Page 7 of Accidental Fiancé

She clicked her tongue at me. “You were always so dramatic, Maggie.”

“I need a drink,” I said, starting for the bar.

But she draped her arm around my shoulders, stopping me. “You don’t need any more wrinkles. Stay here. You’ll thank me later. Anyway, I’ve already told you about my selfless volunteering. Emma is also giving back, in her own little way.”

Maybe talking to Emma would take some of the attention off of me. “What are you doing?”

“Teaching English. At RHS, actually.”

“Oh. Um, congratulations.”Great. Just what the school needs. Mean girl teachers.

“I love it. Seeing kids improving their critical thinking skills through literary analysis…” A dreamy look appeared in her eyes, and suddenly the ache in my chest doubled.

I remembered the way professional pride felt, and I missed it so badly that I could have bawled right then and there.

“It’s the best feeling,” she went on. “Shaping young minds, knowing I’m making my mark on the next generation of thinkers?—"

“I’d hardly say you’re shaping minds,” Chloe cut in, chuckling. “You’re a high school English teacher, Emma. Calm down. You’re not curing cancer.”

Emma gave a tight smile to Chloe, and I wondered whether she thought sitting at the popular kids’ table in high school was worth this. As much as I had envied her back in the day, I was grateful for my outcast status. I couldn’t imagine putting up with Chloe by choice as an adult.

Wait. Isn’t that exactly what I’m doing right now? Screw this.What would Nora do? Think. I was done being steamrolled by Chloe, and I hated seeing her do it to anyone else, even if we weren’t friends. “Emma, you look like you could use another glass of champagne.”

“I just got this one?—"

I snatched it from her hand and downed the thing in one shot, before handing it back. “Nope, you need another. Let’s go to the bar.”

She laughed. “Oh. Okay.”

Once I took the lead, Harmony and Chloe followed, Chloe whining about calories and wrinkles the whole time. How had she made it this far in life without someone teaching her to be better? I could never understand that. Maybe her parents tried, or maybe they were worse.

From the urge to demonstrate good manners for Chloe, I asked Harmony, “What are you doing these days?”

“I’m working in pharmaceuticals.”

Chloe laughed. “You’re an office manager, Harm.”

“And a part-time pharma rep,” she insisted. “It counts.”

We ordered drinks, and even Chloe got a white wine spritzer, much to my surprise. The four of us strolled back to where we’d been standing before—a table against the middle of the far wall. I asked Emma and Harmony, “So, are you two seeing any?—"

“Enough about them,” Chloe interrupted me. “Who wants to dance?”

I hated dancing. “Yeah, no, I think I’m gonna go?—"

“You can’t go yet,” Emma cut me off. “You just got here.”

“Sunk-cost fallacy,” I countered. “Leaving a situation is always valid, no matter how much time you’ve spent in it.”

“Come on, stay. They haven’t even done trivia yet and I know you’ll be great at it. Did you check out the memory wall?” She pointed to a display I hadn’t even noticed.

“No, Chloe pretty much wrangled me the minute I arrived.”

“Speaking of wrangled,” Chloe cackled. “Do you remember when we left a cowbell in your locker?”

Harmony joined her. “Oh my God, I forgot all about that! It was right after the farm field trip, right?”

I gritted my teeth, leaving my tone flat and unamused. “You mean the field trip when Robbie Pachinko said they should have strapped me to one of the milking machines because, according to him, with boobs like mine, I must have plenty of milk? Yeah. I remember. So funny.”

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