Misunderstandings (Woodfalls Girls 2)

“Well, he’s been pretty upset since I told him what really happened.”

“Speaking of which, you swore you’d never tell,” I chastised her, placing my hands on my hips.

“Au contraire, my dear. I swore I’d keep your secret as long as he was my boyfriend. As soon as Rob proposed, he no longer fit in that category.”

“Really? You’re going with the technicality clause?” I asked.

“Look, I was never comfortable keeping it a secret,” she said, placing her own hands on her shapely hips. “I did it at the time because I felt so damn bad about my part in everything that went down. It was a bad situation. But just so you know, I never agreed with the idea of you bearing the brunt of it. What Justin did to you in the courtyard was a shitty thing and wouldn’t have happened without my big mouth. I needed Rob to know the truth,” she added defensively.

“I understand,” I said, smiling at her astonished look.

“Really? I thought you would be ready to kill Rob and me by the time you made it off the elevator. I remember you hated elevators and was sick that you were cooped up in one for hours, with your ex no less.”

“I’m not going to lie, it got hairy there for a while, but I worked it out.”

“And Justin? Did he give you the silent treatment the whole time?”

“Not exactly,” I admitted. “We kinda worked some things out.”

“You did?” Melissa squealed, making me cringe as a couple of women looked our way.

“Shhh,” I said as the bathroom door opened. “We did, but let’s not make a big deal about it. I’m not even sure where we go from here. Maybe we’ll be friends, maybe not, but at least we don’t hate each other.”

“Oh my God. I’m so excited,” she said, bouncing up and down.

“Mel, chill,” I ordered as we headed out of the bathroom together.

We found the guys waiting for us in the lobby. “So, we kinda thought we’d skip visiting my office and maybe grab some grub,” Rob said, eyeing me sheepishly.

“You think?” Melissa teased, wrapping an arm around Rob, who was still eyeing me.

“That’s fine with me,” I answered, throwing Rob a bone. I’m sure the hours he spent wondering what the inside of that elevator would look like when it opened was punishment enough.

“I was dying,” Rob said, holding his hand on his chest. “Let’s head out.

“You let him off easy,” Justin whispered out of the side of his mouth as he walked beside me.

“I distinctly remember hearing someone threaten to kick his ass as soon as we were free from our steel cage. I guess my eyes are playing tricks on me because he looks pretty unscathed at the moment.”

“I’m biding my time,” Justin replied, flashing me his trademark grin.

“I’m parked over here, guys,” Rob called, standing beside a silver SUV that screamed adult.

“I figured you’d want to sit up front,” he told Justin, slapping him on the back.

“Sure, that’s fine,” Justin said, shooting me a look before climbing into the front seat of the vehicle.

The ride to the restaurant was loud as Rob and Melissa peppered us with questions about our confined time together on the elevator. Strangely, Justin stayed as closemouthed about what had transpired as I did. After a few minutes of trying, they both graciously surrendered as Melissa launched into a detailed description of the engagement party the next night.

“We wanted to keep it fun, so we decided to do a themed karaoke party,” Melissa gushed, ignoring the look Justin and I exchanged as I tried not to snicker.

“Um, karaoke?” I asked, wondering if Melissa had missed the memo where karaoke was no longer cool.

“Yes, Ms. Doubting Thomas, karaoke. I know it’s not the fad anymore, which is why I want to do it. I’m going to help it make a comeback. The kicker is that everyone has to pick a song that best describes Rob and me. Right, babe?” she said, looking at Rob for approval.

“You got it,” he said, shooting her the same indulgent smile over his shoulder that I remembered from two years ago. I didn’t know whether to laugh or applaud the fact that Melissa still had him hooked so completely.

“Karaoke,” I repeated, trying to wrap my brain around the idea as Rob pulled into a crowded parking lot.