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Through all the blood, sweat, and tears, we made it to the end of the project. And what sweet relief it was to stand back and celebrate. As a scrawny server floated through the crowd, I swiped a pair of champagne flutes and held one out to Lia, my bestie through all life testies. I could cry the happiest possible tears; bubbly was a prerequisite.
Experience Shoreview was ready for the hip, wealthy townspeople to dance all their troubles away. They couldn’t have a better place for it anywhere else, either. We’d accounted for all the small details, and I couldn’t be any more overjoyed with the outcome.
Well, mostly…
My eyes slid to the left. Lia stood with her hands clasped in front of her like a polite grandma. Where did her champagne go? She deserved to enjoy herself more than that. After all, she was the mastermind behind this beautiful space. Since she was such a badass, she deserved to gloat and glow.
I sipped my champagne and nudged her with my hip.
”Look at this place. And look at you! You made this. You”re a damn star, babe!”
An uncertain smile crossed her face, but faded quickly. Her nervous eyes skidded around the bustling room. All the people around us were dressed up and enjoying the environment she had put everything into. At least, I hoped she was admiring her handiwork, not thinking of the unmentionable asshat who stomped on her feelings. Celebration was the main course this evening, not wallowing in heartache.
And since I couldn’t help myself, I checked the space out, too. When it finally came together, real bona fide magic happened. The music thumped, people chatted and danced, and the whole place thrummed with great energy.
Lia and I made a damn good team. She brought the artistic concept for this vintage-meets-modern thing of beauty, and I sourced and hired artisan furniture craftsmen for the extra touches.
I was a professional loose-end-tie-r; the people person brought in to get the job done. And I was super glad to be on the Experience Shoreview team for a few key reasons. One, Experience was a great brand to be associated with, and B, Lia needed someone to lean on if she was going to make it through. It couldn”t have worked out better.
Well… it definitely could have been better.
Lia had a bit of a thing for the owner of Experience Shoreview, Raphael Teresse. And a bit of a thing was a bit more than a bit of an understatement. The poor thing was head over heels, and Raph was acting like a typical guy. Can”t decide, hot and cold. He got involved with her, then pulled back when things got too real. And because of that, I’d love for my high heel to meet the back of his head a couple dozen times.
Raphael Teresse hired Lia as his designer, and she”d delivered with flying colors, but that wasn”t the issue. The issue was they had this crazy what-are-the-odds past, and that past didn”t agree with the here and now. Rather than cohesion, conflict reigned.
There”s always conflict with men.
Men eyed Lia, and I smiled to myself, knowing I had a hand in it. I refused to let her out of the house til she was dressed to kill. She needed to make Raph see what he was missing, if nothing else. Men loved seeing a woman all dressed up, but hated when other men noticed. And man, were they noticing.
I wandered a few steps to give the poor bastards an opening.
I bolstered my heartbroken bestie as best as I could, but there was only so much I could do working from secondhand accounts and cliched adages. The truth was, I didn”t know a damn thing about broken hearts. The only thing I felt in the ballpark of heartbreak was mild disappointment if someone I wanted to hook up with wasn”t in town when I felt frisky. That was it.
No one could break my heart if I never gave it out.
I didn”t get close to any guy, anytime, ever. Life ran smoother that way. Then I wouldn’t have to sweep up the shattered shards of my heart and soul when the relationship inevitably ended. It always would eventually. It happened to everyone over and over. But not to me, thank you very much. I was too smart for all that noise.
Bingo, dudes incoming.
A subtle smile pulled at my glossy lips, but I hid it behind the rim of my champagne flute. There was no way I’d steal even the littlest crumbs of attention Lia deserved. This was her night. I turned toward the flowing crowd, more than ready to take a quick dip. I’d check back in with Lia in a couple minutes to make sure everything was still kosher.
