twirls her finger between us. “It sure is good to see you happy. I feel like it’s been a while.”

“Too long. Ironic since I was supposed to be happy with Corbin.”

“You weren’t happy with him. You were . . .” The bill is dropped off. Poppy slaps her credit card down too fast for me to cover it. “It’s on me. I appreciate you letting me stay with you.”

“Thank you.”

And then it’s swiped away by the server almost as quickly. As if there was never an interruption, Poppy continues, “You were waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“I’m not sure.” She sounds as perplexed as I am. “I just know you’re not where you’re supposed to be.”

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