Page 155 of Fire and Icing

“We’re not breaking up,” I tell her.

“Thank you.”

“But you broke trust, Syd. And now we have to patch that up and it’s going to be hard and take effort and I’m already tired just thinking about having to question you and to wonder what else you’re hiding.”

“Nothing. I’m not hiding anything. I never have. Well, except when your parents threw you that surprise party. That nearly killed me.”

“I knew it was happening.”

“That also killed me. Here I was keeping that secret and agonizing over not telling you and you already had it figured out.”

I smile remembering us at that age.

“So, Evan? Really, Syd?”

“I went to the bank one day and he was working, of course. He’s the manager, after all. Anyway, he came up to the window behind the teller who was helping me and said, ‘Hey, Sydney.’ It’s so dumb, but the way he said it made my eyes linger. He’s attractive. I guess I checked him out for a minute. I never thought about him much in high school because he was three years older than us. But we’re not in high school anymore.”

“We’re not,” I agree.

“Anyway, I was walking to my car after I made my deposit and Evan followed me out. He asked, ‘How’ve you been?’ It caught me off guard. I turned around and told him about the bakery and my life. We stood there talking for about ten minutes. Then he said he should get back inside. He said, ‘Nice seeing you, Sydney. Have a great day.’ Then he turned to walk back into the bank. I was climbing into my car and he stopped, pivoted and said, ‘You wouldn’t want to grab a cup of coffee sometime, would you?’”

Syd’s hiding it, but there’s a smile on her face. She really likes him. And it’s obvious she liked him pursuing her that day.

I try to set aside the fact that it’s Evan we’re talking about here.

“That’s sweet,” I say.

“It really was.” She lifts her head and smiles over at me. “You know me. I’m not shy. So I stopped getting into my car andwalked over to Evan and said, ‘Evan, are you asking me on a date?’ He actually blushed a little. But then he said, ‘Yes. I am. Is that okay?’ And I said, ‘I think it is, actually.’ So, we made plans. That was six weeks ago. We went to coffee. And it was so nice. He’s nice. He’s the perfect gentleman. He pays attention when I talk, and he opens doors and he … well, he really likes me.”

“So I saw.”

Syd’s lips go tight. “I know. Gah! That was awful.”

“Tell me about it. Did you bleach the kitchen?”

“Emberleigh.”

I stare at her. Evan of all people. He sounds like he’s being nice. But she knows how he was to me when Drew and I dated. Distant, aloof, complicit in the way his family treated me.

“He’s not his family. He even said he didn’t like the way you were treated when you were with Drew. He didn’t agree with his family acting better than and keeping you out of important events or trying to undermine your relationship.”

I’m quiet, digesting what Syd just said. Even though Evan never was directly mean to me, he was cold and rejecting. He went along with his family. And they were awful to me. It always felt like he was party to their treatment. I never considered that he didn’t feel the way they did because he never did anything but comply with their rejection. They did not approve of me and Drew. He’s from the country club set. I never measured up to their standards and they let me and Drew know at every turn. His mom even had the nerve to invite other girls more “Drew’s caliber” to events he brought me to as his date. I don’t miss that treatment. Not a bit.

“You could’ve told me,” I say after a beat of silence. “I might’ve hated it at first, but I wouldn’t have hated you.”

“After what his family did to you? I didn’t want to make you feel like you weren’t enough all over again.”

“But it wasn’t your job to protect me,” I say gently. “It was your job to be honest. You’re my best friend. That means something.”

“He wants to talk to you when you’re ready.” Her eyebrows raise in an expression of reluctant hope. “He’s so sweet to me, Emberleigh. He makes me feel … cherished. And I like him. I want you two to get along if you’re willing.”

“I’m sure I’ll be ready at some point. Just not right away. If it means a lot to you, I’ll talk to him.”

“It does. He’s not Drew. He’s becoming increasingly special to me the more time we spend together. And you’re the most important person in my life. I know I didn’t help things by the way I set you up to find out the way you did.”

“Do you think you love him?”

“I might. Whatever this is, it’s more than a little bit of like.”

---