“Whoa,” Bethany said. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Four Seasons? Fancy.”
“Not really,” I said with a shrug. “It’s just a company Christmas party.”
“For your new job?” she asked.
“No…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain things.
Bethany looked at me quizzically. I didn’t know how much I wanted to tell her just yet. Things between Michael and me were still new.
“Spill,” she said flatly. She put her hands on her hips and stared me down the way only a big sister could. “Now.”
I sighed and started flipping through the sales rack. I barely saw the dresses that slipped through my fingers, but it was a useful distraction until I could figure out the best way to explain.
“His name is Michael,” I finally said. “We met at this little café in Ennis. He’s really nice.”
Bethany just kept staring at me. She wanted more details, that was obvious.
“And?” she pressed impatiently.
“He owns his own company,” I said. “Making tools for oil rigs and things like that.”
“Wow.” Bethany nodded approvingly. “Wealthy?”
I nodded. “Extremely.”
“Hence the fancy-ass Christmas party,” Bethany said with a knowing nod.
“Yup.”
I hoped she would let the subject drop, but I should have known better. As we fiddled with the dresses, her eyes kept returning to my face.
“What?” I finally snapped. “What else do you want to know?”
She laughed. “Everything!”
“Fine.” I groaned and turned to face her head on. “He’s amazing, okay? I’m completely smitten, and I feel like a total idiot for it.”
“Why?” Bethany asked. “Smitten is a good thing.”
“Not right now.” I sighed. “I just got my heart stepped on. I don’t know if falling for another guy is the best decision right now.”
“You can’t control when these things happen,” Bethany said. “Sometimes, you just meet someone and boom. The rest is history.”
“Easy for you to say,” I said. “You met the love of your life while you were still a kid.”
“I got lucky,” Bethany admitted. “This thing with Michael, is it serious?”
“We—”
Before I could finish my sentence, a familiar face caught my eye. Joshua was walking past the shop. He stopped right outside and looked around for a few seconds. My feet were frozen in place. I told myself to move, to duck behind the rack of dresses and hide, but I couldn’t. I just stood there and stared until, finally, he kept walking.
“Was that Joshua?” Bethany asked, her eyes wide.
“Yup.” I shook my head and exhaled slowly. “That was close.”
“You haven’t seen him since the breakup?” Bethany asked.
“Go