Page 48 of The Singles Club

“How is your father doing these days?”

Crap.

“Fine,” I said.

“And his blushing young bride?”

I tapped my fingers against my cup. “His blushing bride is forty, and they’ve been married for over ten years.”

“Has it been that long already?” She downed the rest of the mimosa and started on the Bloody Mary. “It seems only yesterday I was getting all those calls about late nights at the office.”

I let out an internal moan. Here we go.

“It won’t be long before she gets the same, if she hasn’t already. The only loyalty men have is to their own penises.” She chuckled. “Which reminds me. Have you heard the news about Lucas?”

My fork stilled in my hand. “No, what about him?”

“Apparently, he’s engaged to some blonde trollop from Maine.” She cut off a bird-sized bite of her tuna and placed it delicately into her mouth.

Bile ran up the back of my throat, and I reached for my water. Benny eyed me, concern covering his face.

Lucas was already engaged? It hadn’t even been a full four months since we’d broken up.

“The tabloids are going to have a field day once this gets out.” My mother seemed more than amused while I was ready to throw up.

“Mom,” Benny glared at her. “Stop.”

My mother looked over at me, and her lips tightened. “You didn’t make yourself vulnerable to him, did you?”

“No.” I forced a smile. “I’m glad he’s doing well.”

She nodded as if pleased. “Well, no man is worth giving up Paris. Have you found an apartment yet?”

I took a bite of my tuna, although my appetite was pretty much down to zilch. “I’ve narrowed it down to three so far. I’m thinking of taking a studio, no roommates.”

“Good idea. Roommates can be bothersome.” My mother sipped her Bloody Mary.

After I’d gotten down a quarter of my meal, I set the silverware aside and excused myself to go to the ladies’ room. Once I was inside, I locked the stall and sat down, desperately trying to hold back the tears and failing miserably.

It wasn’t Lucas getting engaged or even falling in love that bothered me. He deserved that. What bothered me was that I was so easy to move on from.

My phone vibrated in my purse. I opened it to find a text from Justin.

J: Apparently, I’m still an anomaly when it comes to dates.

In my moment of weakness, I responded with the truth.

V: And I’m an anomaly when it comes to relationships.

He didn’t respond right away.

J: Are you okay?

V: I’ve been better.

J: What happened?

V: My ex-fiancé from only four months ago is engaged.