22. Chapter 22
A las, it was too much to hope that Sofia wouldn’t bring Kylan to the party as her plus one. Sighing, I watched him enter the large poolside backyard area set up for the party at Joel’s parents’ house.
They’re probably dating, after all, so of course he’d be Sofia’s plus one.
My thoughts were glum as I sipped my first cocktail of the humid summer evening and averted my eyes. I always loved parties, so this feeling of wanting to skip out was unpracticed.
Rainn nudged me with his elbow. We were sitting at the small outdoor bar, while other early arrivals, mostly friends of Joel and Rafael, were lounging poolside. “Who’s the woman on his arm?” His voice was a strange mixture of worry and intrigue.
I reluctantly glanced back toward the door.
“I have no idea. But there’s Sofia too. Maybe it’s his sister?
” I stared at the unfamiliar woman, whose sandy blonde hair was swept back with an orange hair tie that matched her simple, flowy sundress.
Simple but classy—I had to approve. “Yeah, look! She has his smile. ”
Rainn squinted. “Really? I don’t see it. And when does that guy ever smile anyway?” He gave me a sympathetic look. “I guess before …”
I shook my head, giving him a warning look before returning my attention to the new arrivals. Joel was shaking their hands as Rafael made introductions.
It has to be his sister. But why would he bring her?
Are Sofia and Kelly becoming close?
For one alarming second, I felt moisture start to pool in my eyes.
Stupid, stupid.
“So how much redecorating are you going to have to do?” Rainn asked. “You moved into her office today, right?” I couldn’t help but smile at this change of topic. Laina’s last day was yesterday, and I’d wasted no time moving into my new space.
“Assuming you mean Laina’s office, it needs a massive makeover.
She had horrible taste. Maybe not in books, but definitely in office decor.
Though I’m not feeling perfect harmony with her client list either.
Sofia said occasionally some trading happens in this situation.
I imagine sometimes the clients look elsewhere too, if they aren’t keen on being transferred to a newbie agent. ”
“Ah, what’s this drivel I hear?” Rafael’s voice came up behind us. “I’m sure you’ve gotten to know her old clients somewhat. Anyone who knows you even a little would want to keep you, Annie.”
I inhaled sharply and glanced around, worried that Kylan might have overheard that. I breathed out a sigh of relief though when I saw Joel leading him and his guest toward the other group by the pool.
Viviana and Jack arrived soon after, along with Jenn Weston.
As usual, I felt happy to see Jenn but also uncomfortably …
wistful. If only we could be closer, I heard myself thinking.
The recent rift with Viviana hadn’t helped, as I’d shied away from all our mutual friends during that period.
Well, except Jack. A tall, unfamiliar woman walked alongside them .
Viviana tugged on the woman’s arm and made a beeline for us, with Jack and Jenn trailing behind. “Annie, I am so excited for you!” she exclaimed, pulling me up for a startlingly strong hug.
“Thanks,” I said as we stepped back, and I smiled politely at the newcomer. “Hi, I’m Annie. Obviously.”
Viviana gasped. “Sorry, I should lead with introductions, but I never do. Annie, this is Jane Alton. The Jane from Duluth!”
Jane chuckled, her long blonde ponytail swaying as she leaned forward to extend a hand in greeting. “Great to meet you, Annie. And congratulations are in order, I hear. I’ve heard great things about you.”
“Same,” I said, smiling but also wondering if it was fully true.
After all, Viviana had met and befriended Jane at a literary conference in Duluth in early spring when she and I weren’t speaking, so Jane might not have heard the greatest things about me initially.
Still, I could mend that impression, surely. I was pretty good at charming people.
Usually.
Well, until recently.
“ The Jane is a bit much though, Viv,” Jane said, eyeing our mutual friend. “I tend to reserve that for Jane Austen, don’t you?”
Viviana grinned. “I did, until I met you. Annie, Jane here is as much of an Austen fan as I am. Maybe more.”
“Doubtful that anyone could be more of an Austen fan than you, Vivi,” Jack said, stepping forward as he casually placed an arm across her shoulders.
“I have to agree with your man, Viv. And I still can’t believe I’m calling him your man,” Jenn said, laughing as Jane nodded. She turned to me then and smiled widely. “Congrats, girl. This is so freaking awesome for you.”
“Thanks, Jenn. And Viv, you and Jane can have all the Austen,” I said, a slight smile gracing my face. “I mean, she’s fine, but I’m all about the contemporary authors. As you’ll see from my new clients … Oh, oh , you guys, I’m going to be an agent!”
