Page 117 of The Cupid Chronicles

“Uh, invitation?” I repeat. “No, I don’t think so?”

“For the dinner? The birthday dinner.”

I don’t remember an invitation, but I put together what she’s talking about. A flood of emotion and memories pour into my mind’s eye.

She studies me, head cocked to one side. “For Aria’s thirtieth birthday?”

“I’ve been bad about getting the mail lately,” I stammer, tossing a look over her shoulder. “But I’ll check.”

“It’s next Sunday,” she says, cautiously. “We just wanted to, I don’t know, celebrate her life. We didn’t want the day to go by without acknowledging her. Nicola and Val are both coming, and we’d love to have you.”

At that exact moment, Iris walks up, carrying a stuffed animal.

“Look at this!” Her face is bright. “It’sperfect!It’s an emotional support sloth. Ha! A sloth! You put it in the microwave, and—” She sees Lynn and her expression shifts. “Oh, I’m so sorry—I didn’t know you were in the middle of a conversation.” She beams, always excited to meet someone new.

Lynn’s smile is kind. “No, we were just saying hello.”

There’s an awkward pause.

“Hi, sorry, I’m Iris.” She holds out her hand to Lynn, who takes it and says, “Lynn. Nice to meet you.”

Then, Lynn turns to me. “Hopefully we’ll see you nextweek, Matteo.” She pats my arm, then nods at Iris. “Feel free to bring a friend.”

She takes a step toward me, lowers her voice and adds, “The more people who remember her, the better.”

And with that, she walks away.

“I’m so sorry I interrupted,” Iris says, visibly curious.

“You didn’t,” I say. “It’s fine.” But it doesn’t feel fine. It feels awful. It feels like I’ve just been caught doing something wrong. Like I’ve betrayed a trust I promised to never betray.

“Who was that?” she asks.

I sigh. “That”—I watch as Lynn walks out of the store—“was Aria’s mom.”

“Oh.” There’s a beat of awkward silence, and then Iris puts a hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”

I turn to her and paste on a fake smile. “Yep. You ready?”

Her face falls.

“Matteo.”

“I’m fine,” I say briskly. I don’t want to talk about it, and I definitely don’t want to feel like this anymore.

She studies me, and then says, “Okay. Well, let me just buy this and then we can get some food.”

I take a breath. “Actually, I’ll walk you back, and then I’m going to head to the restaurant,” I say. “I’ve got some paperwork I forgot about.”

It’s clear by the look on her face that she isn’t buying it. And why would she? I’m lying.

I expect her to call me on it, to be upset that I’m bristling, to do what most people would do and make this about her feelings, and I wouldn’t fault her if she did.

Instead, she slips a hand in mine. “If you need to be alone, just say so. I promise I won’t be offended.” She squeezes. “And when you’re ready to not be alone anymore, I’ll be here.”

She goes up on her tiptoes, kisses my cheek, then walks away.

Chapter Thirty-Three

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