Even though I put myself on bestie watch, the energy of Experience Shoreview was right up my alley. Nothing hit the spot quite like the thrill of letting loose and dancing with the anonymous. I moved out onto the dance floor and let the beat take over. Strangers didn”t care about flaws; only hips, ass, and sweat. And I was a stranger, too. Always was, and always would be. Anonymity was the best and only way to live.
A pulsing remix of a radio favorite blared from the speakers, and I let myself twist and bend, arch and cascade. Like an ocean wave racing for shore. I didn’t have a reason for my destination, but the energy was there to burn regardless. And fulfilling my human purpose to be felt pretty damn good.
As the song wound down, I opened my eyes and searched for Lia. She was still safe, loose posture, talking to a generic dude in a generic blazer. Perfect. I whirled around as a fast song blared and skidded to a halt.
That man… He looked like… nah.
A slow roll of nausea shoved me out of my happy place, but I wasn’t ready to let go of the blank, blanketing joy just yet. I spun, raising my arms overhead. Despite my efforts to block it, tiny flashes of painful memories blinked through my memory and my steps faltered. I shook my head to let it go, trying to find the beat, but I lost the mood. One stranger could wreck everything. It was like seeing a ghost.
The only guy I ever really counted on, though a little twisted, was my teen nemesis, Evan Lawrence. I could count on him to be there, fighting me every step of every way. From academics, to sports, to friend circles; he was always there to be a pain in my ass. Until one day he wasn”t.
I popped into the bathroom to check my face and cool off since dancing turned out to be a bust. There was no way he was here. I didn’t want to deal with that headache. A little distraction from my distraction was sure to clear my head. Why was I imagining things on a night like tonight? Of all the pointless places my mind could roam, why there? Why the most forbidden subjects?
Snap out of it, Shell.
My heels echoed on the bathroom’s tile floor. Strangely, the room was empty, and I took full advantage of the solitude, checking my cracks and crevices. When I was satisfied, I shook out my hair and checked my reflection in the mirror; the one with the hand-carved wooden frames I sourced. Yep, gloss still glossy, pout still pouty. Dress intact, glow healthy. Good to go. It had been a while since my last tryst, and I was on the prowl.
I pushed back into the glittering chaos of the dance floor and bee-lined for the food tables instead of the undulating throng. I needed something to munch on while I waited for speeches and polite clapping to start. It was better than dwelling on a past that could never repeat.
Popping a couple amuse-bouche bites into my mouth, I worked my way back to check on Lia.
Then my eyes landed on him. Again.
What was he doing here, other than ruining my night? Last time I internet-stalked, he was living it up out in Cali, a few hours north of my old hometown.
The smug bastard.
When I reached her, I slung my arm over Lia”s shoulder, ignoring the lies my mind kept spinning. To indulge insanity would only lead me to more insanity. Floodgates flooded with crazy. I had to focus. Lia needs me. I need me sane and focused.
”How ya holding up, buttercup?”
”I”m fine. Not like I”m fine, but I”m good. Not thinking about you-know-who. Continue to mingle. I’m doing okay, promise.”
Lia smiled and bumped into me to enforce her point. She was lying, but I loved her for being so strong. I loved her for more than that, but my heart swelled at her brave face.
Even after all the drama, I still thought Lia and Raph had something. Connections like theirs didn”t come along every day, or ever. Come on, a guy she met once and then imagined for years crossed her path and they fell for each other. What was that?
I was in no way a romantic; I would never be the heroine in a romance novel swooning over my long-lost sweetheart. But Amelia Freaking Hall so was. I hoped this night didn’t end in more crushed dreams, even if I’d never dare speak those hopes aloud.
”Say no more, because I saw a guy over there I haveto talk to. Ta-ta, babes.”
The lights overhead raised and dimmed as I walked away. I threw one last glance over my shoulder to see Lia shaking her head, smiling. I gave her a final wave just as a dull vanilla dude in a blue suit tried to get people”s attention up on the stage.
Now, where did he get to?
I was seeing ghosts; I had to be. All the romantic musings must have gone to my head, warping my sane psyche. That was the only explanation.
If that wasn”t it, I was in deep trouble.