Page 9 of Never the Best

“I think Savannah’s gonna do what Savannah always does.” I offered a neutral shrug. “People will complain about it for a while, and then they’ll show up to the grand opening like nothing happened.”

Gary laughed, but Dixie May gave me a look like I’d missed the point entirely. Josie, to her credit, didn’t push, though I could tell she was annoyed. It wasn’t the first time I’d failed one of her subtle“show the world we’re together because we think alike”prompts, and it wouldn’t be the last.

The waiter returned, pen poised to take our orders, and Josie went first, choosing the salmon with a side of asparagus. I ordered the grouper, as I'd decided, Sage picked the scallops, and Gary went for the filet mignon. Dixie May spent an unbearable amount of time asking detailed questions about the preparation of the duck before finally settling on it, her voice dripping with the kind of condescension reserved for someone who’d never had to work a day in their life. She could give Meg Ryan inWhen Harry Met Sallya run for her money when it came to ordering off the menu.

As the waiter walked away, the conversation circledback to someone new, and I zoned out, letting everyone’s voices blur into the background. My eyes drifted to the window, where the faint glow of the streetlights bathed the sidewalk in a soft, golden hue.

A group of young professionals in suits and pencil skirts laughed as they crossed the street, heading toward one of the nearby bars.

My heart began to beat fast when I saw one of them was Pearl, along with Luna Steele and Aurora Rhodes, from Savannah Lace. They were laughing, and I envied how happy she looked.

“Rhett,” Josie said again, her voice sharp enough to pull me back. “Are you even listening?”

“Of course,” I lied, sitting up straighter and forcing a smile.

"Oh my God," Dixie May gasped, "speak of the devil, Aurora Rhodes just walked in, darlin'."

"With Pearl Beaumont and Luna Steele?" Josie curled her nose. "I can't stand either of them. Luna is just so…you know,masculine. Look at how she dresses like a biker bimbo."

"Pearl's looking good, though." Gary grinned at me. "You remember that time when you won the bet that?—"

"Gary, leave it be," I cut him off. I didn't need the conversation to turn to Pearl.

"Oh God, yes, you were the one who took her virginity and—" Dixie May's eyes were bright with excitement, her malicious intention evident.

"Can we not talk aboutthat?" Josie interrupted her friend. Her problem wasn't the bet, it was that I had slept with someone before her. Christ but my fiancée was a nightmare.

CHAPTER 4

Pearl

When Aurora and Luna suggested drinks after work, I’d agreed enthusiastically. Still, the minute I stepped into The Olde Pink House, the air immediately wrapped around me like a suffocating, perfumed cloud of history and wealth, probably because I saw Rhett at a tablewithJosie and his despicable friends from high school. Was he still hanging out with them? He hadn’t grown up one bit, had he?

My pulse quickened, the sound of it roaring in my ears. It wasn’t just seeing Rhett—it was seeing all of them, that same kind of group dynamic that had surrounded me by the pool fifteen years ago. Sage's polished exterior, Gray's biting comments, the casual cruelty disguised as humor. All of it came rushing back, as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

I could still hear their voices mocking me and could still see Rhett’s smirk as he told me he didn't do seconds.

I hadn't been in Savannah for more than a week here andthere in the past fifteen years, and I’d mostly avoided public places. Now, I lived here again, worked here, I couldn’t possibly hide. What did it say about the progress I'd made emotionally, that one whiff of the past, and my stomach was coiled into knots?

An emergency session with my therapist was in my very near future, for sure. I knew when I needed help, and after almost dying from not getting it before, I wasn't going to take that chance again. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live. I wanted to thrive. I couldn't do that if I kept getting triggered.

Once again, I wondered if I'd made a mistake moving to Savannah, thinking that I could handle it.

The hostess led us toward the bar, a polished mahogany centerpiece flanked by high-backed stools. This arrangement worked fine for us; we didn’t want a table, not that we’d get one. As usual, the restaurant was packed, a blur of elegant couples and well-dressed groups laughing over cocktails—Savannah’s finest.

“Pearl?” Aurora’s voice snapped me back to the present. “All okay?”

I forced a smile, nodding as I slid onto one of the stools. “Yeah, just looking around. Is that the Governor?” I smoothly changed the topic. I wanted, very badly, to tuck my tail between my legs and run the hell out of there. I'd been hungry a minute ago, now, my appetite had vanished.

"Sure is." Luna arched an eyebrow. "Let's hope he doesn't see us; I'm in no mood to hear him talk about how I need to convince Lev to run foroffice."

Lev was Luna's older brother by eleven months, so they were Irish twins. Lev managed the Steele lumber business. I had met him once, and it was evident that the siblings were close.

"Doesn't he know Lev at all?" Aurora shook her head. "Speaking of Lev, he's donating to Betsy's charity, so it looks like we can open another women's shelter."

The indomitable Betsy Rhodes was Aurora's mother-in-law and a force of nature, which was why she was friends with women like Nina Davenport and Aunt Hattie.

"Lev will say it's a nice tax deduction.” Luna grinned.

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