Page 13 of Unpredictable
The following morning, I slid out of the car and rushed inside the restaurant. I glanced back to check my skirt for stray toilet paper, but there was none. Though I’d checked my reflection countless times since I’d left the hotel, I still felt like I’d missed something. Or maybe that was just my guilty conscience talking.
Lauren flagged me over from across the restaurant, and I pressed my lips together as I weaved through the chairs. Finally, I reached the table where my best friends, Alexis, Lauren, and Harper, were already seated with drinks and menus.Crap.I was even later than I’d feared.
“Hey, sorry.” I sank down into the empty seat, hoping they wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.
But I didn’t fail to miss their raised eyebrows and questioning glances. I was never tardy. I was the friend you could always count on to be at least ten minutes early. And here I was, over twenty minutes late to a standing weekly brunch date.
“Everything okay?” Lauren asked.
She looked stylish as ever in her cobalt dress and sky-high heels. Her dark hair was straight today, her lipstick a bright pop of pink. She always looked fabulous, and she ran her interior design business with confidence.
Then there was Alexis. Her caramel strands hung in waves, a light smile playing at her lips. She seemed relaxed, happy—despite the fact that she ran one of the most successful brokerage firms in LA. In the past few years, though, she’d focused more on family than work. And I was happy for her.
And finally, Harper. Her chestnut hair grazed her collarbone, her recent cut a bit edgier than her norm, stylish yet practical. She was always traveling for work—always jet-setting to scout locations for films. I knew her job wasn’t as glamorous as it sounded, but she absolutely loved it.
“Juliana?” Lauren prompted, reminding me that she’d asked a question.
“Yeah. Great.” I flashed her a bright smile. “I’m starving.”
I opened a menu and studied it like a seating chart for one of my weddings—with unwavering focus. I focused on that menu as if my job depended on it, even though I wasn’t actually absorbing any of the information on the page.
“It’s just weird that you’re late. You’re never late,” Lauren said, always the one to call us on our bullshit.
I kept my eyes focused on the offerings. “I’m human. Shit happens.” Though I was referring more to my impulsive decision to sleep with a complete stranger than my tardiness.
Conversation resumed, and I felt my shoulders relax as we brainstormed gift ideas for Alexis’s husband’s birthday. She wanted to do something special, something memorable for Preston. As we sat there, debating the options, my mind drifted to last night. My memory was a bit hazy, but I hadn’t forgotten how amazing my sexy stranger had made me feel. The way his lips brushed against my skin, the way his large hands scaled my body. I hadn’t felt so alive in—well, over two years.
But my elation quickly turned to unease, and a deep sense of guilt twisted through my gut.Oh my god. I cheated on Ryan.
“Jules?” Lauren’s voice came to me as if from afar.
My three best friends watched me with matching concerned expressions. It was then I realized I’d said the last part aloud—I cheated on Ryan.
My cheeks flushed with heat, and my eyes stung. I glanced between them, but instead of judgment or disgust, I saw only love and concern reflected back at me. That was why I adored these women—our lives, our goals, our outlooks might be very different, but we were always there for one another. We always supported one another.
Lauren placed her hand over mine, her eyes swirling with emotion. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I, um…” I’d already confessed, I might as well get the rest off my chest. “I slept with someone last night.”
They were all quiet, listening patiently. Lauren brushed her hair over her shoulder. Alexis watched me with rapt attention, her hands folded in her lap. And Harper leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“He was—well, he reminded me of an older—” I clamped my lips shut before I could say “hotter.” Ryan and my one-night stand were both handsome in their own right; there was no need for comparison. I shifted and cleared my throat. “More muscular version of Ryan.”
Harper’s hand flew to her mouth to cover a gasp. “You don’t think it was him, do you?”
After the tsunami, Harper had leaned on her contacts in the area to help search for Ryan. I’d managed to survive, but many hadn’t been as lucky. I didn’t want to believe that Ryan was among them. To this day, she was one of the few people who hadn’t given up on finding him. My parents, my sister, and even most of Ryan’s family accepted he was gone. But they hadn’t been there; they hadn’t let him slip through their fingers.
The first year, everyone had been supportive. But then one year had turned to two, and it felt as if everyone had moved on. Had given up. Everyone but me, until now.
Oh my god. What have I done?
My chest squeezed, and everything around me seemed to shrink away. I shuddered, trapped between memories of that day and my guilt over last night.
“Jules,” Lauren said. “Hey.” She placed her hands on my face, forcing me to look at her. “Just breathe. It’s going to be okay.”
I shook my head slowly. Tears pooled in my eyes as the panic crested, and a wave of guilt slammed into me. “No. I slept with another man. I betrayed Ryan.”
“Let’s get one thing straight.” Her tone was commanding as her eyes blazed with emotion. “You did not cheat on Ryan. Okay?”
