Page 2 of The Upgrade

“Thank God.” Camille loosens her hug and I’m hit with a wave of gratitude for her whole freakin’ family. They’ve rallied around me since Brock’s betrayal. For four solid weeks, I’ve been hopping between her sisters’ guest rooms while searching for my own place.

“It’s a sign.” Sara releases us and we drop into our chairs. “Getting your cat back means things will start going your way.”

“Here’s hoping.” I take a sip of my drink and sigh. “God, I needed that.”

Sara shakes her head. “I still can’t believe he tried to take your cat. He never even liked Bratwurst.”

This is true. “Brock used to joke that I named him that because I had too much dick before we met.” There’s a good chance he wasn’t joking. Brock always felt threatened by the number of lovers I’d had before him.

Not the first man to sex shame me, come to think of it. Something to unpackanother time, as my therapist pal might say.

“He’s such an asshole,” Camille says instead.

“Is that your clinical diagnosis?” I take another sip of martini, setting off a chain reaction of tiny muscles relaxing along my spine. Another four or five sips and the rest of me might follow.

“Yes,” Camille says. “And I say that accepting the risk that you’ll get back together, and I’ll be on record despising your man.”

“He’snotmy man.” There’s no pinch in my heart when I say it, so maybe I’m actually over him. “If Brock were the last man on Earthandhe was on fire, I’d neither pee on the flames nor fuck him.”

Camille nods once. “Good call.”

“Cheers to that.” Sara lifts her glass and we clink.

“Cheers to telling your mother, too.” Camille sat with me last night when I phoned my mom about the cancelled engagement. “I know that’s been weighing on you.”

“Mmph.” I grunt my response into my glass and hand them my phone. “Check my texts.”

Camille unlocks it and starts scrolling, her forehead scrunching in irritation. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Oh no.” Sara stares wide-eyed at the screen. “She seriously wants you to take Brock back?”

“Yep.” I can’t say I’m surprised.

Sara scowls at the phone. “Even though hecheated?”

“I might have glossed over those details. Jacinda is her favorite sister’s daughter. I didn’t have the bandwidth to openthatcan of worms.”

“Fair,” Camille says.

“You know how my mom is.” I shouldn’t pin it all on my mother. “She thinks her idiot husband hung the moon and everyone’s lives would be instantly perfect if they put their marriages first.”

“Fuck her.” Camille hands back my phone. “You are a smart, competent, professional woman, and you don’t need a man to complete your life.”

“Amen.” Sara raises her glass and we all clink again. “Marriage isn’t for everyone.”

Hearing her say it convinces me I’m on the right path. “I’m done with committed relationships. Marriage is patriarchal and overrated.” Even if I still sorta love the white silk A-line gown tucked in my closet. “I tried and I failed before the wedding even happened, so I’m eliminating marriage as a life goal.”

Camille sets her glass on a coaster. “That is a perfectly valid choice.”

Tell that to my mom and stepfather. But to Hell with them. It’smylife. I’m calling the shots now, dammit.

“Check this out.” I open my phone and scroll to the website I’ve bookmarked. “I went to cash out the insurance policy on our honeymoon and?—”

“So smart.” Sara nods her approval. “I always buy travel insurance.”

Of course she does. Sara was born responsible.

“Look at this.” I scroll to the bottom of the website, finding the fancy script text that caught my eye.

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