Page 9 of Love Letter Lost
I parkedin front of Aunt Jenna and Uncle Ken’s house a short time later. I was surprised Livvy hadn’t called me in a panic. I had several missed texts and a phone call from Mother, but nothing from Livvy. When I got out of the car, her silence made sense.
Livvy stood in the front yard talking to a tall guy with curly brown hair, definitely not her black-haired fiancé, David. As I got closer, I registered familiar bright blue eyes from my run-in earlier in the day, only this time he wore an infectious smile that had been absent this morning: Ridge. My heart plummeted, sending my pulse racing. I’d thought I would have more time before seeing him. I wasn’t prepared for this moment, with its combined sense of anticipation and dread. The words from his letter ran through my mind. He’d broken my heart. I couldn’t just let him waltz back into my life as if nothing had happened, and yet, the events of prom and the accident had happened over ten years ago. Should they continue to dictate my actions?
I froze on the sidewalk, debating how to proceed. From all appearances, they hadn’t seen me yet. I could slip back into my car and drive a lap around the block, give myself some time to mentally prepare for the conversation ahead. Maybe I’d stop for a soda since I’d left the one Livvy had bought me on the table in my rush to read the letter alone. If ever there was a moment for Dr. Pepper, it was now, and there was no way I could sneak into the house without either of them noticing. Escape routes and excuses flooded my mind, but as I turned back towards my car, my shirt snagged on my sideview mirror, sending me tripping into the driver’s door with a bang.
I winced, knowing that I’d likely have a bruise and that there was no way Livvy and Ridge hadn’t noticed me now. I took a deep breath and turned, my lips stretched in more of a grimace than a smile.
Livvy waved me over, a huge smile stretching across her face. Ridge raised his hand in greeting as well, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes. He looked about as excited to see me as I felt. I was pretty sure it was similar to the smile I forced whenever a tenant called for help unclogging the toilet, one for politeness that attempted to hide the disgust and dread building in my stomach.
As I walked over, I kept my gaze focused behind them to avoid making eye contact with Ridge. I doubted he’d be able to read the turmoil in my eyes, but why risk it?
“Mal!” Livvy ran over and hugged me as if we hadn’t seen each other in years, her dark ponytail bouncing in time with her enthusiasm. “Where have you been? I was just about to call when I ran into Ridge. He’s home for the entire summer. Isn’t that great?”
“Livvy, you’ve got to let me breathe,” I rasped. She released me but watched my face for a moment too long before leading me over to Ridge.
“It’s so good to reconnect with old friends. All the memories we shared,” Livvy rambled, making it impossible for me to focus on the awkwardness and tension coiling between Ridge and me. Suddenly she gasped and grabbed his arm. “Ridge! You should come to the rehearsal dinner. It’s essentially a massive party for David and me to celebrate before we separate for the bachelor and bachelorette parties.”
A bit of spit lodged in my throat, spurring a coughing fit.Why couldn’t I go two seconds without looking incompetent in front of this man?
“I don’t know. That seems like the kind of thing for—”
“Close friends and family, and who’s a closer friend than one of my best friends growing up?” Livvy turned to watch Ridge, and I did not envy him having to say no to the full force of Livvy’s pleading stare.
“I’ll think about it,” Ridge hedged. “I might have plans.”
“Just let me know. Better yet, let Mal know. She’s planned the whole thing, and it’s going to be amazing.”
“That might be difficult since I don’t have Mallory’s number. Not that she would respond if I reached out.” Ridge gave a shrug as if he didn’t care, but I could hear hurt in his tone. He was talking about the letter.
“I would respond, especially since you’d be contacting me directly. After all, communication goes two ways,” I said, stung at the venom in his voice.
“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you, throw off your plans.”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t run away from my commitments and responsibilities.” I gave a sugary smile, before turning to Livvy. “Do we have much more to do before calling it a day? I had a small issue and need to—”
I broke off as a familiar dented blue sportscar pulled up to the curb across the street, Amber stepping from the car. She looked up long enough to verify that there were no cars coming before crossing the street, looking at her phone as she walked.
“Oh my gosh, Rigdon! I’m sorry I’m late. I had an unexpected mishap, thanks to Ella’s tailgating tendencies. That girl is going to cost my parents more in insurance than it would cost to just hire her a driver.” Amber gave a small shake of her head, her blonde waves bouncing as she stood on tiptoes, wrapping her arms around Ridge’s neck and giving him a kiss.
Apparently, Ridge was not single, and I’d already met his significant other. Who knew the universe had such a mixed-up sense of humor?
After a moment, Ridge broke away, a slight pink tingeing his cheeks.
“Um, Amber.” Ridge cleared his throat and ducked his head. “We’re not exactly alone, honey.”
Amber waved her hand, as if it was no big deal to kiss a guy in front of complete strangers. “I’m sure they’ll understand. After all, it’s been almost a month since I saw you last.”
“It was two weeks.” Ridge corrected under his breath as Amber turned around, the smile on her face freezing before growing into a full grin when her eyes landed on me.
“Oh, my gosh! You’re the girl from the crash. Are you really okay?” Amber grabbed my arm in a tight grip as she looked me over.
“Mallory told you about that?” Ridge choked out, paling at Amber’s words.
Livvy just stared at me.
It took me a moment to digest Amber’s words and Ridge and Livvy’s reactions and then what Amber had said hit me. They must have thought I had told her about the accident in high school, the only car accident in my life that the two of them were aware of.
“It’s not what you think!” I rushed to assure them. “On my way over, I was in a bit of a fender-bender.”
