Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
I was pulled from my musings as I realized Lewis was filling Eilidh in on Carianne’s plans.
“After asking him out!” I called, getting up to sit back down beside Lewis. Needing someone else to agree that her plan was terrible, I continued, “He forgot to mention Carianne asked him out for real first.”
“Not surprising.” Eilidh shrugged. I noted the dark circles under her eyes and wondered if she was working or partying too hard. Or both. “I always knew she fancied Lewis.”
It would have been nice if I’d known that back then. “Aye, apparently even when she was dating me.”
“I remember telling you she wasn’t good enough for you,” Eils said, and then turned to her brother. “And you’re an idiot if you trust a woman who has admitted to secretly harboring feelings for her friend’s boyfriend and boyfriend’s friend for years. Let me tell you, Carianne is hoping that by pretending to date her, you’ll fall in love with her instead, like some fucking stupid rom-com.”
And there it was. I’d forgotten beneath Eilidh’s devil-may-care attitude and flirting, she was perceptive as hell. It was what made her such a good actor. Understanding the human condition. “That sounds like Carianne,” I agreed.
Lewis huffed. “Carianne’s nice, no? I mean, she loves Callie.”
“Maybe.” Eilidh grimaced. “But she’s also always been jealous of Callie. When we were kids, it didn’t matter what Callie had, Carianne had to have it too.”
“I remember that.” I nodded. “When we were dating, if Callie got something, Carianne wouldn’t shut up about it until she got it too. I just thought it was what girls did.”
“No.” Eilidh screwed her face up at me. “Way to generalize us.”
My lips twitched with amusement. “It’s called assessing female behavior on fact-based evidence.”
“A report based on the behavior of one subject is ludicrously flawed and inaccurate.”
A spark of enjoyment flickered through me. “It’s based on all the girls I’ve dated.”
“Then maybe you should be more discerning in your choice of sexual partners. And according to Lewis, those are many.”
“Pot meet kettle, no?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m discerning.”
“Really?” I thought of the guy I saw her hook up with at a wrap party a few years ago. “Do we really think so?”
Eilidh opened her mouth to retort, and I realized I was anticipating her response because I was disappointed when Lewis cut her off.
“You’re both right,” he admitted.
“We are?” Eilidh wrinkled her nose in a way that made her look all of fourteen. “About what again? Fyfe befuddled me with his mild misogyny.”
“Uh!” I gaped at her, trying not to laugh. “How dare you?”
Eilidh grinned, and I felt a flush of pleasure at seeing her beautiful smile brighten her expression. “You’re so easy to wind up.”
I rolled my eyes because we both knew I was letting her wind me up. Then I turned to Lewis. “What are we right about?”
“That pretending to date Carianne to make Callie jealous is a bad idea. Not only is it childish, but I think it would push Callie further away.”
“Agreed,” Eilidh and I said in unison and then shot each other a scowl neither of us meant.
“So …” Lewis sighed heavily. “Any ideas on what I should do next?”
“Well.” Eilidh smirked. “I know this might not make you happy, Mr. Impatient, but I think you should try a different tactic. It’ll take longer, but it’s more likely to work.”
“And what’s that?”
“Ask her if you can try to be just friends.”
“Just friends?”
“Just friends. Then you can spend time together without all the pressure, and you can remind Callie that you’re a loyal, good person she can trust.”
There Eilidh went again, being all smart and wise and perceptive. I wondered how many people in her life missed how deep Eilidh’s waters were because they were so blinded by the beauty and flirt and charm.
Lewis looked at me.
“She’s right,” I agreed.
“Did it hurt you to admit that?” Eilidh teased.
“Why? Because I’m mildly misogynistic?”
“Did I say mildly? I meant wildly.”
Amusement curled the corners of my mouth. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had this much fun bantering with someone.
“Friends,” Lewis interrupted us. “You both think I should propose friendship?”
“If you want to prove that your first thoughts are to Callie, then aye,” Eilidh insisted. “She needs trust to build between you again.”
A few minutes later, to my surprising disappointment, Eilidh hung up. Lewis left to consider his options over Callie, and I got back to work. However, that feeling lingered throughout the day. The disappointment. The gnawing sense that something was missing.
Then, as I was getting ready for bed that night, my phone buzzed.
I picked it up to find a text from an unknown number.
Despite your mild misogyny, it was nice catching up today.
Grinning, I saved Eilidh as a contact and replied:
If you call insulting me catching up. It felt more like a roast.