Page 32 of Now That We Don't Talk

Hey Vivian. Cash here. Sorry for the delay, I’ve been so slammed with work—apparently, it’s issue week and no one warned me. Hope to see you soon. Interested in meeting for lunch or dinner?

I let out a relieved sigh. It’s never a great feeling to think someone has ghosted you after just one meeting. I wait a few minutes before I start typing my response to his message.

Hi! Issue week is always the worst. Lunch or dinner is great. Looking forward to getting together.

Katie will be over the moon when I tell her Cash texted and asked me out again. There’s just one problem—I should be just as excited as she will be. Maybe it’s a case of out of sight, out of mind. But I’m sure once we go out again, all the feels will take over.

“Can you believe this day is here?” Katie asks, adding a few curls to her hair.

“The day your brother gets engaged? Honestly, no.”

She nods. “I know. Poor Kyle is freaking out. I’ve never seen him such a mess. It doesn’t help that my mom keeps asking him what’s going on. Laura Thomason missed her true calling as a detective.

I laugh. “At least everything went well with Addi’s parents.”

She lets out a sigh of relief. “Yes. Kyle said it was good, except they both started crying and couldn’t get any words out. He just sat there not knowing what to say or do. At first, he wasn’t sure if they were happy or not.”

“Do you think Addi suspects anything is going on?”

“I’m not sure. She might suspect he’s up to something, but not tonight. She was very excited when I invited her to dinner for a girls’ night.”

I sit on Katie’s bed and pull my legs under me.

“Well, hopefully she’s not too disappointed when she finds out she’s not spending the evening with us.”

She laughs. “We’ll give her a rain check. But I’m sure the two-carat oval diamond she’s about to get will make her forget about having sushi with us.”

“Good point.”

“Anyway, tell me about Cash?”

I shrug. “There’s not much to tell. We’ve texted a few times and talked about getting together, but no set plans. He says the sky is falling at work.”

She nods. “That’s true. Dallin has been really stressed out—they are having major drama at the firm. I’m sorry, Vivi. I know he’s interested.”

I shrug. “I’m not worried about it.”

Of course I don’t tell her why I’m not worried, or that I can’t stop thinking about Mac. Okay, so this isn’t completely true—I can stop thinking about him a little—just not as much as I wish I could.

“What’s up with you?” Katie asks giving me a curious look.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

She furrows her brow. “Okay—but you’d tell me if there was.”

I nod. “Yes. Of course.”

A few minutes later we’re on our way to pick up Addi. As far as she knows, we’ve planned a night of sushi and a show at the theater. Instead we’ll bring her to the park where she and Kyle went on their first official date. They spent several hours sitting on a bench talking. They now call ittheirbench so that’s the place Kyle is popping the question. He’s set up dozens of roses of every color, champagne, and a red carpet. It all sounds sweet and romantic.

Katie texts Addi when we arrive at her place. A few seconds later she appears, and she looks adorable as ever in her pink mini dress and silver platform heels.

“You look so pretty,” Katie says when Addi gets in the back seat, clearing her throat. She looks like she might burst into tears at any second, so I squeeze her arm. We’ve come too far for her to ruin the surprise now.

“Aww…thanks,” she says. “So do you. I’ve been looking forward to tonight all week. I’m dying to see this show.”

Katie nods, attempting to hold back the tears. “Let’s go.”

“How are you, Vivi?” Addi asks.

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