27

“Still; I don’t think Jodie would be going for avoidance if she was mad at you. You two are too close for that. She’d call you, hash it out. Hear you out.”

Mel calms, but I can practically feel her mind buzzing, trying to figure this puzzle out. It is strange, but I try not to linger on it, not wanting to add to her anxiety.

“About the party…”

Her shoulders slump as I explain what tomorrow night will look like. We’ll aim for fashionably late, and I’ll have to make the rounds to greet everyone who shows up. The last head count was about 300 people. Most of them have never seen me, but they’ll be there to wish us well anyway, and we’ll have to paste on smiles all night.

I talk about the decorations, the theme—pearls—chosen by PR, with a focus on ocean conservation. The pearls are all sustainably manufactured by oyster colonies that are being rebuilt and repurposed to help filter in areas with unhealthy water along the shores.

I rattle off some of the menu items, talk about champagne, muse over what kind of suspenders Roy will pick out and if Zach will be brave enough to show his face now that he’s been assigned a court date.

By the end, Mel is breathing evenly against my chest. I swirl my fingers comfortingly over her lower back, letting the creamy silk melt away my own worry and anxiety.

“Do you know what the worst part is?” she asks quietly, brokenly.

My body goes tense, expecting an arrow to the heart. For good reason. Her next words cut deep.

“If this was real, I think Jodie would love it. And I’d love to have her there.”

I sigh, dropping my chin to her head. “It’s not too late, Mel. We can…I don’t know. We can explain everything to her. Invite her; maybe she’d be game for it…”

I know Jodie too well, though. We both do. She’d be thrilled if Mel and I actually got back together, but even sick and financially burdened, I don’t think she’d want either of us lying and cheating.

Mel doesn’t even bother responding to that supposition. Instead, she says, “It’s worse because my parents…”

She can’t finish the thought, and she doesn’t have to. How many nights did we spend sitting up in the dark while it all spilled out of her? The guilt, shame, and anger at being abandoned by them. How she felt like she was a burden to Jodie, so young for a guardian. How she felt worthless.

“Hey,” I say sharply, pulling her tighter against me. “It’s their loss. And my gain.”

I mean what I say, but I wonder if Mel thinks the words are empty. Or thinks what I really mean is,I’m gaining the company.

What I’m starting to realize is that the only thing worth gaining…is her. Back in my life again. For good.

My heart swells in my chest and I’m just on the verge of telling her that when she pulls away and looks up at me with glistening eyes. Bravely, Mel wipes the unshed tears away and steels herself.

“Don’t worry.” She tries to muster up a grin, and almost gets it. “I’ll be on my best behavior. We’ll have them all fooled.”

And just like that, another little piece of me dies inside.

Melissa

It’s Friday.

The day of the engagement party.Myengagement party.

And I’m standing over a desk staring down blankly at the layout for Dupont Analytics’ semiannual employee newsletter.

“So?” Adrian bumps against me, her dreads grazing my shoulder and making me forge my way back to reality.

“So…what?”

She gives me an exasperated look, closing the copy. “Okay. This is fine, I’m going to finalize all this. The only thing I saw, which you agreed with, is that we need to choose better images for that article on data tracking in the community. You need togohome.”

“It’s only noon.” I glance at my cell to confirm.

“Yeah…and you need to get ready for your party, Mel.” She leans in close, whispering, “Whether you’re actually engaged or not.”

A chill runs down my body from head to toe.

“This is crazy.” Slapping my palm against my forehead, I close the office door and pace back toward Adrian. “What the hell am I going to do?”

Her thin brows are raised. “Not to get too much into it, but…are youworriedabout this whole thing with Jason?”

There’s a certain edge to her tone. I glance at her. “Worried like…?”

“Like, he’s going to retaliate or…hurt you if—”

“Oh! No.” I laugh, maybe a little hysterically, and drop into my chair. “No, actually. I’m just having a hard time because of our history.” Over the past week, I’ve filled Adrian in here and there on what life was like before Jodie got sick. Really sick.

How Jason and I were inseparable as kids, and how that shifted very naturally into a romantic relationship once we were older. How having to leave Harwinton broke my heart, especially when I left that voicemail on his cell.

It sounds like you were soulmates, she’d said.

Weresoulmates.Notaresoulmates.

“The thing is—” I bite my lip “—once upon a time, if you’d told me Jason and I were engaged, I don’t think I would’ve been surprised. At all.” A blush heats my face as Adrian grins triumphantly at me. She’s now fully Team Jason after hearing the whole story.

“Actually, it feels weird, like I’m living in a parallel universe. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that this—tonight—is all fake.”

Adrian looks sympathetic, sitting down across from me. “And your aunt—I’m guessing you wish she was here, too?”

She’s right about that. It’s been tough to reach Jodie the last few days, and that’s been eating away at me, too. But there has been so much to do, both at work and in my personal life—like figuring out how to pull off a fake engagement party and trying on the dress last night at Jason’s place.

That was maybe the worst of it. Being in his apartment, in the space he takes up, with everything around us reminding me of him. It just made me long for what we’d missed out on.

My cell buzzes once, then again.

And again.

It pings with a missed call.

Then a text.

I lean forward and snatch it, confused.

The name on the screen is Dr. Salazar, NYC.

* * *

“Hi.I’m here for Jodie Ann Atkinson. Is she okay?”

The words tumble out in a rush as the cardiology receptionist looks up at me, unfazed.

“Are you family?”

She’s new. I haven’t seen her before, and Jodie hasn’t been checked in as an inpatient in over a year. So she wouldn’t recognize me.

“Yes. I’m her niece. I’m also listed as her power of attorney.”

The nurse holds her hand out for my identification and quickly whips up a badge that I stick onto my chest.

“She’s in B-14, hon. Sweet woman, your aunt.”

That calms my heart, which has been racing over the four hour drive from Boston to New York. Somehow, I avoided rush hour, leaving the office just after noon.

I power walk to B-14 and peek around the corner, dread heavy in my chest. Every other time I’ve seen Jodie in a hospital bed flits through my mind. But today, she’s sitting up and tapping at the TV remote, a look of consternation on her face.

I exhale loudly and she looks up.

“Mel!”

In seconds, I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging her, and starting to cry. Happy tears, scared tears, relieved and exhausted tears. The pent-up tears of a month of secrets.

“Oh, honey.” She rubs my back and I pull away, smiling at her wetly.

“I’m sorry.You’rethe patient, not me.”

Jodie looks at me sternly and pats the bed. “What’s wrong? What’s been going on, Melissa? I know you keep saying you’re fine, but ever since you moved to Boston you’ve been…off.”

I shake my head. “You first—what happened? Are you okay?” I scan the room for any sign that might clue me in as Jodie waves a hand and explains.