Page 36 of Catch Me (Townsend Legacy #4)

I vy

“Meanwhile, this one was getting her back blown out in Las Vegas over the weekend,” Mya says.

Everyone around the table bursts out into a round of guffaws. Everyone except for me. Instead, I throw my cloth napkin at her.

Ari, Mya, me, and Stacey are having dinner at a new Mexican restaurant Ari found in her neighborhood.

“Don’t be shy, Vee,” Ari adds. “We’re happy for you.”

I roll my eyes and look over at Stacey across the table. “You’ll have to excuse my friends. They don’t have a filter once they’ve gotten a little alcohol into them.”

Since that day at the vintage clothing store, Stacey and I have kept in touch. This is her first time hanging out with the three of us.

I nod at the salt-rimmed margarita sitting in front of Ari and Mya.

Stacey laughs. “Don’t worry about it. This is the type of carrying on that I love.”

“Right?” Ari says, holding up a hand.

Stacey gives her a high-five, and they burst out into a new round of giggles.

Though I frown, I don’t mind their laughter. And within seconds I join in.

“I’ve missed hanging out with other women and just laughing like this, to be honest,” Stacey says once she sobers up. “I moved out here three years ago, and it’s been difficult making long-term friendships,” she continues. “Everyone here has an agenda.”

“Don’t I know it,” Mya confirms. “As a lawyer in the entertainment industry I can’t tell you the number of ‘friendship’ contracts I’ve drafted.”

She uses air quotes around the word friendship. “Half of the relationships you see are fake as hell, and the other thirty percent are a mix of toxicity and trauma bonding.”

“And that’s different from us how?” Ari quips.

“The difference is, I haven’t sued you for pain and suffering yet,” Mya shoots back, making us laugh. “Especially after the number of times I’ve watched you cry over that sorry ass man.”

Ari groans, then looks at me, pointing. “Don’t you dare laugh!”

I hold up my hands in mock defense.

“Come on, Ari, you know that was funny. We all know you’re better off without him.”

“Here, here!” Mya holds up her glass, and we all toast.

Ari spends the next few minutes filling Stacey in on her ex and how she made the decision to move out here to Los Angeles.

“These two are the closest thing to sisters I’ve had, so I wanted to be closer to them.”

I smile, my heart swelling. “Similar for me,” I add. “Once I made the decision to finally leave my parents’ home for good and stand up on my own, there wasn’t even a question of where I wanted to be.

“Fashion has called me for years, and I made the choice to heed the call all of the way out here to L.A.”

I look over at Mya. “Knowing Mya was here made the decision that much easier.”

“It takes bravery to pursue your dreams, especially if you don’t have a supportive family behind you,” Stacey says.

“I’m lucky in that regard. My parents have always had my back while also giving me the freedom to spread my wings. Their marriage to each other might’ve been terrible, but they’re great parents.”

“That’s sweet,” I say before glancing between Mya and Ari.

Their eyes tell me they already can tell what I’m thinking. I don’t need to say it for them to understand that I can’t say I know what Stacey’s experience is like.

“Now, back to the topic at hand,” Mya says while taking a nacho from the basket at the center of the table. “Tell us about this weekend,” she insists before biting into her chip.

Our waitress gives me time to think about my response as she arrives at our table with our order.

We all go silent when she places our food in front of each one of us, but Mya’s eyes never leave mine. While I’m not looking at her, I can feel her smirk from across the table as well.

“It went well, nosy,” I say as soon as our waitress leaves.

“Don’t you dare.” Mya points her fork in my direction. “I watched that horrid cat for two and a half days, making sure her stuck up tail didn’t starve. For you, Ivy. I did that for you. The least you could do is give us something more.”

I pause with my fish taco in my hand, halfway to my mouth. “What happened to taking care of Ms. Shelby out of the kindness of your heart?”

“Cut the shit,” Mya insists, and I burst out into laughter.

“The weekend was great,” I finally say. “Everyone was happy to celebrate the completion of the shoot. Michael Keith did a great job on this script, and the cast was phenomenal.”

