Page 43 of The Ex Factor

“I don’t get why you’re grumbling. It’s a blessing to have people in your life who care about you.”

Caught by her words, I threw a glance in her direction. “I’m sure there are people who care about you just as much.”

She flipped her cards to the table and picked up the glass of water I’d offered her earlier. “You know what Sameer used to say about me? Perfect. That’s the word he always used.You’re perfect. Tara also used that word. And I know they meant it as a compliment, but something pinched inside me. I didn’t want to be perfect. I just wanted to be loved like they loved one another.”

I made a quick mental note. Perfect was also what I’d used for her since the first time I saw her. That word was never entering my thoughts or escaping my lips again.

“When I first started at the elite prep school, I had no friends because I had a lazy eye and glasses with one thick lens. The kids teased me for it and for the way I styled my long, thick hair in a braid.”

“That must have been rough.”

She nodded. “The kids in my school came from money. I’d seen it only recently. So I didn’t know the expensive brands and the correct etiquette. My father had enough money to pay for our education and sponsor various events at school, but that didn’t mean I hadclass. That’s what the kids said.I didn’t have class. When I asked Mom what it meant, she explained politely that it’s something that the rich have always used as an accusation to exclude people from their social circle, to make others feel small. She asked me to ignore it and to never use it for anyone else. But Dad overheard our conversation and hired someone to teach us, me and my brother. The teacher claimed with pride that she would make me a proper lady. I hated it. I mean, can you really see me going about like a debutant?” She turned her face to me and rolled her eyes.

I smiled at the thought of her in a flowing gown and crisp white gloves.

“But the next time we were at a school event that required the use of forks of different kinds in accordance with the school status, I stunned them all. Inadvertently so. I was only using the knowledge I’d gained from those expensive classes, but Mary Beth, who was the richest and the most popular girl in my class and the school, turned to me with a whisper of a smile and said, ‘Not bad, Battie.’ That was what they called me, Battie. They couldn’t say Bhatia and didn’t want to call me Aarti for reasons that completely evaded me. But everyone at that table sawMary Beth’s approving smile, and in that moment, I realized, she’d never teased me nor looked down on me. She was above these shenanigans. That’s probably the moment the seed of our friendship was sown.”

“So you’re still friends, then?”

“Yep. She’s the one who insisted I come to New York while the celebrations were unfolding in Dallas.”

“She’s the friend you mentioned the first time we met?”

“Yes, she’s married to Ezzie Strauss.”

“Ezekiel Strauss? His familyisNew York!”

“Yup, and Mary Beth’sisDallas. They met in college, and her family flipped out when she wanted to marry him. But Mary Beth is a force to reckon with. She is smart, witty, and very determined. Poor Ezzie had no choice.” She chuckled.

“Have you met him?”

She nodded. “This time, though, I’ve been avoiding the invitation to their place. Everyone in our circle is privy to how Sameer dumped me, and I don’t think I’m in a place to handle it well. Not yet.”

“I felt the same way for months until my family and friends cornered me and forced me out of that gloom.”

She turned her soft, brown eyes to me. “That’s what I mean, be thankful for these people in your life.”

“I’m sure your family and friends want the same for you.”

As she sighed, I tried hard not to gaze at the chest that rose and fell with the weight of her breath. She was perfect, but now I could never tell her that.

“Mary Beth and Isha are the only friends that I trust with my life and my heart. I was always introverted. I never had a big circle of friends like my brother did. Initially, I thought it was my appearance, so I changed my hair and my clothes, used contacts, and got braces on my teeth. I couldn’t wait to be an adult so I could get the surgery done to fix my eye. I was alsodetermined to change my nose and my breasts, but Mary Beth looked at me and sagely said, ‘Changing yourself will not make these nincompoops like you any better. You’re a brown-skinned rich kid in a rich white school. Don’t change who you are. I like you the way you are.’”

I turned to her, and she read my smile. We both burst into laughter as I managed, “She didn’t really say nincompoops, did she?”

“She did,” Aarti replied, trying very hard to rein in her tipsy laughter. “Maybe that’s the reason we’re so close. I also thought they were all nincompoops.”

“I’ll get you more water,” I said when I saw her bring an empty glass to her lips.

I returned from the kitchen, handed her a fresh glass, then settled beside her.

“Mary Beth and I have been close since that day. She’s dignified, so you won’t find her screaming and hugging me, but she’ll protect me with the quiet demeanor of a fierce goddess. Ezzie knows it. That’s why he loves her so much.”

“I like you the way you are, too,” I said quietly and slipped away to fetch myself some water from the kitchen.

When I returned, she was busy reading the instructions for the game. As I retook my seat next to her, I asked, “Is that why you came to New York? To avoid the wedding?”

She pulled herself upright with a weary smile. “You’re the only one who understands, so I’m not going to lie to you. But if you mention it outside this room?—”

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