“So, did you get the part?” Amanda asked.
Michelle waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, I've been too busy to worry about that sort of thing anymore. Besides, once we get married, I won't need to work. Blake's going to take care of me.”
Amanda chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying not to stare at Blake. She had a hard time with the idea of him convincing Michelle to settle down and be the wife. No doubt he'd expect her to raise their kids, if they had any, while he continued focusing on his fabulous Hollywood career. But there had been a time when all Michelle could talk about was pursuing her acting career. If she had really given it up that easily, all for a man, then that was about the saddest thing Amanda could think of.
But then again, Michelle looked happy. Amanda wasn't about to rain on her parade.
“That's great,” Amanda said. She sipped at her wine, trying not to think about the price Blake had paid for it. “I hope you two are happy together.”
“We are,” Michelle said, clinging to Blake's arm. “I've found the perfect man, and I couldn't be happier.”
Blake shrugged and a smug smirk spread across his face. “Well, I guess she knew a good thing when she saw one.”
Amanda fought the urge to roll her eyes.
“So,” Michelle said, “the talk has all been about the wedding, and you haven't told me anything about you! How've you been?”
Amanda shrugged and looked away, toying with her fork. She didn't much care to talk about how she was working two jobs to support her son, and how she hadn't been on a date, or even had a night out with friends, in almost a year. “I'm getting by,” she said. “You know how it is. But James is doing great. He's going to be starting preschool in the fall.”
“Oh, that's great!” Michelle grinned wide. “I miss the little guy. You should have brought him with you.”
Blake shot Michelle a cautious look. “How old is he, exactly?”
“Four,” Amanda said.
Blake gave her a level stare. “Are you planning to bring him to the wedding?”
Amanda frowned, grinding her teeth. “Well, yeah. It's kind of a big event. I'm sure he's going to love it.”
“It's just,” Blake said, “I don't think there's really going to be any other kids there.”
Amanda was about to snap and say that if her son wasn't welcome, she wouldn't be coming either. But Michelle interjected. “It'll be fine.” Michelle waved a hand dismissively. “He's old enough that he won't be crying or anything. Besides, he should be there when his Aunt Michelle gets married.”
Amanda froze, a chill running down her spine. As far as she knew, Michelle had no idea that she was actually James's aunt. She was sure Michelle had just meant it figuratively, the way some kids referred to their mom's best friend as an aunt.
Though it made Amanda remember her other big concern about the weekend. “Is Cole going to be there?”
Michelle's expression dropped and she pressed her lips together in a thin line. “Yeah. Yeah, he is.”
Amanda felt her face heat up.
“Hey, I need to go to the bathroom,” Michelle said.
“Me too.” Amanda got up to join her.
Once they were in the privacy of the bathroom, Michelle started touching up her makeup in the mirror. “Is everything going to be okay with you and Cole?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Amanda said, shrugging. “I mean, I guess so. It was a long time ago. I don't really care anymore.”
“I was mad at him for a long time for what he did to you,” Michelle said. “I still can't believe he took advantage of you like that.”
“Yeah,” Amanda said, letting out a nervous laugh. Looking back on it now, she wasn't sure whether she'd been taken advantage of. She'd wanted it. Wanted him. Wanted to give herself to him. If not for how he'd run out on her in the morning and never called again, she would have been happy.
“Has he ever...asked about me?” Amanda asked, looking into the mirror in order to avoid meeting Michelle's eye.
Michelle glanced at her sidelong while she reapplied her lipstick. “Not for a while.”
“Not for a while?” Amanda frowned and turned to Michelle. “What do you mean?”
Michelle shrugged. “Well, he asked about you a couple of times, years ago. I told him to leave you alone. I didn't want him leading you on.”
“What? You...you told him not to call me?”
“Well, yeah.” Michelle pouted, putting her hands on Amanda's shoulders “Look, hon, you had enough on your plate. After you started dating Robert and he got you knocked up, I knew the last thing you needed was my brother trying to cheat his way into your pants again. You were better off.”