Page 25 of (Un)Expected

“You needto explain this to me again.”

Calla stared at me from the opposite barstool, her eyes narrowed in confusion. Her long, red waves flowed over her shoulder, having lost her hair tie after our first couple of drinks. For most of our evening, she’d been her usual self, laughing and singing along to whatever was playing on the jukebox.

That was one of the reasons I picked Paddy’s Wake for our girl’s night out. It was originally an Irish pub, but the owners moved to Florida to escape the cold long before I moved here. Even though the new management kept the name, the decor had drastically changedover the years. Most of the time, it was crawling with tourists, the locals preferring the quieter bars away from Main Street, but the owners banked on the summertime traffic and made every effort to live up to the beach bar vibe. The drinks were cheap and gimmicky, and the music was constantly blasting old tunes everyone knew by heart. The walls were lined with patrons and partiers throughout the years. The glow of the neon beer signs was the only light in the central area. It was the kind of bar that didn’t care if you came in sweatpants or your prom dress, just as long as you paid your tab at the end of the night and kept fighting to a minimum.

In short, the perfect place to forget all your troubles from the outside world.

Tonight, Calla and I were doing just that—her to forget what a witch her mother could be, and me to ignore the offer looming over my head. It was working…until I let it slip that I was talking to Adam about going out again.

That was the moment Calla switched from carefree to curious, the drunken giggles disappearing immediately. It was a shame she had no desire to become a lawyer like the rest of her family. The girl had the iron will of a shark when she sensed something was up.

Case in point: Calla stared at me as she stirred the swivel stick in her drink. After spearing the cherry at the bottom, she pointed it at me. “So, based on what you said about your first date, you have zero interest in him romantically. How did you phrase it?” She paused, tapping her pointer finger against her lower lip. “Oh, yes. It wascriminallybad. So why in the hell do you want to go out with him again?”

Fort Knox, I was not. Considering that I hadn’t signed the NDA yet, I figured it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to confide a little in my best friend. Granted, I skipped the whole fake part of our dating scheme.

I shrugged my shoulders, keeping my eyes trained on my drink. “He asked for another chance. I figured there was no harm in going out again.”

Calla shook her head. “I don’t buy it. You’re the girl who makesupanyexcuse to get out of a social event. Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”

I chewed on my lower lip, unable to meet her knowing stare. God, lying to her was theworst. How the fuck was I supposed to keep this up formonths? Another reason on the long list of reasons why I should say no to the arrangement. But instead of admitting that to Calla, I doubled down on the lie. “Well, maybe you’ve finally rubbed off on me.”

“About damn time,” she smiled, holding her empty glass in the air as the bartender swung by our table. “Okay, give me the pro-con list.”

“I didn’t make one.”

“If you’re going to keep trying to lie to me, we’re switching over to shots.”

I glanced behind the bar, seeing Aaron standing behind me. The burly man was a giant teddy bear, but I swore, he could mess up a tequila shot. Last time we ordered lemon drops, we got a literal cup of vodka and lemon slices chucked at us.

Wincing, I turned back to Calla. “I swear, this time, I didn’t make one.” Mostly because I wasn’t sure if the list would count as violating an NDA. “I’m trying not to overthink things and do what feels right.”

“And that’s being with Adam?”

It wasn’t that simple. How could I explain to her that being with Adam wasn’t the right move for me, but that helping him was? There was a connection between us, but it was almost like kindred spirits. We both knew how it felt to be alone in a room full of people, wishing someone would see the person hiding underneath. While our situations were very different, I couldn’t help but wonder what my life would be like now if someone had helped when I truly needed it.

Feeling more resolute in my choice, I nodded. “Yeah, I think it does.”

Calla smiled brightly back at me. “Then I wholeheartedly agree with this choice. It’s about damn time you did something for the hell of it!”

I groaned, dropping my head down to my hands. “If you think this is the right choice, maybe I should reconsider.”

“Nope,” she smirked. “You said it. Now you have to follow through.”

Fuck my life.

Shaking my head as she tried to flag down Aaron, I decided the best evasive maneuver was to steer the conversation to another topic.

“What about you, Cal?” She frowned at me. “Are you going to tell me what the blow-up with your mom was about?”

She groaned, sinking more into her chair. “You know, the usual stuff. She thinks I’m throwing my life away because I refuse to follow her 'advice.'” She rolled her eyes. “It’s like she is incapable of understanding why I don’t want to be her.”

My hands clenched into tight fists under the table. Diane’s favorite activity, besides berating her employees, was pointing out her youngest daughter’s flaws. Forget the fact that Calla graduated at the top of her undergraduate class; in Diane’s eyes, because she didn’t go directly to law school and snag a rich husband, her daughter was a failure. “Fuck that,” I muttered. “Have you shown her your ideas yet?”

For the past year, Calla had been shadowing the events department at The Isadora, helping plan most of their high-end banquets and weddings. While she didn’t like to take credit, everyone at work knew the best ideas were hers. Lately, she’d been toying with the idea of making it a full-time job, hoping to upgrade our dated ballroom and modernize the space.

Calla chewed on her lower lip. “Nope. I want to have the details worked out before I present the idea to my parents. It’s one thing to say that I want to help out around the resort, but actually doing it is a completely different story. There are so many variables, especially if I want to start my own event planning company. I don’t even know where to start. I’ve got Devyn looking into the legalities, but otherwise, I’m still trying to get my bearings.”

“And Devyn’s been supportive?”

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