Lola
I’D HAVE GIVEN anything for a hole to open up beneath my feet and suck me down into a dark abyss. Anything. Even my favorite Kate Spade handbag. The very same one I’d gotten into a knock-down, drag-out fight with some soccer mom bitch for last year during a Black Friday sale.
No such luck.
“I like your dress. It’s beautiful.”
It took me several seconds for my brain to engage and actually comprehend what she’d just said.
“Uh… thank you.” She sounded so sincere, but I wasn’t buying it. I examined her expression like someone would stare at a slide beneath a microscope, looking for any signs of manipulation. I found none. Instead of sneering or shooting me scathing looks like she had that afternoon at the Lockharts’, she was looking back at me with what appeared to be such stark remorse in her eyes that some of the ice in my veins actually began to thaw. “You… look really nice too.” The compliment felt awkward on my tongue, especially considering how I’d felt about this woman the past few weeks, but it felt like the right thing to do.
She smiled genuinely at me, her gaze bouncing between Grayson and me before she spoke again. “Could I…?” She fidgeted nervously for a moment. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but… do you think I could speak with you for just a minute?”
Grayson’s arm wrapped around my waist in what could only be described as a protective hold. His arm was like a steel band tied around me, pulling my back flush with his chest.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Fee,” he spoke for me.
Unlike some women who would’ve found the possessive gesture to be insulting, I found it kind of swoon-worthy, albeit slightly annoying. I was more than capable of answering for myself, after all.
Her eyes traveled back to Grayson, but only for a second, and it was then that I realized she wasn’t staring up at him with the same lovesick adoration in her eyes. “I’ll only take a moment. Please.”
I peeked up at him to see a concerned frown marring his handsome face. “It’s fine,” I whispered, placing my hands on his arm around my waist and giving it a reassuring squeeze. His jade eyes flickered with uncertainty and… fear? I wasn’t certain, but whatever the emotion behind his gaze, it warmed me to my very core. “Really. I’ll be okay.”
“Lola,” he growled warningly, causing me to roll my eyes.
Spinning around in his hold, I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and brought his face closer to mine.
“You and I need to have a conversation. Not right now, but later tonight. There are some things I need to tell you, but right now I’m asking you to trust me when I say I’ll. Be. Fine. Can you do that?”
He closed his eyes and inhaled briefly, and when he opened them again, so much love was shining down at me it made my knees weak. God, I love this man. “Okay,” he whispered, “but only if you promise to come back to me when you’re done.”
Yep… totally swoon-worthy.
“I promise.”
“I mean it, Lola. I’ll track you down if I have to.”
Standing on the tiptoes of my killer heels, I placed a gentle kiss to his lips and looked him right in the eye as I declared, “You won’t have to. You have my word.”
That seemed to placate him because his arm loosened, allowing me to walk away.
Fiona and I moved silently through the ballroom and through a set of French doors that led to a quiet, empty terrace away from prying eyes. I wasn’t sure what she had to say to me, but I knew that, whatever it was, it was best said in private.
White fairy lights wrapped around the scrolled iron railing, providing enough light against the dark backdrop of the starlit sky for me to see her face clearly. I stood with my arms crossed over my chest and waited for her to speak first. When she finally did, her words took me by complete surprise.
“I’m so sorry, Lola.”
“You… huh?”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated, stepping up to the railing and leaning her hip against it. “I treated you terribly when we first met, and I had no right. I was just… I was jealous. Grayson never looked at me the way he looked at you, and I handled it poorly. You didn’t deserve that.”
I was trying not to swallow my tongue as shock whipped through me. “…Thank you.”
“And I want you to know, those pictures that were posted were totally out of context, I swear.”
Just the mention of the photos sent a spike of pain through my chest. I had to close my eyes for a second and breathe through it. “He said—”
“We talked about you the entire time,” she interrupted. “He was so desperate to make things right after the pool. He spent the entire lunch asking me what he should do to get you to forgive him.”
“I didn’t know,” I whispered, placing my hand against my chest and unconsciously rubbing at the ache behind my breastbone. “He told me it wasn’t what I thought, but I didn’t realize…” that he’d been telling the truth. God, I was such an asshole.
Fiona surprised me by moving closer and taking my hands in hers. “He loves you, Lola. In a way I’ve never seen in all the years I’ve known him. I’ll admit that it stung, seeing him look at you in a way I never experienced,” she said, a sad smile tilting her lips, “but I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. I think I confused what I feel for him now with what we used to have. Does that make sense? I still care for him greatly, and he’s one of my best friends. But I’ve been gone for so long, and seeing him again… I think it was more nostalgia than love.” She spoke quickly, like she was trying to talk through everything going on in her head. “He’s been a part of my life for so long, and seeing him with you, I felt threatened that I might lose him.”
“Fiona,” I started, cutting through her rambling, “I’d never do that.” I gave her hands a squeeze, hoping she could see my candor. “I know you two were friends before, and that you remained that way after you broke up. He told me the history. He’s important to you, and you’re important to him too. I’m not going to lie, knowing you two….” I trailed off, struggling to say the words. “It’ll take some adjusting for me, knowing you two were together, but if there really are no deep-seated feelings lingering, then I don’t see why we can’t all move past it.”
“There aren’t. I promise. Like I said, I just got wrapped up in the past. I’m not that girl, Lola. I know it may be hard for you to believe, considering how we met, but I’d never purposefully try to sabotage a relationship. All I want is for Gray to be happy. And you make him happy.”
“He makes me happy too,” I responded with a smile.
“Do you think… is there any way you could forgive me? Maybe we could start over? I’d like us to be friends.”
“I’d really like that,” I found myself answering honestly.
Her relief was palpable, and when she released my hands and took a step back, she looked like a massive weight had just fallen from her shoulders. She extended her hand outward. “Hi. I’m Fiona Prentice, an old friend of Gray’s. It’s nice to meet you.”
I took it with a small laugh and gave it a quick shake. “I’m Lola Abbatelli. Nice to meet you too.”
For the first time in weeks, I felt light, happy, like everything was going to be all right.
“So, friends?” she asked.
“Friends,” I replied. I suddenly wanted to tell her about Deacon, about the fact that he was in love with her, but something held me back. It wasn’t my place, and my gut told me that those two were going to have to find their way to each other on their own. But I was comforted by the fact that I’d be able to sit back and enjoy as everything played out. And with the way Deacon had looked at her with such acute longing, I had no doubt it eventually would; I just had to hope she was smart enough to see what was standing in front of her when the time came.
“I guess we should be getting back. Gray’s liable to have a heart attack if I keep you much longer.”
She took a step toward the doors, but then something dawned on me. It might not be my place to intervene with her and Deacon, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t give them a little nudge in the right direction. “Wait.” I grabbed her arm, staying her movement. “I need a favor.”
“Sure. Whatever you need.”
Oh… this was going to be so good. I couldn’t wait.