Page 100 of My Silver Lining

“Well, well, well,” Oscar said. “My two favorite gals are here.”

“Who’s the one flirting now?” Edith said, her voice all tease.

“Woman! Are you out of your mind? I’m old enough to be their grandfather. It’s your mind that’s always in the trash when it comes to those Chadwick boys.”

Edith rolled her eyes as Henley and I laughed.

I loved this town.

This place.

These people.

“Hey, I’m just a woman with good eyesight. I can’t help it if they’re pretty to look at.” Edith led us to the booth in the back and took our drink orders before leaving us alone.

“I wish you weren’t leaving in a few weeks. It’s been so fun living close to one another,” Henley said, and we paused to place our lunch order when Edith set our drinks down.

“I know. But you’re coming to Paris once I get settled, right?”

“Yep. I can’t wait,” she said as she took a sip of her soda. “Do you think you’ll miss it here?”

I thought it over, even though I already knew the answer. “I mean, of course, I’ll miss you.”

She quirked a brow. “Come on, Lu. It’s me. You can tell me that you’re going to miss Rafe. He’s being as tight-lipped as you are about it. You’re both acting like it’s no big deal, yet you basically live together.”

“That is only because we were faking it at first,” I whisper-hissed. “And then it seemed silly to have him move out, seeing as we spend so much time together. But we both knew what we were getting into. It’ll be fine.”

“I’ve just never seen you like this with anyone. You and Beckett were always so volatile, you know? You never seemed all that happy. You seemed like you were—” She tapped her chin as she thought it over.

“I was what?” I pressed as our plates were set down in front of us, and I bit off the top of a french fry.

“Stuck. You seemed like you were stuck. Long before you ended things with him, I didn’t think you were happy. I just thought you didn’t know how to get out of the relationship.”

“That’s because you know me. And in a way, I was stuck for a long time. I’m not proud of it because I don’t believe in allowing someone to have that much control over your life. But it happened slowly. So, you’re spot on, bestie. I was stuck. And now, I’m proud to say that I’m officially unstuck. I have been for quite a while,” I chuckled. “Even my father finally believes me. He apologized for how hard he’s been on me about it.”

“That’s because he can tell you’re happy now. And I think a lot of that has to do with Rafe. I like seeing you so relaxed with someone. And he’s so adorable with you, the way he’s so protective and proud of you.”

I rolled my eyes. “You just want me to date your boyfriend’s brother.”

“Not going to lie, I don’t mind the sound of that. But that’s not it. I didn’t think much of it when it first started, but I’ve been watching the way you interact. Like you’ve known one another your entire lives. Like you speak your own language. And don’t even get me started about the way he put you up on his shoulders last night at pickleball because you nailed the game-winning point. It was kind of adorable.” She shrugged before cutting her burger in half and taking a bite.

“Those Golden Girls are no joke on the court. And they were flirting their asses off with Rafe, so I just had to distract them with my pickleball moves.”

“I just wanted to say that sometimes you find what you’re looking for when you’re not expecting it.” She put her hands up to stop me from jumping in. “I know you were derailed once in your life. I know this Paris opportunity is a big one. I know that Rafe has a life here, and he’s happy. I’m just saying, sometimes we find something worth changing course for.”

And sometimes when you put all your eggs in one basket, it blows up in your face.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice…

I wouldn’t be a fool twice.

I had a plan, and I was sticking to it.

twenty-seven

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