Page 25

Devyn arrived back at the table, placed a drink in front me, and leaned across the table, her palms flat. “So, who do we think the mysterious brunette is at the bar? She’s pulling an audience. The men are tickled, but I’m getting the vibe she’s not into them.”

My stomach went tight. I had a feeling I knew exactly who she was describing. “Oh. Damn.”

“What?” Devyn asked, an eyebrow arched. She turned back to the bar, attempting to see what had pulled my response.

I threw a glance behind me and confirmed the suspicion. “That’s…Kyle.” The sound of her laugh hit, and I closed my eyes briefly at the familiar sound. She had her hair down. The thick, dark strands fell halfway down her back with a hint of a wave. She wore a forest green sweater and what looked to be dark jeans or pants from what I could see. The bartender laughed at something she said, and Frazier Jeffries, who seemed to own his barstool, watched her in utter fascination, probably thinking it was his lucky night. He was single these days and let everyone know how wonderful a pot of chili he made. I grimaced. She turned to him and offered a full wattage smile as my stomach roiled. I had prepared myself to see her in the wild, but I wasn’t prepared for it to happen so soon and with Frazier smiling like a happy cat about to have dinner. Deep breath. Nothing to see there.

Elizabeth, mid conversation, whirled around. “Did you just sayKyle? Surely nottheKyle.”

“The Kyle,” I said simply.

“Who is The Kyle?” Devyn asked in full squint. “And how do you both know her?”

Elizabeth was immediately at her side. “Last year, Savanna had this sexy whirlwind weekend with The Kyle and they made a pledgeto meet a year later on this suspension bridge in Charleston. Crazy romantic, right? Guess who didn’t show?”

I couldn’t hear this story again. “I’ll speed this along. Not me.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. One of the most humiliating things that had ever happened to me was becoming a wider known story, and it pained me.

“Why is she here?” Elizabeth asked, whirling back to me. “Is she trying for a second chance?”

“She said she’s always wanted to see the Bay,” I said, using the local shorthand. I caught them up on the rest of my conversation with Kyle, including her invitation to talk at some point. “I don’t think I’m interested in that conversation anymore,” I said, just in time for another round of Kyle’s laughter to float across our conversation like a freezing cold blanket.

“You just winced,” Elizabeth pointed out. “She’s getting under your skin. Do you want to go?”

“No,” I said emphatically.

“Who cares about her?” Devyn said with a dismissive shrug. “You have things starting to cook with MJ, who is awesome and smart, and very pretty, by the way.” Devyn was practical, and in that moment, made a ton of sense. In fact, I longed to be more like her. Devyn owned every situation she walked into like the calm, cool, and collected corporate badass she was. With, of course, the exception of Elizabeth Draper, who’d turned her life upside down and dismantled everything she thought she knew about herself. It had been amazing, the way the two of them had fallen desperately in love when Devyn had returned to town. If love had been my goal, these two would be the blueprint. Luckily, it wasn’t. If anything, getting to know MJ might be a recipe for sexy fun, and I could certainly use a little of that in my life.

“Good point. Bring on more MJ.” I tossed back some wine like it was a shot. See, look how carefree! This wasn’t Kyle’s bar. It was great she was there, the more the merrier. I wasn’t about to lose another moment’s thought over the situation. We’d all moved on from the events in Charleston. There was a period at the end of that sentence.

“In fact…” I smiled with confidence at my friends. “Be right back.”

“Um, Savanna,” Elizabeth called from behind me. “Are you sure you wanna…?”

I waved her off, determined to make my presence known andextinguish anything awkward. I arrived at the bar and paused two seats down from Kyle, placing my forearms on the polished oak surface. “Hey, Sean. We’ll take an order of mozzarella sticks at table four when you have a chance.”

Sean began typing on his mobile screen. “You got it, Savanna.”

At the mention of my name, Kyle turned mid-conversation. When her gaze found mine, everything about her softened. Her shoulders. Her eyes. Her entire demeanor. I blinked, caught off guard. I’d spent months constructing her villain persona. She couldn’t come in here andsoften at my presence, torpedoing the whole project. That wasn’t how this worked. I needed her to behave like a self-centered bitch. Why wasn’t that happening?

“Hi, Savanna.”

I wished her voice wasn’t butter smooth. “Hi.” I flashed a brief smile and then faced the front, waiting for Sean to run my card for the food I didn’t actually want. We’d grabbed tacos from the truck on the beach after cornhole, making this whole exercise now feel manipulative and like a big ole staged show. For what?

“How was your date?”

“My date?” I blanked. That’s right. I’d had one of those. I took a minute to remember the details, off balance. “You know, it was nice.” That needed more. “Fabulous, actually. We lost the cornhole tournament, but what are you gonna do? There was so much laughter, though.” I nodded eight times. “Which is what you want. At a tournament.” A nod. A shoulder lift. “On a date or whatever.” I was awful at playing it cool. I struggled with aloof. I needed lessons, I realized, as my heart hammered endlessly.

“I don’t have a clue what cornhole is, but I’m sorry you weren’t victorious. Laughing is my favorite, too.”

Damn her and her serenity. Shedidn’tneed lessons.

Kyle gestured to an empty stool. “Do you want to join us?”

My gaze moved from Frazier to Kyle to Sean. All eyes were on me. “No, no,” I said, springing back into animation. I hooked a thumb behind me. “My friends are waiting for me.” Kyle turned, so I did, too, just in time to see Devyn and Elizabeth instantly look away, feigning exaggerated interest in the décor, the table, and each other. Zero points awarded for believability.

“Ah, I see. No worries at all.” She sipped her drink, which I recognized as Sean’s Old Fashioned. He was pretty proud of that recipe.Something about walnut bitters. I wondered what she thought of the bar. Apparently, I wouldn’t find out because Frazier had launched into a speech about tax season and what a bitch it was this year. His amazing pot of chili was surely next. I closed out the check and returned to my table, off center and feeling unsatisfied by the whole exchange.