Page 39 of Merritt and Her Childhood Crush
“Good.”
“Hunter, I need to tell you something.”
His eyebrows go up. “Okay.”
I take a breath to spill whichever truth comes out of my mouth first, but Sadie appears beside me, looking both irritated and energized. “That man needs a swift kick somewhere the sun don’t shine. Oh, hey, Hunter.”
He smiles and lifts his mug in a silent hello.
“Long time, no see. Nice beard. You didn’t have that back when I used to follow you and Merritt around, watching you make out.” Sadie grins.
“Sadie!” I hiss.
I want to throttle my sister, but inexplicably, Hunter laughs. “You were always sneaking around.”
“Harriet the Spywas a very influential read for my childhood.” Sadie doesn’t ask if Hunter knows the book, and he doesn’t ask.
“Did you start a tab?” I ask. “I sort of forgot.” When Sadie shakes her head, I gesture to my purse, which I’ve unwisely left at the other end of the bar, something I’d never do in New York. “I’ll pay. Just grab my card.”
“Which one?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter.”
It really doesn’t. I saved for a long time for things that have since gone up in smoke—a better apartment for when Simon and I moved in together, a wedding. I need to set some new goals and figure out where those finances can go now.
“Thanks, sis. I knew you were good for something.” Sadie bounces off.
“I saw her chasing Benedict King,” Hunter says. “She looked angry. Usually, women are chasing him fordifferentreasons.”
I laugh. “Actually, I think that might have been Sadie’s version of foreplay. She tends to be a little …”
I’m still searching for a word when Sadie reappears, shoving a paper in my face. “Explain,” she demands.
I grab the paper. But it’s not just paper. It’s a very familiar wedding invitation printed on linen, the words engraved. Flowers and flourishes and gold foil everywhere. If I had to choose the tackiest wedding invitation ever, one that perfectly suited the couple, it would be this one.
I should have thrown it away weeks ago. Instead, I’ve been carrying it around in my purse.
I hop off my stool, shoving the invitation behind my back. “Did you pay? We should go.”
Sadie steps in front of me, so close I’m trapped between her and Hunter. “Not until you tell me why you have a wedding invitation forSimon—yourboyfriend, or so I thought—in your purse.”
And my tower of lies has officially come falling down.
I can’t look at Hunter. I don’t want to look at Sadie. I’d like to go back in time and tell everyone the whole truth about everything from the start. Why didn’t I? Why did I feel like holding it close was somehow protecting me?
“Let’s talk back at the house,” I say.
“Nope. The time for that is over. Let’s talknow,” Sadie says.
Hunter hasn’t moved a muscle since Sadie practically assaulted me with Simon’s invitation. I may not be looking right at him, but he’s locked in my periphery.
I lower my voice. “I’d really rather not—”
“Now, Merritt.”
I close my eyes. Here goes the humiliation.
“Simon was cheating on me, and he got her pregnant. We broke up, and they’re getting married. Now you know everything. Oh—and he also got the promotion I wanted because I’d been helping him do his job, so I quit. Not necessarily all in that order or that fast, but there it is. My life imploded, and now I’m here. The end.”
