Page 99 of Meant to Be
Chapter Eighteen
Sydney saton the overstuffed couch in Julia’s apartment and cried, yelled, and cried some more. Through it all, Julia was there. She might be conceited and impulsive, but she knew how to be a friend when one was needed.
“I’m not going to say ‘I told you so.’”
“You just did.” Sydney blew her nose on a tissue, bringing back memories of Mitch and his handkerchiefs.
“No. I said I’m not going to say it. Because sometimes even knowing or suspecting something is going to happen, you still need to go through it. You wondered if what you and Mitch had was still there or could be there, and the answer is no.”
“For a moment, it felt like yes.”
Julia’s eyes were filled with sympathy. “Sex isn’t love.”
Sydney had been so sure that, despite their agreement to a casual affair, there had been something more. At least that second night, when he’d touched her so lovingly, tenderly.You matter.The memory of his words brought a new set of tears to her eyes.
Her phone chirped. She pulled it out. “It’s him.” Her heart stuttered, half with hope and half with despair.
“No, uh-uh.” Julia plucked the phone from her, shoving it under the cushion of her chair. “He had his chance and he missed it.”
“He might be sorry.”
“He probably is. Just like he was sorry the last time. He’ll be sorry the next time. How many times are you going to give him?”
Julia was right. Mitch might care for her, but his distrust ran so deep, the odds of him misinterpreting something else in the future were strong. Without trust, a relationship couldn’t survive.
“Why don’t I call Patrick? He can make us those incredible crepes with chocolate. We can pretend to let him psychoanalyze me. I love that game.”
Sydney mustered a smile. “Hewillsay ‘I told you so.’”
“I’ll call him a jerk. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
From underneath Julia’s chair cushion, Sydney heard the faint beep of her phone indicating she had a text.
Julia’s brows rose as she shook her head.
Sydney sighed. “Sure. Call Patrick.”
The crepes were delicious, and the company was just what Sydney needed. Patrick said, “I told you so,” and Julia told him he was a jerk. Sydney was glad she’d decided to stay with Julia rather than her parents. She’d called her mom and told her she’d be in New York for the weekend. That was all she planned to say, but then her mom asked about the letters and Sydney told her everything — how they’d grown closer, what Mitch said when he saw the letters, how hurt she was. The one thing she didn’t tell her mom was about Jenny’s attack. She didn’t want her parents to worry.
Instead of staying with her parents, she was spending the evening with her two oldest and best friends. “You guys are just what I need. The three musketeers.”
“Damn right.” Julia held up her wineglass in salute.
When Sydney’s phone chirped again, she didn’t make a move to get it. Julia and Patrick were right. She’d learned what she’d gone to Charlotte Tavern to find out. It was time to put her and Mitch behind her, at least that was what her mind said. Her heart wasn’t there yet. She feared her heart would never be there.
When Julia’s phone rang, all three of them looked at each other.
“What are the odds he’d get my number?”
“He’s a detective. He can get information easily.”
“It’s your mom.” Julia poked the button on her phone. “Mrs. Preston, how are you?”
Sydney waited through the silence.
“Yeah, sure. She’s right here.” Julia whispered. “You sober enough to talk to your mom?”
Sydney took the phone. Sober or not, she was going to find out why her mom had hunted her down. “Mom?”
