Page 55 of Bordeaux Bombshell
“She was surprisingly tight-lipped about it, actually.”
I pace back to the kitchen, where Alfie’s opening a plastic delivery bag that smells divine. He gives me an encouraging smile before I turn to trek the length of the living room again.
“I saw a picture of her son with Nate and jumped to the conclusion that he was their kid together. And not only did it break my heart that he’d truly moved on from me while he was in France, but then I was extra mad that he would abandon them like that after abandoning us all first. Also, Jackie is dying for some grandbabies.”
“But it’s not his kid, right?”
“No. I just made a fool of myself,again.”
“And…?”
With a single word, the pent-up energy that compelled me to stalk around the room leaves me, and I flop down onto the couch.
“And I knew I needed to sort my shit out, away from Nate and my family and my life back home. I’m tired of being an angry hot mess all the time. I thought if I could get away from everyone who knew me, I could figure out what the hell I’m doing with my life. Maybe finally move on from Nate.”
A long silence stretches on until I look up to see Lauren and Alfie giving each other a meaningful look across the room. And my heart twists painfully at the absolute love in their eyes, knowing I’ve screwed up any chance I had at having it for myself.
It’s Alfie who breaks the silence. Setting a plate heaped with pasta, salad, and garlic bread in front of me, he presses a kiss to the top of my head. I don’t know why it’s not weird that he does it, just that I feel a bit like their kid sister.
“Or you could realize that most of us don’t meet our soulmate at the age of four. And you should figure out how to forgive him and yourself for being human and making mistakes.”
Well, fuck that for making a shit ton of sense. Irritated but also hopeful, I rip into my garlic bread and answer with my mouth still full. “Or that.”
Nate
Theclinkofaloose belt buckle beside me catches my attention. “I’m so full I could burst,” Philip groans, shifting in his seat. “Ek het so veel geëet, my broek pas skaars. Haven’t had a steak like that in months.”
I should have known that getting Kel’s brother-in-law, Philip, to help me plan the bachelor party would mean we’d be eating our way through the day. That and trying to decipher his Afrikaans.
It’s been six long weeks since Sydney left me in the middle of the night to go to Boston, and I’ve spent most of them with people I never would have predicted. Once I dropped Manon off at the airport—after making it crystal clear that there was nothing left between us—I threw myself into rebuilding the foundations of my life here. So I could prove to Sydney that I was here for good, and that I wanted to be here with her.
Theo Sutton and I have been poring over business plans and real estate listings, while Philip and I have been going over second opinions and planning a day of fun for Kel.
Of course, I’ve also been at Kel and Maggie’s as often as necessary—I even spent a whole evening helping Maggie tie little bags with candles inside. Well, I tried to help, but Maggie didn’t like the way I made the bows, so I was relegated to watching Jordan so she and Kel could do it.
The remnants of my steak dinner linger on my plate, tempting me to have just one more bite. I’m also tempted to loosen my belt and go for it, but I refrain. I spied cheesecake on the menu earlier, and I want to enjoy it.
“I appreciate your help with the planning, Philip, but I’m never letting you be in charge of food again.” I relax into my chair, arching back to make some space in my overly full belly.
As Kel’s best man, planning the bachelor party was my responsibility. But being social is not my forte, so I recruited Philip to help me. Since he and his wife Ophelia had been road-tripping across the country until they arrived yesterday, I still had to do all the work, but he was full of suggestions for restaurants and activities.
“Right. How was I to know Kel would be cooking a big, fancy breakfast?” Philip groans. “I don’t think my brother has touched a frying pan since he was at college. His stag do consisted of a lot of beer and fish and chips down in Simon’s Town.”
Kel had been in the middle of making some fancy egg dish for his kids when we showed up at his house this morning. Sitting at their kitchen table, surrounded by the laughter and chatter of his two kids and Maggie, I stuffed the food in my face to drown out the jealousy bubbling in my chest.
A trip to Tanaka for Japanese katsu sandwiches for lunch, and an afternoon at the Multnomah Whiskey Library after that has me wishing I’d worn more comfortable pants. Even walkingaround the Japanese Gardens while we killed time before our dinner reservation wasn’t enough to work off all the food.
But totally worth it to see my best friend enjoying himself.
“So, are you sad we never got to do this back when we were spry and in our twenties?” I laugh, pretty sure I already know the answer. Kel wanted to marry June so badly, but she always put him off. Right up until she fell in love with her current wife. I offered to throw him a “dad party” before Olive was born, but he turned me down. But for all that, I know he wouldn’t change a thing. If only I could be so sure of my future.
Kel grins at me before draining his old fashioned. “Definitely not. We can afford higher-quality drinks.”
“I’ll toast to that.” I raise my glass and clink it to his and Philip’s. “To growing up and buying off the top shelf.” My body is warm and relaxed for the first time in weeks, floating on a sea of happiness for my friend.
Philip laughs with us as we drain our drinks. “I never had a stag do, you know.”
“Can’t have mine.” Kel points a finger at Philip. “Get married in Vegas, that’s what happens.”
