Made in Manhattan

He said nothing, and Violet finally gave up, shaking her head and picking up her purse. Her smile was bittersweet. On the personal growth front, she knew she’d just taken a step forward: speaking her mind instead of placating.

So why didn’t she feel better?

Text Exchange between Ashley and Violet

Ashley: Okay, you’re officially the worst best friend ever. You didn’t tell me that he looked like THAT.

Violet: You looked up his picture! You knew he was good-looking.

Ashley: The appeal of men like Cain can’t be captured in pictures. I’m still all hot and bothered, and it’s been an hour since I met him.

Violet: Well, he’s all yours if you want him. I’m done.

Eighteen

How long do we have to stay?” Violet asked Ashley grumpily as she shrugged off her coat.

“That’s usually my line,” Ashley said. She took Violet’s coat and tossed it, and her own, onto the “coat pile” chair in Jenny and Mike Kaling’s entryway. “You’re the one who tells me we have to at least make an appearance.”

“I know,” Violet said wearily, surreptitiously adjusting the strapless bra that was digging into her rib cage. “Let’s do this.”

“Forty-five minutes, tops,” Ashley said as they made their way to the buzzing kitchen, where the guests had congregated. “Long enough to have a drink, tell Mike happy birthday, and then Irish goodbye—uh-oh.”

Violet glanced at her friend. “What’s wrong?”

“You may have been doing a little too good of a job introducing Cain around town.” She nodded across the kitchen, and Violet glanced over her shoulder.

Her stomach sank.

Cain was here.

She should have been prepared. She’d introduced him to Jenny and Mike last week, and they’d made a point to invite him to the party. But Violet hadn’t expected him to actually come.

She definitely hadn’t expected him to come with someone.

Nor had she been prepared for how much it would hurt. It’s not as though they were together. They had no understanding. One angry kiss and a movie night hardly made up for the dozens of far less pleasant interactions between them, the most recent fight at the tailor’s the freshest.

Not fifteen minutes ago, she’d declared to Ashley in the taxi that she was done trying to figure him out, done trying to win over a man who thought the worst of her.

Cain could not have made it plainer that the only thing he wanted from her was distance, and she was more than happy to give it to him.

And yet here they were in the same room, and seeing him laughing with another woman was… fine! Just fine.

She just wanted to barf, was all.

“Ugh, Alison Grape. I’ve never liked her,” Ashley said in disgust as the gorgeous blonde in a tight dress touched Cain’s arm, then whispered something in his ear when he bent down to her.

Violet didn’t much like Alison either, though she couldn’t have really said why. They had several mutual friends and frequently found themselves at the same bachelorette party or baby shower. They were perfectly friendly to each other, but for some reason had never clicked or made any effort to hang out when not required to by mutual friends.

Alison and Cain, on the other hand, seemed to be clicking just fine.

His head tilted back as he laughed long and loud at something Alison said, and Violet quickly turned her head away. He never laughed with her.

“Oh, God,” Ashley said with agonized feeling as she poured them each a glass of wine. She thrust one at Violet. “Here, drink this. All of it, quick. Quick.”

“Why?”

“Because this bad party’s about to get even worse.”

Worse? Impossible.

“Good to see you too, Ash,” came a bemused male voice.

Violet turned, seeing that Ashley had been very correct: the party could get worse. “Hello, Keith.”

He held her gaze for a moment, then glanced at Ashley. “Can we have a minute?”

“Nope.” Ashley sipped her wine and stayed stubbornly put.

“Ash,” Violet said softly.

Her friend huffed. “Okay, two minutes. And only because I have to pee. Make yourself useful and hold this,” Ashley said, handing Keith her wineglass. “Do not upset my best friend, or—” She mimed a throat-slashing gesture.

“She’s the one who dumped me,” Keith pointed out.

Ashley ignored this, using her two fingers to point to her eyes, then Keith. I’m watching you.

“You’d better hope she never switches allegiances,” Keith said in amusement as Ashley headed for the bathroom line.

“She won’t,” Violet said, sneaking another nonchalant glance over at Cain. If he’d noticed her arrival, he didn’t show it. Though she supposed it would have been hard for him to notice much of anything given that all of his attention was on Alison’s perky cleavage.

“You look incredible,” Keith said, and Violet forced her attention back to him.

“Thanks.”

His blue eyes searched hers. “I miss you, Vi.”

She shifted uncomfortably. “Keith…”

“No, hear me out. Please,” he added, sounding nothing like his usual strident, self-absorbed self. “It’s been killing me not to call or text you. I’ve even come by your building a few times, but I forced myself to leave before knocking on the door. I wanted to give you space.”