Page 90 of If My Wishes Came True
Vanessa looks up at her boyfriend. “Ash told me all about Sunny over a pitcher of sangria in Barcelona. She did a number on him. Broke his heart.”
Asher laughs. “It wasn’tthatbad.”
“He was going to propose,” Vanessa mock-whispers to me.
“Seriously?” I ask Asher, who’s smiling wide, and doesn’t seem at all rattled by the topic of conversation.
“I wasn’t going to propose. Well…not imminently, anyway.”
“You bought her a ring,” Vanessa teases.
“Apromisering,” he clarifies, laughing. “I was going to give it to her after graduation, but she broke up with me about a month beforehand. On our one-year anniversary.”
“He cried for weeks afterward,” Vanessa says with an exaggerated pout.
Asher shakes his head. “It was a week—tops,” he tells me and Charlie.
I wince. “Ouch. I’m sorry. But don’t take it personally. She just never stopped loving Dex.”
Asher chuckles. “Yeah, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I heard about their wedding in the news. I remember her crushing on him so hard during middle school. I’m happy for them, though. It all worked out for the best, right?” He turns to meet Vanessa’s gaze, and I can practically see the sparks fly between them.
“Looks like it,” I say, grinning at my friend and her new beau.
The four of us spend the next hour sipping wine and chatting. Laughing. It’s more fun than you’d ever imagine hanging out with a pair of exes—and their new significant others—could be.
Asher and Charlie take an instant liking to each other. Turns out they’re both really into baseball. I find myself wishing that I were as knowledgeable about the sport as Christy, because once the men start talking about stats, they may as well be speaking a foreign language. Like my boyfriend, Asher played Little League growing up. Now, he’s coaching a T-ball team for his agency’s youngest clients. It’s the sweetest thing, seeing his eyes light up when he talks about it.
“Asher’s amazing,” I tell Vanessa when we’re in the kitchen later, putting together a charcuterie board. “And you guys seem so happy together.”
Vanessa shakes her head, a dreamy smile on her face. “You don’t know the half of it. I’ve never felt this way before. We have so much in common, from music, to food—to ourprofession, obviously. We never run out of things to talk about. And he can’t wait to start a family, just like me. To be honest with you…”
“Yeah?”
“I could always tell that Charlie wasn’t eager to have kids. So, if that’s something you’re worried about—don’t be,” she says.
I nod, feeling relieved. “He did tell me that he’s never dreamed of being a father. But it’s good to hear it from you, too.”
Especially since it’s so hard to tell what Charlie wants, when he’s so busy pleasing others. And, as happy as Vanessa seems with Asher, now that I’m alone with her, I want to be sure she isn’t upset with me.
“So you’re really okay with me dating The Artist Formerly Known As Nico?” I ask. “It isn’t weird for you?”
She laughs. “The way I see it, we can choose to let it be awkward, or we can choose not to. He and I were friends, more than anything else. It’s a lot like the relationship you had with Dex. And you and Sunny are totally cool, now, right?”
“Yeah,” I say without hesitation. “I was never in love with Dex, and everything worked out the way it was meant to.”
Vanessa smiles. “Exactly. And honestly? I can see you and Charlie being really happy together.”
“You can?” I ask, my heart fluttering.
“He’s such a great guy,” Vanessa tells me. “Kind. Thoughtful. Creative. Whip-smart. We just didn’t have the right chemistry. If you two have it?—”
My cheeks warm.
“I don’t see what could go wrong,” she continues.
I want to ask her opinion about Charlie’s people-pleasing,and his tendency to settle for everything, but I hear footsteps coming our way.Dammit.
“Need any help?” Charlie asks, with Asher entering the kitchen right behind him.
