Page 48 of The Plus One Contract

Nathan:Be more specific.

Me:My mother will grill you. My dad will judge you. And someone will absolutely bring up my ex.

Nathan:Looking forward to it.

Nineteen

“Daniel? Here? Tonight?” The words taste like sandpaper on my tongue, dry and gritty and impossible to swallow.

My mother stops stirring the pot—ironic, given her talent for doing exactly that—to glance over her shoulder at me.

The rich scent of simmering garlic and rosemary swirls around us, mixing with the slow-cooked beef braising in red wine, a familiar warmth filling the kitchen. It should be comforting. It’s not.

“Yes,” she says, like she’s just informed me the weather looks nice today. “And Lauren will be with him, of course.”

Lauren, too?

When I told Nathan that someone would bring up my ex, I didn’t expect him to physically be here.

Gripping the knife, I blow out a breath and count backward from ten. The cutting board in front of me is covered in half-chopped herbs, the earthy scent of fresh parsley and thyme clinging to my fingers. I set the knife down before I test just how sharp it really is.

Grace? Yes. Absolutely. I can’t wait to get to know my new sister-in-law.

But Lauren? The woman wearing a ring that was originally meant for me?

I rub my temples, the familiar weight of an impending headache pressing at my skull. “Mom, why?”

She turns fully now, brushing her hands on her apron.

Oh Christ, it’s got pineapples on it.

Are they upside down?

I snap back to look at her. My mother, Patricia Blake, is a woman who believes in two things: appearances matter, and you can solve any problem with enough food and unsolicited advice. She’s in her late fifties, still effortlessly elegant, her brown hair swept up in a neat bun with only the faintest streaks of gray peeking through.

Her sharp blue eyes—ones that I inherited—assess me like I’m being dramatic. “Because he’s practically family,” she says. “And with him being Jeremy’s best man—”

“Jeremy can find another best man.”

She purses her lips. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. You and Daniel dated for years. I thought it would be best if you got any awkwardness out of the way now.”

A humorless laugh escapes under my breath.

Of course she thinks this is best for me. She knows we broke up. She knows he got engaged six months later. What she doesn’t know is that he was planning the engagement to someone else for months before we broke up.

My brother knows. He and Daniel didn’t speak for a while, and Daniel had a broken nose and a black eye to show for it.

They made up, because apparently, Daniel knew he fucked up, but they were grown-ups. They’ve been friends since they were kids, and friendships don’t just disappear overnight.

“He shouldn’t have done what he did to you,” Jeremy had said, sounding like it physically pained him to admit it. “But it’s complicated.”

Maybe it was. Maybe they were.

So, Jeremy stayed friends with him.

I left.

Nobody had to deal with it.

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