No. I actually respected her more because of it.
But it didn’t make my job any easier.
“So, have you spoken to Ryan lately?” she asked, her gaze briefly assessing my reaction before she turned to Everly.
“What? No. Why would you ask that?” she said quickly, glancing up at me apologetically. I gave her a warm smile as she passed me a glass of red wine. I handed it over to Sarah as a gesture of good will, but she just set it on the counter as she plotted her next move.
“Well, it’s just—he was such a big part of your life. I figured you’d at least care how he was doing after all of this.”
The corkscrew clattered to the counter as Everly slammed her hands down in frustration. “Listen, I understand you’re mad. Things between us haven’t been the best. But I didn’t invite you here so you could instigate more fights, Sarah. I understand Ryan is probably hurting. Does that upset me? Yes. But let’s not forget who started this whole thing. It’s not like I left him high and dry.”
“But you did leave him,” she bit back, her voice rising to match Everly’s. The anger in the room was palpable and I suddenly felt caught between them without any idea what to do. I’d heard breaking up a cat fight was a bad idea. I was pretty sure the same logic applied to women.
“I did exactly what he told me to do, Sarah!” Everly yelled. “I gave August a chance, and damn if he wasn’t right. I know that hurts, and I know it messes up your precious wedding plans, but can you be a fucking best friend and be happy for me?”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” she said softly.
“That’s not your job! Can’t you just be there for me?”
“Yes,” she answered, tears leaking down her chiseled pink cheeks.
This was girl drama overload and I was in way over my head. They ran into each other’s arms, hugging and crying like weepy teenagers as I huddled in the corner with the bottles of wine, wondering when it would all be over.
“I made you food—a lot of food,” Everly said between sniffles. Sarah looked around, her puffy eyes wide with surprise. She’d been so focused on her mission of destroying the evening she hadn’t noticed the piles of food stacked everywhere.
“For my entire lifetime?” she asked with a laugh, as she grabbed a napkin and began blotting her eyes in that dainty way women do. Everly did the same, but much more quickly, and then started lifting tin foil off the trays and pulling out plates.
“I was going to put everything on the dining table, but now I’m worried it will all be cold by then. So why don’t we just dish up in here and eat in the living room?” she suggested.
“Sounds great,” I agreed, pouring myself a glass of white wine as Everly handed Sarah the first plate and instructed her to dig in. As I looked over everything Everly had made, I realized what a talent she had. I’d known that first night, when I watched her turn the few scraps of food in my kitchen into a five-star meal, that she had potential, but gazing out over the counter now, I saw what an amazing gift she had.
“Have you ever thought about cooking professionally?” I asked as I took a plate from the counter and began dishing up chicken tetrazzini, homemade lasagna, and garlic knots.
“Sometimes, but I have the coffee house,” she shrugged.
“You’ll never get her to leave that coffee house,” Sarah said. “She loves it there.”
“Well, as long as she’s doing something she enjoys.” Her eyes met mine and she smiled warmly.
“But don’t you think she should be doing more?” Sarah asked as we took our plates out to the living room. Her inquisitive gaze followed me as I sat on the floor in front of the coffee table next to Everly.
“She’s trying to bait you, August.”
“Everly and I may have made amends, but that doesn’t mean I’m sold on you yet,” Sarah admitted.
I shrugged, unfazed. “I get that. And honestly, it’s not really up to me what Everly does with her life. If the coffee house makes her happy—then she should do that until it doesn’t. I’m not that guy anymore. Hell, I’m not even employed. I have no right to tell anyone what to do with their life, when I’m not doing shit with my own. I won’t bully her—now or ever.”
She didn’t respond, but her silence gave me a sliver of hope.
Sarah and Everly spent dinner playing catch up. I listened as they spoke about their jobs, lives, and Tabitha. Sarah loved her life in the spotlight, but it was exhausting.
“You don’t even want to see my feet,” she said in regard to the brutal schedule she was forced to keep.