Free Unravel Me by Lynn Montagano Page A

would be thrilled if you moved there.”
    “Let’s not get a—”
    “It’s the next logical step.” She waved her hand to brush off my protest. “I mean, my God, look at that ring. I’m surprised you got on the plane to come back. Don’t give me that look. You know I’m right. Besides, long distance relationships are tough. Especially when it’s across an ocean.”
    “So now you’re pro-Alastair?” I sat back, folding my arms.
    “I was never really anti. He’s a little moody and stiff sometimes but he treats you like a queen. Darren likes him and he would tell me if there was something off about him. The other stuff is… I shouldn’t have given what Cassie said so much stock. I worry about you and hearing all that negative gossip about him pissed me off.”
    I watched her squirm in the chair. She hated apologizing. I sipped my wine to hide the amused smile growing on my lips. Nothing fooled her though. She narrowed her ice blue eyes.
    “You’re enjoying this too much,” she grumbled.
    “Maybe.”
    “Listen, I will support this relationship one hundred percent. But,” she leaned forward, “I swear, if he pulls another stunt like he did in England I will go after his ginger ass like a princess on fire.”
    “Your enthusiasm for that is scary.”
    “You’re my unofficial-little-sister-official-best-friend. He hurts you, he hurts me by default.” A chagrined look crossed her face. “Besides, he did fly four thousand miles to patch things up with you. The romantic in me is jealous and swooning at the same time.”
    “I can probably ruin this relationship without his help,” I mumbled.
    “That sounded ominous. Is something going on?’
    “Oh, you know,” I sighed. “Just my awesome self-doubt.”
    “Stop it. He loves you. You love him. Enough said.”
    “Anyway,” I chuckled, “my parents are coming to visit this weekend. Know anybody who can get them tickets to a show or the ballet or something so I don’t have to be a one-woman entertainment stop?”
    “Ah, I love your parents,” she exclaimed. “Your mother kills me. And your dad is a riot. Nobody at the station has tickets to anything?”
    “Yeah but I was away so I missed out.”
    “There’s a Predators game on Saturday if they’re into arena football.”
    “My dad will love it.”
    “I’ll ask Justin to give me his suite tickets. That way we can go with them.” She flashed a mischievous smile. Justin owned the salon where she worked and was currently dating the Predators’ public relations manager.
    The server arrived to take our orders before I had a chance to give Stephanie a snarky reply. We spent the next couple hours brainstorming ideas for her party and being silly. We probably drank more wine than was necessary. It dawned on us that she’d be living in Glasgow for the next milestone in her life: the illustrious thirtieth birthday. Always one to find an excuse to celebrate, Stephanie declared she’d have a massive party at one of the nightclubs downtown. Of course, I’d have to fly out there to join the celebration. Seeing her so excited made me so happy.
    “Ugh. My bladder is getting old,” she complained. “I’ll be right back.”
    I laughed watching her dart off to the ladies’ room. She hadn’t been gone five seconds when I felt a presence behind me.
    “Lia.”
    The voice saying my name sent a small shiver down my spine. Steeling myself, I turned. Standing in his tan dress pants and crisp white button down shirt, Nathan looked like the poster child for a L.L. Bean catalogue. He moved closer and held my arm. I stiffened, ready to make a scene.
    “May I sit?”
    “No.”
    Ignoring me, he sat in Stephanie’s seat. “Have a nice weekend?” His tone dripped with acid.
    “Spectacular.”
    Nathan leaned back in the chair with an air of over-confidence. “Nice ring. You didn’t tell him about the photos, did you?”
    Anger squeezed my chest in an unrelenting grip. “No.”
    “I figured you wouldn’t.