Page 18 of Sweet Chaos
“Nobody’s in love.” I took a few more sips of my drink. Love was a stretch. I used to have a crush on him but that was as far as it went. “And then there’s Ollie. I really want to get back to being friends but if Dylan shows up—”
“Whoa.” Nic held up her hand like a traffic cop. “Stop right there. Ollie cheated on you. He’s lucky you’re even talking to him, let alone wanting to be friends. Seriously. Explain that to me.”
“He was drunk and…” My shoulders slumped. That had been such a bad time. I’d rather just forget about it. Erase it from history. I’d been pushing Ollie away but still trying to hang on because I didn’t want to lose him. It hadn’t been fair to him or to me and he’d goaded me, tried to force my hand so I would show him how much I cared. Obviously, it had backfired in an epic way and now we were left to pick up the pieces of a friendship we’d blown to smithereens. “I can’t explain it, but he said he didn’t sleep with her.”
“That’s no excuse. He was trying to get you jealous. Who plays those games besides junior high kids? He took it too far. I know you guys have been friends forever, but still. That really sucked and so does he for doing what he did.”
“You know what sucks even more? I was relieved. Like, it gave me an excuse to call it quits. He’d given me the out I needed. That’s pretty messed up, right?”
“Life is messed up. Take me, for example. Obsessing over my head chef. And all he ever does is yell at me. He’s a total bully. A hot, hot,scorchinghot bully. But still… a bully. Although he did compliment my julienne skills last night. My zucchini and carrots were on point.” She gave me the universal hand signal for perfect then kissed her index finger and thumb. “He was kind of nice, actually. Oh Jesus.” She smacked herself on the forehead. “I need to stop thinking about him. Besides, he’s too old for me. Oh, and he has a kid. Let’s not forget that.”
“Wait, he’s married?”
She shook her head. “No. He’s single. A single dad. Kind of hot, right?”
“Where’s the mom?”
“She took off.”
“Oh. That’s sad.”
“Yeah.” Her lips turned down at the corners. “Anyway, as far as Dylan goes, my advice—”
I jostled her arm to get her to put a lid on it as Remy walked in the door, her phone pressed to her ear. She gave us a dazzling smile when she saw us and held up one finger to say she’d just be a minute. God, she really was gorgeous. It was easy to see why she’d been such a successful supermodel. I’d never seen eyes like hers before. Blue-green, like aquamarine, and she had the same coloring as Dylan. Jet-black hair and tan skin that made her eyes look even more stunning.
Nicola and I were both watching her as she got her drink at the counter and then walked over to us. She was one of those people you couldn’t help but stare at.
“I’ll see you soon, lover,” Remy said. She was obviously talking to Shane. Remy cut her call and slipped her phone in her bag. Even at eight months pregnant in yoga pants and a long sleeve T-shirt, her hair in a high ponytail and no makeup, she looked like she belonged on a catwalk.
“Hey Remy. Do you remember Nicola?”
“Of course. Shane and I keep talking about going to dinner at Cinque Terre but we’ve been so busy and I keep falling asleep at nine o’clock. I’m like an old granny these days.” She laughed, and we invited her to sit with us which she did, explaining that the decaf Frappuccino with whipped cream was her reward for having survived another pregnant yoga class.
“I just met your brother,” Nicola said after we’d discussed yoga and Nicola asked what Remy’s due date was. February seventeenth.
“Did my brother actually talk to you?” Remy asked.
“He did,” Nicola said with a smile. “I invited him to Scarlett’s birthday party.”
“Hmm. Interesting.” Remy gave me a little smile. “He came over for dinner last night and your name came up.”
“Oh? Um, what about?”
She took a sip of her drink and left me hanging for a moment. “He said you’re really talented. Which I already knew. He sounded really impressed and it’s not easy to impress my brother.”
“Well, at least he has good taste,” Nicola said. I side-eyed her, hoping she wouldn’t say anything incriminating. “Scarlett has mad talent.”
Remy agreed with her. “Speaking of which, I was wondering if you’d paint the nursery. We’d pay you, of course. But I was thinking it would be cool to do a beach theme. Or an underwater scene. Would you have time for that?”
I jumped at the chance. “Definitely. I’d love to do it. You don’t have to pay me.”
“Yes, I do. You should get paid for your work. Dylan thinks we should give you a space in the shop where you can sell your own designs. I think it’s his competitive streak coming out. He doesn’t like the idea of our surfboard designer selling her pieces at Lillidiva.” Remy laughed. “Shane and I agree. We think it’s a great idea.”
All I could do was stare at her with my mouth gaping like a fish. I was such a cool cucumber. “Really? He said that? And you and Shane would be okay with that? Are you sure?”
“If we weren’t cool with it, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. We’re sure. Even though Dylan is a bonehead sometimes and isn’t a big talker, he’s really smart and has a good head for business.” I could hear the pride in her voice. It was the same tone of voice Dylan used whenever he talked about Remy. They had such a strong bond and loved each other so much. It was one of Dylan’s most redeeming qualities.
Remy checked her phone. “I need to get going.” She stood up from the table and slung her bag over her shoulder. “But we’ll talk about it some more later.”
