Page 37 of Only Fate

Ava holds up her crossed fingers. “Let us hope the nanny learns how lame Rhett is and dumps his ass.”

“Oh, she will,” Mia says with absolute certainty.

“On a brighter note,” Callie chirps, waving at me, “did you bring the love letter?”

River looks up from his phone. “Love letter?”

Easton—who, like River, was glued to his phone—peers at me.

I squirm in my seat. “I’ve told you a million times, it wasn’t a love letter! It was a sheet of paper with his email address written on it.”

“Refresh my memory and tell mewhathis email was again?” Ava stuffs a nacho into her mouth.

“I can’t recall,” I mutter. “I’m a busy woman who gets lots of emails.”

“Give me another chance Essie at groveling man dot com,” Ava tells the table.

“That’s pretty smooth, I have to admit,” River says. “I might need to use that line.”

Ava glares at him mid-bite. “Forwho?”

“You, of course.” He puts his arm around Ava’s shoulders, but she pushes it away.

“I usually don’t partake in your gossip, but I’m here, so I might as well.” He acts out agive me moremotion. “I had no idea you and Adrian were close enough for him to have anything to grovel for.” He looks over at Easton. “Groveling means you fucked up.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Ava grumbles. “Being a father doesn’t limit Easton’s vocabulary to Dr. Seuss quotes.”

“Yeah,” Easton says, rubbing his brow and feigning offense. “I’ve advanced to Dr. SeussandJunie B. Jones.”

“Oh my God, I loved those books growing up,” Callie says.

Mia waves toward Ava and River. “Can you two go bang somewhere so we can continue our Adrian-Essie conversation?”

“Mia!” I tear a piece of crust off my slice and toss it at her.

She shrugs.

“I personally have no issue with them arguing.” I try to sound as indifferent as I can. “Argue away, you two.”

“Because that means you’re off the hook,” Mia comments.

“Mark my words: you and Adrian will be dating soon,” Ava says.

Callie lifts her beer in agreement.

“Blue Beech is boring as shit,” Mia comments. “That has to be his only reason to be here.”

I scowl at them. “He’s here because he’s a stalker …andlet’s not forget, his grandmother also lives here now.”

“He isn’t a stalker. He’s your soulmate,” Callie says dreamily.

Mia’s gaze falls on Callie with disapproval. “What did I tell you about being a hopeless romantic?”

“Thathopelessandtragicare synonyms,” Callie says with a sigh.

“All love stories end in tragedy or death,” Mia adds. “No matter who you are.”

Something I love about my circle of friends is that we’re always honest with each other. Mia’s comment wasn’t meant to sound offensive. She and Callie are the closest despite them being complete opposites.

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