Page 5 of Merry Me
“You’re marryingLevi?” I blurted, a little too loud and a little too horrified-sounding.
“Yes!” Her voice sparkled through the phone like she was announcing she’d just won a cruise. “Isn’t that crazy?”
“Crazyis one word,” I said, clutching my phone like it might stabilize my nervous system. “We’re talking about Levi ‘lit a microwave on fire trying to make a grilled cheese’ Martin, right?”
She giggled like I was exaggerating. I wasn’t.
“That was forever ago. He’s matured. He does CrossFit now.”
“Oh, well. Obviously that’s the same as therapy,” I deadpanned. “Tell me you didn’t say yes to a man who once thought wearing a backwards snapback made him deep.”
“He’s not like that anymore! He’s thoughtful and focused now.”
“Thoughtful? Paige, he once ate seventeen mozzarella sticks at our house and then threw up in our dryer.”
“That was also forever ago,” she said, unfazed. “People grow up. You of all people should know that.”
I paused, trying to reconcile the image of Levi Martin doing deadlifts and saying things like,emotional accountability.
I went on Facebook and started frantically scrolling through Levi’s pictures, past the few of him and my sister, desperately searching to see whether he had any recent pictures withhim.My heart was thumping like I’d just been caught cheating on a pop quiz by a nun with a ruler.
“So, when’s the big day?” I asked belatedly, feeling marginally better after I’d scrolled back at least a year and found zero evidence of Easton and Levi still being in each other’s lives. No recent selfies. No bro-hugs. No golf outings or barbecue reunions. Easton was firmly ensconced in Hollywood and, more importantly, firmly away from me.
Ensconced. That was a big word. I gave myself a mental high five. It was good to reward yourself for literacy.
“Christmas Eve!”
“Christmas Eve?” My voice jumped an octave. “As inthisChristmas Eve? Paige, that’s two fucking weeks away!”
“I know; isn’t it romantic? Snow, Christmas lights, everyone together for the holidays…”
Her words blurred into a festive, tinsel-covered buzz saw as my brain conjured the nightmare that awaited me.
“You mean everyoneforcedtogether for the holidays,” I grumbled.
I could already picture it: an entire weekend filled with Christmas activities, endless happy couples, and the looming possibility of running intohim.
Easton’s face popped into my head uninvited—his dark hair, those piercing green eyes, the lopsided grin that used to make me feel like the center of the universe. My stomach twisted again.
From the pictures of him I’d seen online…he’d only gotten hotter. Leaner. Sharper. Like someone had taken the gorgeous boy I’d fallen in love with and added about seven layers of smolder.
“Natalie?” Paige’s voice yanked me out of my spiral. “You still there?”
“Yeah, sorry.” I scrambled for an excuse. “Look, I’m really happy for you, sis, but it’s so last minute. Finals, work, you know how it is?—”
“You’re coming,” she interrupted firmly. Her voice was tinged with amusement, like she’d been waiting for me to try that exact excuse.
“Paige, really, I?—”
“I know what this is about,” she said pointedly.
“It’s not about anything?—”
“We don’t even know if he’s coming.”
“Who’she?” I asked, wincing because that weird squeak was back.
There was silence on the other end of the line. A weighted one. Like Paige was holding back an eye roll.
