Page 40 of Austen Persuaded

Jack spoke first. “Jenn said to invite Annie,so—”

Before I could overthink it further, I stepped forward and smiled. “So here I am!”

Viviana looked uneasy and merely motioned toward the coat rack, avoiding eye contact.

I tried but failed to keep the smile on my face.

She’s not going to make this easy, is she? But why should she? I was a real jerk to her.

“Uh—” I stopped to clear my throat. “I hope it’s OK that I’m here.”

Viviana stilled and turned toward me. “Sure, I mean …” As she spoke, I attempted to communicate an apology with my eyes, but she lowered hers too quickly. “I didn’t think board games were really your style.”

I winced and glanced at Jack, wondering if this was a mistake. Was he thinking the same thing?

“This is our chance to show Annie what she’s been missing all this time,” Jack said in his light, soothing tone.

Viviana choked out a laugh and abruptly turned to Belinda and then to her husband. “Great to have you join us, Choua! I call dibs on your team.”

Choua chuckled and rubbed his chin. “You and everyone else. I think it’s time I picked my own team.” He was ridiculously good at board games, especially strategy games. He smirked, and Belinda elbowed him with a fake scowl.

Belinda Vue was not only Jack’s sister but Viviana’s oldest friend along with Jenn. I liked Belinda and Jenn well enough and had spent time with them on many occasions, yet I’d never really felt like one of the girls. They were fun and friendly to me, but I wasn’t close with them. It felt more … surface level. The first time I’d noticed that, I’d let out a self-deprecating laugh as I reminded myself that the surface level was the only one that worked for me anyway.

I wondered if they were serving alcohol tonight—that tended to blunt the feeling of being an outsider in my friend group or others. Though I knew I should probably cut back on drinking.

As we proceeded to the living room, the tension between Viviana and me felt thick, but everyone else seemed unaware at first, laughing and joking with each other.

“Jenn, so sorry to hear about your leg,” I said, sitting near her on the couch, where her leg was propped up near her crutches. “Jack filled me in. And Kieran’s layoff. How’s he doing?”

Crap. Is it rude to refer to someone’s layoff in such explicit terms?

Jenn smiled at me. “Thanks, Annie. You know me, ugh, I hate being immobile. And stuck at home.”

“As a fellow extrovert, I have the utmost sympathy,” I said, my hand on my heart.

“I knew you would. The only people I see are Kieran and the kids, who have beensowhiny. But they’re probably just always whiny because they’re little. As for Kieran, you can ask him yourself.”

As soon as Kieran walked into the room, everyone peppered him with questions and unsolicited advice about the job market. From the start, though, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to forget about it for the night. I could relate, obviously. How often lately had my friends forced me to talk about the very last thing I wanted to talk about?

Fortunately, Jenn knew her husband well and steered the group conversation away from Kieran and toward the first game we’d be playing. I felt some of the tension melt away until realization struck: This meant an actual board game. That I had to play. It had been years.

Four years, to be exact.

Please, please let it be nothing like D&D …

Lucky for me, the first game involved drawing and guessing. I liked to draw and was decent at it. I could do this. It was a pretty funny game too, and that, along with some beer, helped loosen the tension aching from a dozen places in my body. Occasionally I eyed Viviana, who seemed a bit more relaxed too, though only slightly. Granted, she wasn’t the most relaxed person in general. As the night progressed, I noticed that Viviana was acting a bit stiff around Jack too. Of course, I was careful to observe them covertly.

Or so I thought until Jenn whispered in my ear, “So you’re noticing it too? Something’s up with Viv and Jack.”

“Things do seem a little off.” I placed my finger on my lips thoughtfully.

Before we could say more though, Kieran announced a switch to a roleplaying game, and my heart rate quickened.

I can do this.

I can do this.

It’s not D&D, it’s not Kylan, and who cares anyway? That was forever ago.

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