Page 32 of The Exception

Sonya dropped her head into her hands. “I don’t know,” she groaned. “I think I’m having an existential crisis.”

“About?”

“Did you know I eat the same thing every week, like on a schedule? I didn’t even realize I did it. Wednesday, it’s turkey. Thursday, I always put a little extra hummus on my salad.”

“Woah,” Dani joked. “Wildin’.”

“And every second Sunday of the month, I sit in the blue chair at Blooms with y’all and order—”

“Cheddar and spinach omelet with extra spinach,” they all said.

“Thanks for proving my point.”

“So what, Sonya?” Dani said. “Every morning at six-fourteen on the dot, Dylan rolls over and pushes his morning wood into my back. Humans are creatures of habit.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “Unnecessary, Dani.”

“The point is, I’m predictable. My life is predictable. And marrying Marcus, that was the ultimate in predictability. Did any one one of you think I would say no when he asked? Did it even cross your mind?”

“Of course not,” Emma said. “Because you were in love with him.”

“But I wasn’t! Just like I don’t love this stupid restaurant. It’s just… here. And I’m used to it. What other things in my life are here because they’re comfortable?”

Sonya blew out an exasperated breath just as the waiter came. “Blueberry pancakes,” she said. “With whipped cream. Oh! And bring me a mimosa, please. With whipped cream in that too.”

The waiter scrunched his nose. “Um, we don’t usually—”

Sonya cocked her head and whatever he saw on her face shut him up. He nodded and left.

Dani linked her arm through Cat’s and whispered. “What the hell is happening?”

“Sonya,” Emma said, “you can’t blame what happened between you and Marcus on some personality flaw you just now decided that you have. Being you has worked out pretty damn well so far. You’re successful and you’ll be happy again. Don’t let this send you down a spiral where you start doubting everything.”

“You know what they say about doing the same thing and expecting a different result, Em.”

“So what is the result you want?”

“And what is it you want to stop doing?” Cat added.

“I guess I’d just like to surprise someone once in a while. The other day, Trav recited how many mini-candy bars I ate per day. Apparently it’s the exact same number. Every. Day.”

Three blank faces stared back at her. “What?”

“Trav…” Cat said.

“My intern.”

“Oh, we know.”

“Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Is this what this is about? He’s getting under your skin, Sonya,” Emma said. “This is what you were afraid would happen.”

Sonya shook her head, surprised at the way things felt completely different since the last time she’d mentioned his name in front of her friends. “Actually, it’s not really like that,” she said. “We’ve called a bit of a truce.”

Dani’s mouth twisted mischievously. “A truce?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like that either.”

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