Page 213 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“I totally understand,” she said. But I knew she did not. She had parents who were still together, an older brother, and a younger sister. From what I could tell, her family was picture perfect. It was a far cry from my family.
The morning dragged on. I was glad that Cayden wasn’t at work today, although I felt bad for Austin. But I couldn’t face Cayden right now. I was afraid of what I would say to him. I still wasn’t sure if I should keep my meeting with Brad a secret or not.
Mandy texted me later in the morning and said that lunch would be great. I picked a sandwich shop near the office. I wasn’t very hungry, but I would have some soup. Maybe I would have a side salad with dressing on the side, like Brad suggested. Maybe he was right. Maybe I did need to lose weight.
I met Mandy at noon. As soon as I walked in, I had to fight back tears. I had held in my feelings all morning at work. I couldn’t hide them from my best friend. Mandy rose from the table with a shocked look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, embracing me. I felt some hot tears hit my cheeks, but I quickly wiped them away. I willed myself to stop crying. I couldn’t ruin my makeup. I couldn’t go back to work and have people wonder what had happened to me.
“I met with Brad last night,” I admitted, sitting down at the table. She looked at me and her jaw dropped.
“What?” she asked. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. I knew she would not be happy about this, but I couldn’t hide it from her. Sure, maybe I could hide it from Cayden, but not Mandy.
“He called me yesterday afternoon,” I explained. “He told me that he broke up with Jessica and that he wanted to get back with me. He asked me to dinner. I went there, and it was awful from the beginning. I should have known better.”
“Well, what happened?” Mandy asked. She wasn’t one to beat around the bush. I knew that I would need to tell her the truth and in detail, no matter how much it pained me.
“He tried telling me how to eat,” I said. “He wanted me to get a salad with dressing on the side. He was having whatever he wanted, including beer, but I had to have salad and a water.”
“Shut up,” Mandy said, covering her open mouth with her hand. I nodded.
“I actually stood up for myself, I told him no, and I ordered shrimp scampi and bread. He wasn’t happy with it. He told me that if he was going to own gyms in Miami that his girlfriend needed to be healthy. He didn’t want me gaining back any weight.”
“You’re not getting back with him, are you?” Mandy asked.
I shook my head.
“No,” I said firmly. “When his steak came, he basically berated the waiter. Then, he turned his fury on me. He called me a whale.”
Mandy’s face turned red with anger. She wasn’t stick-thin, either, so she understood how words like that hurt, especially coming from someone close.
“Fuck him,” Mandy said. “And not in the literal sense. I cannot believe that he would treat you like that.”
I shrugged.
“It was my own fault,” I said. “I should have known better. I shouldn’t have even met with him. I’m an idiot.”
Mandy reached across the table and grabbed my hand.
“You’re not an idiot, Tiffany,” she said. “You just made a mistake. Luckily, you found out early on that nothing has changed. You are such a happier, stronger person without him in your life. I wish you would realize that. I wish you could see all of the progress that I have witnessed over the past year.”
I knew Mandy was right. I had been a stronger, better version of myself since Brad had dumped me, but seeing him last night had brought me right back to the insecure woman that I was while dating him.
“You can’t beat yourself up over this,” Mandy said. “I know it sucks, but you need to just move on. Plus, you have a great guy in Cayden. Speaking of Cayden, does he know that you met up with Brad last night?”
I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “I thought about telling him a couple of times, but his son is sick, and I haven’t had the chance to really talk to him. Do you think I should tell him?”
It was now Mandy’s turn to shake her head.
“No,” she said. “You can’t tell him. He will be pissed that you went on a date with your ex. Any man would be pissed. You just have to pretend that it never happened. Don’t let this ruin what you and Cayden have built.”
She was right. If I told Cayden, he would be pissed and rightly so.
“Plus, things went to shit with Brad,” Mandy said. “You’re not planning on seeing him again, right?”
