Page 18 of Undeniable

I clicked on the page, and it immediately went back to the loading screen. I groaned loudly and leaned back in my desk chair, peering around my office.

It was a decent size, with a wall of windows behind me looking out onto the city below. My desk was oak, my chair was leather, and there was a fully stocked bar cart in the corner. Shelley, who’d been my assistant for years, had helped me decorate it in deep blues and burgundy. And back before she disappeared, my friend Blakely also had an opinion on the space. Every time I looked around the room, I was reminded of her.

She said it needed to feel like home if I was going to spend so much time there. And even years later, I appreciated the thought. It was more comfortable because of their input.

The screen was still loading and after checking my Wi-Fi connection, I picked up my phone, preparing to mindlessly scroll through social media. Instead, I checked the several missed texts from our “guys group text.” We didn’t use it too often, instead texting in the main group text that included all of us, but sometimes the girls—Hazel and Amanda—didn’t care to know what we were talking about.

Most of it was Luke and Devon discussing preseason football and the best lawn mowers to buy, while Josh and Reed popped in every so often with their own opinions. Then Luke was trying to convince Josh and Reed to put up an even larger TV in Murphy’s so they could watch the games.

Those conversations continued for a while until I saw the last text from only ten minutes earlier.

Josh: James, your girl is here.

I straightened and read the text again. I knew they were all over at Amanda, Josh, and Reed’s apartment for Sunday dinner, so why the hell was Ivy there? He was talking about her, of course, unless the woman I’d been casually seeing a few weeks ago suddenly showed up at their place, which seemed unlikely. Especially since she’d never met them.

I immediately responded, asking for an explanation.

Reed: Amanda invited her.

Me: Why?

Luke: Because you’re not going to be here. At least that’s what Hazel told me.

My fingers hovered over the screen for far too long. I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t know how I felt about the fact that my friends had welcomed, with open arms, a woman who despised me. Who thought I was less than the gum on the bottom of her shoe. Someone who wanted nothing to do with me.

And they knew that, too. I hadn’t had to tell them explicitly that she hated me. She made that fact abundantly clear in the way she reacted to my presence.

Now, she was encroaching on my friends.

Me: They’re trying to make friends?

Reed: Kind of seems like it. Personally, I think she’s pretty cool, too.

Josh: Yeah, I’m not sure I see why you both hate each other so much. Unless there’s something you’re not telling us…

Yes, Ivy was cool. I didn’t need the reminder. I ground my teeth together rather than throwing my phone across the room like I wanted to. I looked at the time and saw it was only seven.

Me: Have y’all eaten yet?

Luke: Nope.

Devon: Do. Not. Show. Up.

Devon always knew what I was going to do, sometimes even before I did. But I wasn’t going to heed his advice. I was already saving my work in the system and packing up my laptop and other notes. I wasn’t missing dinner.

My fist was suspended in midair as I stood outside of their apartment. I could hear the laughter and raised voices on the other side of the door, and my confidence wavered.

But instead of second-guessing myself, I knocked twice. Hard.

“No, Josh put it on the other burner.” I heard Amanda say a second before the door swung open.

“What the…” she mumbled. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck and her black-framed glasses were sitting on her nose. Her eyes were wide behind the lenses, and I offered her a smile.

“Surprise,” I said, and thankfully, as I stepped forward, she moved to the side to let me in. On the walk to their apartment, I considered that maybe she’d slam the door in my face or refuse to let me in.

Luke was closest to the door and the first to see me as I stepped into the air-conditioned space. It was a welcome reprieve from the stifling August heat and humidity.

“Hey, man,” he said casually. “Thought you had to work?”

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