Page 9 of Best I Never Had

Carmen rolls her eyes. “You should be glad that Mom doesn’t see you looking like this. She’d have a fit.”

Lucy waves her hand at her. “I look amazing though!”

“So what are the final plans for tonight?” Carmen asks, settling into a stool tucked under our mini breakfast bar.

“Natty said that you were going to ask your super hot and super sweet boyfriend if he had any friends he could invite tonight.”

“I said that Davidmighthave some friends he could invite,” I correct her from the small pantry and reappear with a roll of paper towels in my hand.

“So?” Lucy says to Carmen, oozing excitement.

“I’ll ask him,” Carmen answers with a small surrendering smile.

“Yay!” She hops, her hands clapping in front of her. “By the way, I put my luggage in your room. I figured since you have the California King, you wouldn’t mind sharing. Plus, Natty kicks in her sleep.”

“At least I don’t snore!” I call, walking into my room to get ready while letting my two sisters catch up.

I spend the next hour running a tornado through the bathroom, pulling out all of my makeup and hair care products while distracting myself from facing the reality of Matteo’s new relationship status. Just as I’m running a straight iron through my hair, I meet eyes with Carmen behind me. She’s leaning up against the doorjamb to the entrance of the bathroom dressed in fitted jeans and a thin gray cashmere sweater as she watches me with herarms folded in front of her. Before she says anything, I know she already knows.

“You want to talk about it?”

I play dumb. “About what?”

Her brows rise, telling me not to play her a fool. She took Lucy into her room to let her unpack while they caught up, so I know she already told Carmen everything.

I put down the flat iron and unplug it before sighing and turning to face her. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“So…you’re completely okay with the fact that the man who broke your heart after four years of your life has moved on and isengagedto a woman barely six months after you broke up?”

I visibly wince, eyes closed and forehead cinched. “You don’t have to paint it so vividly.”

Lucy only knew the details after a phone call with my mom, when she accidentally spilled the details from her own conversation with Matteo’s mom. They grew close over the course of our relationship, even referring to each other as their in-laws.When we broke up, I don’t know who took it harder: me or our moms.

“Apparently, Mom’s invited to the wedding?”

I scoff. “That’s nice of Matteo.”

Carmen steps up to my side and slinks her arm around my shoulders, leaning her head against mine. “You know you deserve better, right?”

I smile weakly at her through our reflection. “Maybe someday I’ll believe that.”

Carmen is the big sister that everyone wants. With there being an entire decade gap between us, she’s never treated me or Lucy as if we were a burden. She loves me and Lucy with a passion. The kind of love that carries the responsibilities of being the first child but without the resentment of those responsibilities. Mainly because my parents never placed the weightof being the eldest on her shoulders. They’ve always accepted whatever she’s able to give and never made her feel guilty for it. It’s probably why she’s such a good doctor. Her compassion doesn’t come with conditions. It’s one of the reasons her boyfriend loves her so much, almost as much as I do.

When Matteo and I broke up, I showed up at her door, a suitcase in hand and tears running down my cheeks. She welcomed me, clearing out her spare bedroom and telling me that I could move in. No questions asked. She watched as I picked up the pieces of my broken heart for the last six months, each day getting a little better at an excruciatingly slow rate. With the news I got today, I feel like I’ve reverted back to square one.

She slumps onto the closed toilet seat, drawing her knees up as she keeps a watchful eye on me. “Oh, by the way,” she says. “Starting next week, they want me to work the night shift.”

I drop the makeup brush in my hand and cross the narrow hallway to my room. “For how long?”

“Indefinitely,” she answers, following my steps out of the bathroom.

I’m at my closet, searching for the outfit I already planned out for tonight, when I swerve my head around to face her. “What! Why?”

I’ve hated when she works nights on the few occasions she’s had to work a double shift. It means I’ll spend a lot of nights alone, and being in an apartment that still feels slightly foreign to me, I’m not happy about it.

“There’s no one else. The senior specialist suddenly decided to retire, so I’m going to fill in until they find a replacement.” She crosses the length of my room and perches at the edge of my bed.

I harrumph, not even trying to hide my disapproval.

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