Page 85 of Tempt Me

“Okay,” Charlotte says. But I can tell she’s holding something back.

“What?” I say. “Spit it out, Char.”

Charlotte sighs and brushes a dark curl behind her ear. “It just seems like he’s been a really good friend to you. Are you sure you can’t still be friends?”

“No,” I say vehemently.

Charlotte holds up her hands in surrender as my phone buzzes.

“Sorry I brought it up,” she mutters.

I snatch my phone off the coffee table. It’s Luke. Of course.

Babe, where are you?

Home,I reply, punching each letter with force.

“I thought you were pissed at Caden for telling me he loves me,” I say.

“I am,” Charlotte says. “It was inappropriate. But it’s been said. And I feel you’re not really processing that.”

“What’s there to process?” I demand.

“Your own feelings,” Charlotte says.

“I have processed them. I’m marrying Luke. I lovehim.The end.” Something niggles in my chest, and I get up and head to the sink, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

“Because in three weeks you’re going to be married and then that’s it. It’s done. You can’t change it. Not without getting a bunch of lawyers involved. And because sometimes it feels like…”

Charlotte’s voice trails off and her mouth puckers.

“Like what?” I say. “Don’t hold back now, you’re on a roll.”

“It feels like you said yes to Luke really fast,” Charlotte says. “He’s always sweeping you off your feet, but then he has to work late or ducks out of things or makes you do all the wedding planning with his mom and he’s not even there.”

“He’s been coming to more wedding stuff.”

“And when did that start?”

I think back and realize it started after I got sick.

After Luke came over and found Caden in my apartment.

My face must betray this realization because Charlotte is nodding. “Exactly,” she says. “And now he texts you all the time needing to know your location like some creepy GPS.”

“It’s not creepy,” I insist, even as I know I’ve been feeling a bit confined by Luke’s constant check ins. He never used to be like that. The freedom we had to be ourselves, the sense of independence in our relationship, was one of the things I liked the most.

“I don’t understand,” I tell her. “Why are you suddenly on Team Caden?”

“I’m not,” Charlotte replies. “I’m on Team Isla. You’re always trying so hard to make everyone else happy. But if you aren’t happy yourself, then what’s the point?”

“Iamhappy,” I snap as someone knocks on the door.

I march over to open it and find Noah standing on my doorstep. “Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I say. “Come on in. What’s up?”

Noah enters my apartment and holds up a small piece of paper. “One booth permit for Magnolia Day assigned to a Ms. Isla Davenport. Wanted to deliver it personally.”

---