Page 48 of Thanks for the Memories
“Wow, aren’t we loads of fun,” she scoffs, holding up her glass to me to toast.
I look over to see Bethany dancing very closely with Paul.
“At least Bethany’s having the time of her life.”
Lila frowns. “Looks like it. I wonder if I should jump in and rescue Paul.”
Hmm … why would she need to do that?
“Okay, are you going to tell me what you mean by that?”
She tightens her jaw and drags me by the arm away from where Bethany and Paul are dancing.
“I don’t want to upset you.”
Lovely. Not her too.
I rub my forehead. “I really don’t need anyone else telling me that today.”
Lila looks confused. “What does that mean?”
I shake my head. “Never mind. Why don’t you want to upset me?”
She looks over my shoulder to where Bethany is giggling like a teenager. I turn around in time to see Paul dip her dramatically.
“I know she’s your best friend, but I witnessed some things that make me cautious. I’m not sure I completely trust her, and I usually have pretty good instincts when it comes to stuff like this.”
I want to jump to Bethany’s defense, but for some reason I hold back. In the time I’ve known Lila, she’s proven to be spot-on in her judgment, so whatever has her questioning Bethany can’t be unfounded.
“Why do you say that?”
She chews her lip. “After you girls got here, when you wandered off, she couldn’t stop talking about seeing Dante and how amazing he is.”
Hearing her say this feels like daggers through my chest.
“I understand what you’re saying, but in her defense, we just had breakfast with him this morning. They haven’t seen each other in years.”
“Oh yeah, I heard all about it,” she says, rolling her eyes. “How proud of him she is. How yummy he looks. And she asked me at least fifty questions about Golden.”
None of this surprises me. Bethany was practically falling all over him this morning. She didn’t make any effort to be subtle.
“How can she say those things, knowing how you feel about him?” Lila asks. “Best friends don’t do that.”
I tighten my jaw. “Well, probably because I haven’t told her. She doesn’t know that all those old feelings I had in college have resurfaced since I came to Miami or about our date.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I don’t even know why I haven’t said anything,” I scratch my head. “And to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about him right now.”
“Hmm … since when?”
All of a sudden Lila’s face lights up. “Oh, wait. Does this have something to do with that guy you work with?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jeremy talking to a few people at the bar.
“Maybe,” I trail off. “But I definitely don’t want to talk about it here.”
“Got it. We’ll chat at home.”
