Page 8

Instantly, I forget all the pain that asshole caused me. Because he wasn’t worth it. He cheated on me for a year. I can’t imagine what he’s doing to his wife now. No doubt cheating on her, too. Or maybe not. Maybe it was love, and they were always meant to be together.

I can’t pretend to know what their world is like a decade later. All I know is that they hurt me, and while I’m not hurt any longer, it doesn’t take away the sting when I look at them. A decade should be long enough, but as I stand here with my baby, I realize that it’s not.

And it’s not because I feel anything romantic toward him, feel any hate toward her, or feel anything at all for either of them. It’s because I’m embarrassed. They did what they did together, and I was nothing. Not a second thought. I thought Jonathan was everything, when in reality, he was everything to me, but I was nothing to him.

And that is embarrassing.

What’s equally embarrassing is the fact that I’m standing at this party holding a baby and I don’t even know who the father is, which every person in this room knows—including Jonathan and his wife, Trinity.

“Everything okay?” Clare asks in a whisper, sliding up beside me.

I almost shout at her, but I don’t need to draw any attention to myself—well, more than I already have, at least. Rocking my body from side to side, I focus on Thea, who is now in the beginning stages of sleep, still fighting it slightly but beginning to fall. She’ll be passed out soon.

“Why didn’t you tell me they were going to be here?” I ask. “All that drama the other night, and you could have led with that.”

Clare’s eyes widen, then she shifts her gaze away from mine before coming back. I arch a brow, waiting for her response, because no way in hell did she just think that maybe it wouldn’t bother me to see them.

No way did she not know they would be here.

All of these people have stayed friends since high school, and both Jonathan and Trinity were part of the group, so much so that I never suspected they were doing it behind my back because we were all such good friends.

“Honestly, it’s been so long. I didn’t think it would matter, but then I thought if they started asking questions that might be upsetting⁠—”

“You should have just told me. Flat out,” I say. “I would have been better prepared.”

Plus, the fact that they’re standing there with a newborn is not helping my brain from going in a million different directions.

“Oh, shit,” Clare whispers.

I start to ask her what is going on, but when I shift my focus to follow hers, I realize I don’t have to ask anything because the oh, shit is heading my way… well, a couple of them, actually.

“Oh my gosh, it’s Keely,” Trinity cries. It’s fake as fuck, just like her. She is rocking her baby and dips her chin down to Thea. “Who is this little sweetheart?”

God, I would love to slap her for being fake. Instead, I plaster on a smile and clear my throat to tell her something that she undoubtedly already knows. “This is my daughter, Thea,” I state.

Her smile doesn’t fade. It’s plastered on as thick as her makeup. “She’s just precious,” she coos. “This is little Royce,” she says, showing me her son. Unfortunately, he’s beautiful, even for a newborn, and I have to tell her that, or I’m the bitch.

“He’s beautiful, Trinity. Truly, he is.”

She smiles even wider, then pretends to look around the room. “I didn’t see your husband anywhere. I’d love to meet him.”

And there it is. “Trin,” Jonathan hisses.

I don’t allow my smile to falter or fail. I’m going to fake this whole encounter, and then, when I get into my car, I’m going to allow myself a good cry. Then I’m going to go home, give Thea a bath, and hold her until she falls asleep before I drown myself in a fresh bowl of raw cookie dough.

“I don’t have a husband,” I state, attempting to stay cheerful. “It’s just Thea and me.”

Trinity pokes out her lip but doesn’t get the chance to say anything because Jonathan speaks before she can say something bitchy. “I think it’s really brave doing it on your own, and Thea seems like a happy baby, so you’re doing something right.”

I know he’s trying to make up for Trinity being rude, but his words don’t help me. They don’t make me feel warm and fuzzy. They just plain fall flat. That’s when I decide that it’s time for me to go.

It doesn’t take me long to say my congratulations and goodbyes. Clare asks me a million times if I’m okay, and I reassure her that I am, something I would say even if I weren’t. Then Thea and I are out the door and headed to my car. There is a pool party going on at Briar’s condo’s shared pool.

There’s good music and laughter along with splashing. I don’t look over, probably because I would be too envious of all the friends having fun while I spent the last two hours being silently judged by the people I thought were my lifelong friends.

Then I hear a man’s voice.

A familiar man’s voice.