Page 10 of I Wish He Would

“You, too.” She pulls back and wiggles her brows. “I can’t wait to hear about your date last night.”

I pop my lips. “Trust me, it wasn’t anything to write home about.”

Tess pouts and threads her arm through mine. “At least we have each other now that everyone else has gone and fallen in love.”

We glance over at our friends who are all gushing over a picture the paparazzi took of Mallory and her celebrity boyfriend, Griffin Reynolds. Yes, that Griffin Reynolds: the mega-famous rom-com movie star.

Then there’s Shayna, who recently threw us all for a loop when she confessed she’s been in love with Mallory’s older brother, Connor, since we were teenagers.

I’m happy my friends found the kind of love they deserve, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wonder why I can’t find the same thing. I don’t know what I did wrong in life to go out with men who take me to funerals or bring their mothers on first dates.

I’ve tried my best to stay optimistic and give any date a chance. If I’m being honest, I’ve been feeling the pressure to find my perfect match like my friends have. I know they’d tell me I’m crazy if I told them this, but part of me is worried about not being able to see them as much while they all enter this new stage of life together. I know everything will fall into place when it’s supposed to, so I need to stop trying to rush things. But I can’t help but wonder if my many awful dates are a sign that I’m meant to give up on dating for the time being.

I sigh. “Sisters before misters.”

Tess shoots me a mischievous grin. “Baddies before baby daddies.”

I laugh as we walk into the restaurant and get in line. “Okay, you win.” I run my fingers along the strap of my purse. “Speaking of, have you heard from Julian?”

Julian, her loser ex-husband, cheated on her with his assistant. They moved to Berlin together after he gave up all parental rights to their daughter, Evie. If I ever meet the man in person, he can expect a quick kick to the groin, ensuring he never fathers another child…and I think that’s rather mild compared to what my other friends and Tess’s brother would do to him.

Tess shakes her head. “Still radio silence since he left.”

I squeeze her arm. “Any man that fumbles you is a fool.”

“Thanks.” She lets out a dry laugh. “I just feel bad for Evie that she’s never going to know her dad. She didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

“Neither did you.” I knock her hip with mine. “It’s his loss.”

“That’s what I keep reminding myself.” Tess takes a deep breath. “Anyway, that’s why I will firmly be in the baddies-before-baby-daddies group for life.”

“After last night, I’m right there with you.”

Before she can ask me to explain further, we reach the front of the line. I place my order and pay before grabbing our favorite table in the corner of the restaurant. I set my phone down on the table and am about to flip it over so I’m not distracted by any notifications when it vibrates with an incoming text. I glance at it warily, praying it’s not Patrice asking me how the date went with her coworker last night. My stomach drops when I see the name on my lock screen. It’s worse than Patrice.

It’s her sister.

BIANCA

We haven’t gotten your RSVP yet! Just a reminder that they’re due by the end of the week. We would hate to not have you there since you’re the one who brought us together *red heart emoji*

What my cousin coincidentally leaves out is that the “we” she’s referring to is her and Bradley Vanderbilt. The same Bradley Vanderbilt she met when I was dating him. I didn’t know that inviting him to family events when we were dating constituted bringing them together. But it seems she has a hard time with definitions since she also thinks the word cousin is synonymous with please, go right ahead and date my ex right after we broke up.

At least I had my besties there to help put the pieces back together. The people who have never failed me.

It’s been four years since we dated, and I’ve moved on. But anytime I remember that Bianca had actually been DMing Bradley on social media while we were still together, it still gets my blood boiling. Maybe it’s even part of the reason her sister, Patrice, tries to set me up with all these random guys. Like she’s trying to offer me some love penance on her sister’s behalf.

The worst part wasn’t even finding out that they’d been messaging, but what she’d been telling him. That I would never be able to fit into his world. That he needed to be with someone like her—a woman who knows what it takes to step into a prominent, upper-class family. And I guess her manipulation tactics worked, because now she’s marrying him.

Honestly, I dodged a bullet when Bradley Vanderbilt ended things with me if he’d be willing to toss me aside so easily. But he’s always been the kind of guy to mold his personality into the people he’s around. Which is exactly why he’s a massive jerk now, just like my insufferably mean cousin who has bullied me and my friends since middle school.

My phone vibrates again in my hand. I look at the screen with a pit in my stomach.

BIANCA

There’s no shame in coming alone!

I roll my eyes. Of course she would assume the reason I haven’t RSVPed to her wedding is that I don’t have a date, not because I don’t want to be around her mean-girl personality or my ex.