“No thanks to me, huh?” Hank stated.
“I’ll give you a raise.”
He laughed. “May I suggest you get the woman you love back and do it the right way. Not with childish games.”
Arianna called out in the background, “He’s a killjoy!”
It was true, Hank was, but he was also the one person who always knew how to bring me back to my senses. And the only reason Arianna was up for it was because it would give her a chance to practice her acting. She had a small role in the movie, but Hank was trying desperately to talk her into staying in nursing school. I couldn’t blame him.
“I think I’ll head down and have dinner with the rest of the guests,” I said.
“What if someone recognizes you?”
Shrugging even though he couldn’t see me, I replied, “It’s worth the risk. I don’t think I can eat any more takeout, and the menu in the room says it’s meatloaf tonight.”
Hank laughed. “Enjoy your evening, boss.”
“Hank?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for not letting me fuck this up on the first day.”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, “That’s what friends are for.”
Bree
The moment we walked into Bella’s, I let out a curse.
“What in the hell?” I stopped and turned to Kyle.
He held up his hands and smiled. “It wasn’t me, Bree, I swear. I didn’t tell anyone about Luke or dinner tonight.”
I slowly turned back around and scanned the large table to count seven of my closet friends sitting there. None of them had noticed us walk in yet, their heads bent in conversation. And sitting at the very end of the table was Candace.
“Candace,” I whispered, clenching my fists.
“Always knew she was the troublemaker out of the two of you,” Kyle said with a shake of his head.
I shot him a look, then focused back on our friends. “Did you bring your handcuffs, by any chance?”
I could see Kyle’s confused expression from the corner of my eye. “Um, no. I didn’t think it was that kind of date.”
I growled. “You should have, because I may kill Candace Reynolds by the end of this dinner.” Even though a part of me was grateful that I’d finally be able to get the story out once and for all.
Before he could say a word, I marched—well, attempted to in my high heels—to the table and stood there, my hands on my hips as I glared at Candace. She met my eyes and smiled. She actually smiled.
“Do you want to tell me why everyone is here?” I asked.
“It’s your birthday!” she declared.
I slowly shook my head. “I can’t believe you told them about Luke, Candace.”
She quickly stood and started to wave her hands. “I didn’t—”
“You promised me! I wasn’t ready to tell everyone I’d dated him.”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” she said, looking around at everyone and then back at me. “They don’t—”
“Don’t even try!” I turned to Willa. “She told you I dated Luke Walters, and you all came to hear the story.”
Willa’s eyes went wide as Hunter and Hudson both said, “Holy shit!”
Aiden looked around. “Who’s Luke Walters?”
“You don’t know who Luke Walters is?” This came from Kyle. “Dude, he was in that movie—”
“Till Death Do Us Part,” Hudson, Hunter, and Kyle all said in unison.
Aiden shrugged. “No clue.”
Bella added, “Me either.”
“I don’t know who he is either,” Greer said.
Candace laughed. “That’s because your nose is always in a book, Greer. And Bella, you’re too busy with the bees and Hunter.”
Bella’s cheeks turned a bright pink, and Hunter leaned over and kissed her softly.
“When was the last time either one of you even watched a movie?” Candace tossed out to Bella and Greer.
“Really, sweetheart? You don’t know who Luke Walters is?” Hudson asked his fiancée. Greer shook her head.
“I know who he is,” Willa said, her eyes boring into me with such anger, I stepped behind Kyle. “How could you not tell me he was the Luke?”
Suddenly, Greer gasped. “Luke? Luke the blind date last Christmas?”
“Bree was home last Christmas,” Bella said.
“No, not this past Christmas. The one before that. After Willa and Aiden got married,” Greer clarified. “She had a blind date with her boss’s son.”
“I’m so confused,” Aiden mumbled.
Candace sighed and dropped back down into her seat. “I mentioned to Greer I was meeting you and Kyle for your birthday tonight, and before I knew it, everyone wanted to come.”
Kyle placed his hand on my lower back and guided me over to the opposite end of the table. “You should take the other head of the table, so you can tell everyone about how you’ve been lying to us the last year or so.”
Before he could pull the chair out for me, I stepped on his foot with my heel.
He started to let out a curse but held it in.
“Oh, so sorry, darling,” I purred as I sat down and Kyle sat next to Hunter.