Page 75 of Thanks for the Friendship
“These look delicious,” Diane calls, interrupting us. “Thank you, sweetie.”
She holds open a box of pastries to me.
“No, thank you.”
Sara definitely has everyone fooled. Dare I say, she makes Bethany look like a girl scout?
When Diane mentions Cal again, Sara tells her that she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore because it’s too difficult. And of course Diane falls for it hook, line, and sinker.
I plaster a smile on my face as we talk about house ideas and the real estate market. Somehow I manage to get through dinner and escape before dessert is served.
On my way home, I replay the conversation Sara and I had. The doubts are creeping in, and I’m starting to think dinner with Cal is a bad idea. Maybe it’s too soon, and as much as I want to believe he and I can only be friends, I’m just not sure.
Chapter Twenty-One
I’ve always thought of myself as resilient, strong willed, and tough. But like everyone, I have those hard days when all my insecurities creep up to the surface and consume me. My issue is that I’ve never been comfortable showing this side of myself. Anytime it happens, I dig my heels in deeper and put all my focus into things I can control, like my job or anything that will keep me focused so I don’t have to feel.
“What do you mean, you’re canceling your dinner?” Reagan shouts.
It’s Friday morning, and I’m standing in my kitchen making a protein shake. Reagan and I just got home from Pilates class, without Bethany, thankfully.
“There’s just a lot going on,” I reply. “We need to get this house listed, and my mother sent me a list of projects. And there’s a stack of boxes in the garage that I need to look through.”
Reagan rushes off without a word, and I roll my eyes. She returns with Gabby, whose hair is wrapped up in a towel.
“What’s going on? Why would you cancel dinner?”
I sit down on one of the bar stools. “It’s just bad timing.”
“You’re listening to Sara, aren’t you?” Gabby accuses. “You can’t let her get in your head.”
“I’m not,” I mutter. “Cal’s only been single for a week. We have plenty of time to have dinner together.”
“Why are you worried about it? I thought you were having dinner as friends,” Reagan says pointedly.
“We are—we were.”
“Do I need to call Theo?” Gabby asks.
I make a face. “Why would you do that?”
“To talk some sense into you.”
I roll my eyes. “Look, Gabby, you know how hard I’ve tried to be friends with your fiancé. Asking him to talk to me isn’t going to make me do something.”
“No, but he will tell you how much Cal is looking forward to tonight and how he’s brought it up every time he’s talked to him this week.”
“Aw … don’t disappoint him,” Reagan wails. “I’ll help you go through the boxes in the garage tomorrow.”
“Sara is the one who cheated on Cal,” Gabby reminds me. “Don’t let her win by not having dinner with him.”
I sigh. These two are a force to be reckoned with when they band together, and I’m supposed to be the tough one.
“Fine,” I say. “You guys love ganging up on me, don’t you?”
They both laugh.
“You’d do the same for us,” Reagan says.