“And you got your back blown out. Did he propose?” Mya gasps. “You two didn’t get married out there, did you?”

“What?” I yelp. “Are you out of your mind?”

“No, but he is over you,” Mya insists.

I roll my eyes. “I did not marry Andreas while in Las Vegas.”

“Are you sure?” Ari interjects.

“You too?” I look at Ari with wide eyes.

“You’re seeing someone?” Stacey asks.

I haven’t gone into the full details about my relationship with Stacey since I was doing my best to keep it as private as possible. But within the past couple of weeks, I’ve become more relaxed about being open about our relationship.

“Yes, Andreas Knight,” I say.

Stacey’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “Oh, he’s gorgeous.”

“Doesn’t she know it,” Ari chimes in.

The four of us laugh.

“I know I haven’t known you long, but from what I’ve seen and experienced being around you, you deserve someone who treats you well,” Stacey says. “My mom still talks about meeting you that day at the vintage store. She loved the outfits you sent to her through Style Box.”

“That’s great news,” I gush. “If she ever wants help or has questions about an outfit or piece of clothing she can always reach out to me. I know I haven’t been on Style Box lately,” I say apologetically.

“That’s because she’s busy getting her back blown out,” Ari interjects, which causes another round of laughter.

Thankfully, the conversation soon moves away from my dating life. We get to know Stacey a little more. Turns out, she came to L.A. to study art history at USC and ended up getting a job at one of L.A.’s most prestigious art museums.

I get lost in the conversation and our dinner for a while before my phone buzzes.

Mya raises an eyebrow at me, half smirking. “I bet that’s him.”

I start to tell her that Andreas has his book club tonight so the chances of him calling now are slim to none. But I hold it in, knowing that it would be like him to at least send me a text letting me know he’s thinking about me.

I turn my phone over and my heart sinks.

“No, it’s not him,” I mumble at the same time I stand to take this conversation outside.

“Hi, Rose.” I try to sound as jovial as possible when answering the phone for my sister.

“So you do remember my name.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

“Of course I do.”

“Mom told me how you kicked her out when she visited you.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s not how it went at all,” I tell my sister, who’s always been a younger version of my mother. They’re both as cold as a block of ice and as subtle in their judgment as brick to the forehead.

“It’s been months, Ivy,” Rose continues. “You’ve been in Los Angeles long enough. We know it’s probably not working out for you. Mom said it looked like you were on the verge of another one of your panic attacks when you threw her out.

“It’s time to return home before you make another public spectacle of yourself and embarrass the family once again. You know Dad is in the running for being named president at the university?—”

“Rose, I’m busy right now.” If I don’t cut her off, she’ll just keep going on about all of the ways I owe it to the family not to embarrass them.

The lump that’s already lodged in my throat makes it difficult to speak. Knowing my mother saw my panic attack and still chooses to treat it like it’s my own personal failing instead of something beyond my control is telling.

“W-Well,” she uncharacteristically stutters, “our parents. They are worried about you.”

“Yeah, Mom showed how concerned she is about me when she thought I was having a panic attack and instead of trying to comfort or be there for me, she goes home and uses it as a smear campaign to prove to you that I’m in L.A. embarrassing the family.”

“That’s not what?—”

“That’s exactly how it is,” I counter. “I’m going back to dinner with my friends. And the next time you call me with this snide attitude, I will block your number.”

My voice comes out stronger than I feel.

“Enjoy your evening.”

Though my breathing remains a little shaky, a sense of relief overcomes me. This is the first time I’ve spoken up for myself to my sister.

Boundaries.

The term Dr. King taught me. She’s the first person who ever told me it was okay to set, and most importantly, stick to my boundaries with my family members.

It’s starting to feel like I’m finally getting the hang of the sticking to my boundaries part.

“Sorry about that,” I say as I approach the table. “Rose was on her typical …” I trail off when Mya and Ari both look up from their phones with a stark look in their eyes.

“What happened?”

Mya’s the first one to turn her phone to face me.

On the screen reads a headline in big, bold letters: It’s True: Former couple Andreas Knight and Amber Jones are back on!