“And that makes it better?”
“Stop!” I shoved at his chest. “I was lonely, okay?” Tears streamed down my face. “My best friend had all but abandoned me, Dante was distancing himself, and I was bored! I had nobody to talk to, and then suddenly I get this letter, assuming it’s from Ara, FINALLY, you know? Because she just stopped writing and I tore it open without thinking, and then, I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I don’t know what happened, suddenly I was in front of the bank and—” I frowned.
“And what?”
“And Mil was there…. and this other tall guy, who was really good looking and—” I vaguely remembered the guy with the easy smile. I blinked at Sergio and then let out a little gasp. “He looked… like you.”
Sergio tensed next to me. “A really good looking guy with Mil who wasn’t Chase and looks like me?”
“Yes. No. Maybe.” I pressed my fingertips to my temples. “But he was lankier.”
“Oh, that’s helpful.” He bit back a curse and shook his head.
“I’m sorry!” I snapped. “I didn’t know I was going to be getting profiled later!”
“Shit,” Sergio whispered out the curse. “I’m sorry, it just, none of this makes sense, and if I’m right, which I typically always am, that means my brother Ax has been in on this since the beginning.”
“Y-your brother?”
He clenched his jaw and then asked, “May I see the letters?”
“You’ve already seen one, on our wedding day, it came with the dress.”
The silence was tense.
“If you show me that one, I’ll show you mine.”
“No.” He didn’t even pause or hesitate.
So much for trusting each other.
Another curse escaped between his full lips before he pulled out his phone and pressed a button then barked out, “Mil, tell me what the hell is going on now, or I’m going to point a gun at your husband’s temple and pull the trigger.”
I didn’t hear what she said on the other end.
“Phoenix? What do you mean Phoenix?” Sergio’s eyes widened. “Frank too? Fine, send him over now.”
He tossed the phone onto the carpet and groaned.
“Good news?” I sighed, tugging at the carpet fibers.
“She said to ask Phoenix since it was he and Frank who were given the instructions.”
“Instructions?” I shook my head. “For what?”
Sergio hung his head. “Our love story.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Exactly.” He rose and held out his hand. “Phoenix was with Chase anyways, so Mil relayed the message, they’re on their way.”
“They?”
“Everyone.”
I suddenly wanted to crawl into the bed and hide, but not my bed, not even Segio’s, hers.
My best friend’s.
Because I knew if she were here, she could explain the method to her madness, and she’d also laugh with me and tell me everything was going to be okay.
And maybe, after she did that, I could apologize.
For falling in love with the same man.
Only I wasn’t sorry.
I would never be sorry.
And that made me the worst sort of best friend, the worst sort of person, because every time I thought about her touching him, a pang of jealousy shot through my chest. Cancer or not, if she were here, I’d still fight for him.
And I hated myself for it.
If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves, they may pass for excellent men. –A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Sergio
IT WAS RAINING again.
I was angry again.
I was frustrated.
I was irritated.
And as much as I wanted to comfort Val, I was livid that she’d kept such a secret from me — for so long. How could I trust her in the future?
The division between us grew along with the silence as the gang slowly started to arrive.
They knew something.
And it pissed me off that they’d kept it from me right along with Val, then again, she was as much a victim as I was. What the HELL had Andi been thinking?
Maybe she’d been delirious, and Frank hadn’t the heart to tell her no, maybe Phoenix was desperate, maybe they were all worried I would jump off a cliff the minute she passed.
They’d had good reason to be worried.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it.
Phoenix was the last to arrive, and when he did, he slammed the door behind him with such force; the aftershock pierced the tension in the house with a knife, causing an explosion of emotion to boil in my chest. I surged to my feet and started to charge him, only to be intercepted by both Tex and Nixon.
“Stop,” Nixon hissed in an angry tone. “You attacking him accomplishes nothing, let him speak.”
I took a deep breath and nodded as Nixon shoved me back toward the couch where Val was curled up. The girls had stayed home. I really wished they hadn’t, because Val needed someone, something, and I couldn’t give it to her, not now, maybe not ever.