Page 42 of Just a Heartbeat Away

“Yeah. Look, babe, I really have to jet. You wanna talk more later?”

“Sure, there was just one thing I wanted to say. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry we fought yesterday.”

“Apology accepted,” he replied without any hesitation whatsoever.

Via paused. “That wasn’t exactly what I meant.”

“Right. Look, let’s talk about it tonight, okay? Love you.”

“Love you,” she answered faintly as the call clicked off.

She heard Fin pad, barefoot, into the kitchen. But she didn’t turn around. She didn’t want to see the expression that she knew was going to line her friend’s face. Via caught sight of herself in the shiny toaster. She only had to look at herself to see it in full force.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SEBASTIANDIDN’TANSWERthe door to his little brick two-story house. The most beautiful woman that Via had ever seen answered the door. Maybe thirty-five years old with a symmetrically perfect face and rivers of long blond hair, she grinned at Via and Fin and waved them inside.

“Hi, I’m Mary, Seb’s friend. He’s with Matty right now.” The woman stepped aside in the small foyer, her rust-colored sweater dress and high-heeled boots looking so cool that Via almost winced. “And this is Tyler.”

Mary pointed through the doorway into the homey little living room toward a man who was setting aside his phone and rising from a plush armchair. He had an easy smile on his face that completely froze in place as he looked up and saw Via and Fin.

All three women waited for Tyler to say something. Anything. But he didn’t. He just continued to stare straight at Fin.

“Uh...” Mary started.

“Whoa,” Sebastian said, as he stepped into the living room from the kitchen entryway, drying his hands on a paper towel. “Weird vibe in here.”

He tossed the paper towel back into the kitchen, and Via saw that it banked perfectly into his trashcan.

“Hi, Via, Fin. Welcome.” He stepped over and in turn, took each woman by an elbow, leaned down to kiss her cheek. Via felt the rough scrape of his stubble, the brief press of his mouth, and she froze as stiff as that Tyler guy. She couldn’t remember if any man had ever casually kissed her cheek like that before. It was strangely old-world. And charming.

“This is Tyler Leshuski and Mary Trace, two of my closest friends. Did everybody get introduced?”

“Yes. Yeah. Uh, sort of.” Tyler came unfrozen and stepped toward the women, his hand held out. He was cute, if a little preppy, in his khaki pants and polo shirt. His blond hair sat high up off his tan forehead and his eyes were so blue they could give you a toothache. He also had the strangest, slightly stunned expression on his face. He took Via’s hand first. “You must be Via DeRosa? I’ve heard so much about you from Matty.”

She nodded. “Nice to meet you. And you, too, Mary.”

Via turned back just in time to see Tyler holding his hand out toward Fin, almost tentatively, almost like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to touch her or not. “And you are...”

“Serafine St. Romain,” Fin answered, one eyebrow halfway up her forehead in an expression that only someone who’d known her as long as Via had would interpret as delight. She’d flustered Tyler somehow. And it was tickling her. She eyed his hand for a second longer than necessary before she pressed her elegant, ringed fingers into his.

Tyler jolted, and looked for a second like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to yank her forward or push her away.

“Let me help with your bags,” Mary said, breaking the tension and giving the fairly awkward group a task.

Breakfast. Time to set up breakfast. Thank God.

“HOW’SMATTY?” VIAASKEDas she stood hip-to-hip with Seb, unloading groceries onto his kitchen counter.

“He’s all right, slept through the night. I can tell the antibiotics are already doing their thing. Weirdly, he’s not complaining about his throat being sore. It’s the aches and chills and stuff that are bothering him. Wow. You brought a lot of food.”

Via grinned up at him and Seb ignored the zinging flare up his elbow when her shoulder brushed him there. “I’m Italian. We bring food. Lots of food.”

He laughed. “It’s a good philosophy. It’ll make you friends.”

Via shrugged, her smile dimming just a little, and Seb wondered if she had many friends. People at school really liked her, so he didn’t think it was a matter of being prickly. But she definitely had a lonely kind of vibe coming off her.

They filled their plates with bagels and spreads, fruit salad and pastries galore. They sat at Seb’s dining room table, and he cracked the windows, letting the crisp fall breeze filter over them as he poured everyone a cup of coffee.

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