Page 7 of Friend Me

3

A single linefrom my best friend ruined my morning.

I’d just finished my Wednesday-morning code review—Jackson liked having me run through it first since I caught most of the errors he and his big-picture view missed—when a text popped up on my phone. Seeing Alicia’s name, I figured she might want to go to lunch or had a question about Jackson’s schedule. Harmless stuff.

Nope.

Alicia: I must’ve lost your reply card. Are you bringing anyone to the wedding?

It should’ve been easy to respond. Ten days before the wedding, I should’ve already handed my card to Alicia. I should’ve known for sure who—if anyone—I was taking.

I’d had a plan. I’d assumed Cooper and I would both go alone and I’d finally suck it up and tell him how I felt. I’d even hoped to catch a ride with him up to the vineyard. Tucked into the snug front seat of his Tesla, we’d finally have the one-on-one time that’d take us past colleagues to something more.

But that was before Jamila.

Now I had two choices: show up alone or bring my own date. Either way, it was a Morton’s Fork where I ended up staring mournfully at him and Jamila instead of putting my plan into action.

And now my best friend had reminded me of how screwed my plan was.

I stared down the hallway at the glass wall of Cooper’s office. After a second, he paced into view, headset on, one hand shoved into the pocket of his black dress slacks. He paused and rubbed one dark-blond eyebrow like his head pained him. Then he turned and strode back, disappearing from my field of vision.

Poor Cooper. He worked too hard, bore too many responsibilities. He picked up all of Jackson’s slack. And Jackson left a lot of slack. He needed someone at home to ease his burdens, help him relax. Could Jamila do that? She had her own company, her own load of concerns. Maybe they bonded over that shared connection.

Another text flashed on my phone.

Alicia: You there?

Me: Can I have a couple more days to work out some stuff?

Alicia: No problem. I just need to get the count to the vineyard on Friday.

Two days. I had two days to come up with a strategy to respond to the Jamila development.

Glancing back at Cooper’s office, I caught the flick of his pants cuff as he paced away.

Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. They could be going as friends, the way they’d attended so many galas before. All three of them had been close in college—Jackson, Cooper, and Jamila—so Jamila had her own invitation to the wedding. Maybe Cooper and Jamila were riding up together to save gas.

The stairwell door thunked shut behind me just before I heard the telltale drag of a sneaker on wood. Already smiling, I glanced over my shoulder. “What brings you up here?”

“Hey.” Framed by the midday sun streaming through the skylight, Tyler stopped in front of my desk and stared at the corkboard to my left. When he didn’t say anything more, I followed the line of his gaze to where it ended at the buttercup-yellow response card tacked to the board.

“She didn’t text you to come up here and bug me about the wedding, did she? I said I’d tell her by Friday.”

“Not—not exactly.” He shifted his weight onto one foot and ducked his head.

My stomach rumbled, and I slapped my hand over it. Dad had still been sleeping when I left home this morning. Since I hadn’t made him breakfast, I’d forgotten to eat anything myself.

“Want to go to lunch?” Tyler asked, grinning.

I’d also forgotten to bring my packed lunch. “Genius idea.” I glanced at Jackson’s closed door and shot him a quick message that I was leaving. He didn’t respond, so he must have been in the coding zone. I grabbed my purse and stood. “Let’s go.”

When the elevator door opened in the lobby, Alicia stood chatting with José at the security desk. “Oh, good, you’re ready to go.”

“Go?” What had I forgotten?

My phone chimed with a reminder.Alicia’s final fitting.I squeezed my eyes shut. Forgetful, hungry brain. “Change of plans, Tyler. We’re going with Alicia to her dress fitting.”

“Oh, no. Y’all had plans?” Alicia asked. “Don’t worry about it. I can go alone.”

---