Everyone laughed before commencing a round of hugs and congrats again.
When Viviana came in for another hug, she whispered to me, “We’re going to return to the whole ‘she’s fine’ comment about Austen later on, Annie. For now though, let’s go get our drink on!” Laughing, we linked arms and ambled over to the bar.
The party was proceeding smoothly, with Rafael and Joel introducing me to a lot of their friends and Sofia introducing some friends and siblings she’d brought.
Rainn had brought a few friends as well, whom I knew only a little.
Kylan and his (likely) sister kept their distance, probably because they were constantly surrounded by a crowd of people who wanted to meet them.
Or him, probably. He was basically a celebrity.
And then disaster struck.
After disappearing for a bit, Joel and Rafael returned, clad in their swim shorts, their impressive ballet physiques and matching tattoos on full display. Rafael cleared his throat, and Joel let out a shrill whistle until a hush fell over the crowd.
“Thanks for coming out, everybody, but don’t be shy. Get in the damn pool. It’s scorching out here, am I right?” Rafael wiped his brow and grinned at Joel. “But first, speech time.”
My mouth formed an O as my eyes widened.
How drunk is he?
But I didn’t have to wonder long, as he soon launched into a rambling monologue that was both sweet and hilarious and had me in tears, both of laughter and of a deeper emotion.
He even had Joel bring Charlie outside for a brief appearance.
The kitten took one look at the pool and hissed before darting off toward the house, back to the cozy cat house where he’d been set up in luxury for the evening.
“OK, you’re all starting to nod off. I’ll shut up. Annie, congratulations, you amazing, gorgeous, talented lady. I love you, BFF,” Rafael said with a smile as he lifted a glass to me. “Now let’s—”
“Wait, my turn!” Sofia stood abruptly. “I haven’t known Annie very long, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.
Girl, you’ ve been on fire since you started at the agency.
Since you showed up for your dang interview.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m kind of, well …
competitive toward my peers. I’m a woman of color in a world that doesn’t make space for people like me, so, well, I got to make space for myself, right?
But with you, Annie … I couldn’t be happier to have you as both a peer and a friend.
I’m so glad you decided to change careers and landed at our agency as my assistant—and didn’t stay as an assistant for long.
Though replacing you is going to be impossible.
Anyway, I promised not to ramble too much, but how much booze is in these drinks, guys?
So, congratulations, Annie. You’re amazing. ” She smiled warmly, and I beamed.
I wished I hadn’t been sitting so far away from Sofia and Rafael because these amazing speeches called for massive hugs in gratitude.
Sofia looked immediately at Kylan, who was seated near her. “Do you want to speak too?” He shook his head quickly. Sofia looked like she was about to speak but then apparently thought better of it and turned back to Rafael with a half-smile. “All right, guys. Proceed.”
Without warning, Rafael and Joel glanced at each other and grinned and then dove into the water, splashing nearly everyone around them.
Kylan snubbed me.
Publicly.
He refused to speak on my behalf? To congratulate me at my party? Why was he even here then? He could’ve just said something simple, gracious, polite. But to just … decline. It hurt. A lot. I wasn’t getting this promotion to impress him, yet … it hurt.
Before I could continue this depressing line of thinking, though, I realized everyone around me was either jumping into the pool or heading into the house. I turned to Viviana, who was just rising beside me. “Where’s everyone going?”
“To put on bathing suits, I imagine. Some people are just jumping in, clothes and all, but some of us aren’t so keen on that. Like Jack.” She laughed. “We’re headed inside. You coming?”
“Oh, uh, I’m not sure yet,” I said, my heart thumping in my chest. “You go on without me.”
This was it.
The moment I’d feared. The fear that had driven me to almost skip out on my own party.
Breathe.
Panic.
Breathe.
Maybe if I just hadn’t fallen into the pool—
Can’t breathe. Panic. Breathe. No. Don’t swallow water.
“No, it wasn’t my fault,” I whispered to no one. “My mother should’ve been watching her only child more closely. Or at all.”
Did she save me because she loved me? Or because she was trying to impress her boyfriend?
Did she ever love me?
Breathe.
In, out.
In, out.
I’d done this before. Pretended I wasn’t terrified of swimming. Pretended my throat wasn’t closing up at the very idea. Pretended I hadn’t experienced a horrible childhood trauma. I’d done it convincingly, apparently, because even Rafael didn’t know.
But it had been a while. I’d successfully dodged most invitations to go to pools and beaches in recent years.