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“Yeah. In this group of people, there’s no one that I’d like to talk to more.” I followed him through the crowd. I smiled and waved as if I knew his former employees. “Hi! It’s nice to see you! Have you met my husband, Levi?”
Levi took over, calling them each by their names. He plastered on an easygoing smile and asked about their personal lives. I did my best to play the happy wife while he schmoozed.
But then I saw a flash of brown hair and a familiar face.
Ava was staring at me from within the crowd.
Calvin was nowhere to be found, and I wondered if she’d been left in the dust while he found other people. A wad of cotton formed in my mouth. I knew that feeling better than anyone else.
“Excuse me,” I said, patting Levi’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
His hand on my waist gripped me tighter. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I saw an old friend in the crowd. I wanna say hi.”
He nodded and let me go, and I moved in Ava’s direction.
She walked off and into the kitchen, head hung low. I followed her.
“Hey,” I said. “Enjoying the party?”
She turned. “Areyou?”
“Kinda. It’s a lot of business talk. Is Calvin not hanging out with you?”
“It’s fine. I gotallof him this morning.”
I cringed. I didnotneed to know that.
“So, are you two dating?” I asked.
“Of course. I couldn’t believe when he contacted me a few weeks ago. I thought he’d forgotten about me.”
He probably had. Until I got married to his enemy.
Calvin knew that Ava was my friend first. And he’d gone after her anyway, just like he always did. I didn’t want to pop Ava’s bubble, but I didn’t want to leave her in the dark either.
“That’s funny,” I said. “That’s right when I announced my engagement.”
“Oh yeah. Levi, right? Kind of a bold move, going after an enemy like that.”
“He’s notmyenemy.”
“Sure, but there’s a history there. You really hurt Calvin’s feelings.”
I blinked. “I wasn’t aware that I had to consider his feelings when choosing a partner.”
“I know you don’t want to. Leave it to Amy to make it all about her.” She walked to the doorway and glanced at Levi. “Seems you’re in familiar territory. He’s over there talking business without a second thought about you. There’s not even a chair for you.”
I followed her line of sight; Levididseem focused on his conversation. He’d found a seat, the only one open, chatting away with the clients Calvin was trying to steal.
“Are you trying to make me feel bad?”
“It’s pretty easy to,” she said with a smile. “You have so many insecurities.”
That familiar feeling of rage flooded me. She used to be my friend. Why would she want to pick at all of my insecurities? Why couldn’t she simplybe my friend?
“I don’t have any insecurities.”