Page 25 of Austen Persuaded

Rainn chimed in, his voice also loud as he sat on the bed on the other side of me. “You can make this easy or hard, Annie. Sip thecoffee, take a shower, get dressed, have a light dinner, and come out with us. OR fight us every step of the way, but still the endpoint is the same.”

“Friends don’t let friends wallow for more than … what is it, Rainn, almost two weeks now?”

Rainn shook his head in wonder, like he couldn’t imagine doing that himself. “Something like that. It’s time to get out, see people, be yourself. If you’re going to drink, let’s do it at the bar or club.”

“Are you two done?” I crossed my arms over my chest, which was covered in some kind of sticky fabric that I didn’t have the stomach to look down at. I actually didn’t feelthatqueasy, though my head was definitely going to explode. Then again, I’d only been awake for a few minutes. Was I even awake now, or was this another nightmare? But when I pinched my own arm, I winced in pain. “Stop shouting, boys. And even if I did want to get up and do something, I wouldn’t want to go partying.”

The two men looked at each other, worry creasing their foreheads.

I sighed. “I need to cut back on drinking. Obviously. And … it’s sad you think that partying is the only thing I can enjoy. You know, I like to watch movies and do other stuff. Not just party.” It hurt, actually, that even my closest friends saw me as merely a party girl, but I didn’t want to admit it aloud.

Rafael bit his lip as he communicated silently with Rainn for a long moment. When his sharp eyes returned to me, he took my hand. “I know. We both know that. It’s just … I wanted to wait and tell you later, but I guess I can share it now. I want to go out and celebrate with you guys tonight because I have some kind of big news.”

Rainn grinned. Whatever it was, clearly he already knew.

I sat up straighter, my eyes widening as I forgot my own misery for a moment. “You’re—”

“Oh, don’t you dare steal my dramatic announcement, girl.” Rafael playfully flicked me on the arm with his finger. “Yes, I’m engaged. Joel asked me to marry him last night.”

“Raf, this is so wonderful!” I squealed, not even caring how much my headache worsened at the sound coming out of my own mouth.

“I know, it totally is!” he squealed in return. “I want to tell you everything, but in exchange, you have to come out with us.”

Rainn cut in then. “Annie, I know you just want to keep wallowing, but celebrating Raf’s engagement is totally worth getting out of the house for.”

I nodded slowly. “You’re right. Raf … I’m really happy for you. I’m sure I don’t look it. But I am. You and Joel are everyone’s relationship goals, but you already knew that. Will he be coming tonight?”

Rafael frowned. “No, he has a show tomorrow. It’s local, but you know how he is.” Translation: Joel took his career seriously, and he would never go out drinking the night before a performance. Being a professional male dancer was so physically demanding that he had to maintain top form, especially around performance dates. I admired Joel’s dedication, even if it did sometimes spoil our fun.

“Bring him over for lunch or something soon so we can all congratulate you guys together,” I suggested. “But for now, please give me that cold coffee and some time to shower. It may take a while to clean off all the grime I’ve accumulated from the last few days or however long it’s been.” I laughed because, well, it was the only thing I could do. I needed to smile and put on a brave face for my friends. And, really, for myself.

“I didn’t want to cry tonight. Dang it, Raf!” I accused him, carefully dabbing at my damp eyes, surrounded by dusky grey eye makeup that supposedly highlighted my green irises.

Rainn punched Rafael lightly in the arm. “He doesn’t even feel bad—look at him. The lovesick eyes. It’s like he doesn’t even see anyother guy in the room.”

My lips twitched. “If you’d asked me a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed it possible for us to be sitting here taking shots and listening to the most romantic proposal story ever fromyou, of all people.”

“I mean, the part about the fountain and the music … I’ve got to say, Joel has outdone himself,” Rainn said. “Are you mad that he beat you to it? I know you’d been mulling over some proposal scenarios yourself—don’t pretend you weren’t.”

Rafael pursed his lips. “I’ll never admit it.”

“Let’s drink to that!” This had been my refrain every 5–10 minutes. And it had worked. I felt relaxed, and I could pretend I was having fun—that living it up at the bar was really what I wanted to be doing.

Pretending.

As long as the drinks kept flowing.

Rafael’s smile slipped a bit before he picked up his drink, and he eyed me closely. I pretended not to notice. I wasn’t going to be fielding questions tonight.

This night wasn’t about me.

That’s what made it bearable.

Until it wasn’t.

Not five minutes later, Rafael looked at Rainn in astonishment. “Rainn, I can’t believe you blew off that girl just now. Are you feeling OK?”

“What? I didn’t notice a girl.” He glanced around, genuinely confused.

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