Home > Here (Here in Lillyvale #1)(3)

Here (Here in Lillyvale #1)(3)
Author: Jenny Bunting

He had even tried to run into her casually in Lillyvale when he was back to visit his mother, but no such luck. He didn’t even see her at the mall that time she mentioned to the barista. Zoey had avoided him expertly, like a seasoned criminal hiding from the Feds. He was good at his job and could track down almost anyone and get good enough footage for the insurance companies to use. However, he couldn’t casually run into a twenty-eight-year-old woman, and that bothered him.

Still, when he had arrived at the rental house, Caroline had told him Zoey would probably be at the Blue Tahoe Coffee. “It’s time,” she had said. She had also shoved a list in his hand and asked him to go to the store. He said nothing and drove off immediately.

Caroline was even more protective of Zoey than Brady, so this was a breakthrough. A nondescript hipster coffee shop was a far superior location for their reunion. They just had a disinterested barista and a few patrons to witness it instead of all their nosy friends, who would watch with popcorn.

Jonathan pulled into the grocery store parking lot and cut the engine. He didn’t get out of his car right away, but just sat with his hands on the wheel.

He thought back at himself at eighteen and cringed. A ton of shit had happened in the past eleven years. He thought about how much of an idiot he was back when they dated and how he would go back and fix it if he could. He took a pull of his iced coffee, the ice clinking in his cup.

When they were together, they were always touching, always smiling, always telling jokes. Now, she couldn’t even hug him. She could barely look him in the eye. She crossed her arms as a barrier. He could see how he had hurt her, and that made him feel more like shit than knowing she avoided him.

He breathed easy knowing he had the whole weekend. She was staying in the same house. She was in the same wedding. He didn’t know how he would, but he needed to make amends. He needed to see that light in her eyes again. A true apology might not be enough to rectify this absolute shit show he created, but it would be a start.

He checked his watch. He got out of the car and pulled the list from his back pocket. Too much time had already passed, and this weekend had an expiration date.

 

 

2

 

 

“Anything interesting happen while you were out?” Caroline asked, sipping rosé and faking innocence. She sat cross-legged on the couch, wearing an “I’m getting married, bitch” shirt and hot pink leggings, her strawberry blonde hair perfectly curled.

Zoey glared at her as she passed through the impressive living room, with a fireplace and two large sectionals and a big-ass TV. The vacation house Caroline rented was a true find. Tahoe rentals were hard to come by in June, especially one so lush and so close to a popular beach on the lake. Caroline and Zoey were awed by the layout and the space, and Caroline patted herself on the back for discovering this gem. Still, for Zoey, there was one problem.

Zoey looked into the bedroom directly across from hers. She saw a simple black carry-on and a matching black backpack on the bed. An Arizona Diamondbacks hat sat in the middle, like a creepy doll. Oh no.

“Caroline, who is staying in that room? Please tell me it’s Dan.”

“He’s not here yet,” Caroline said, sipping her wine with the biggest shit-eating grin. “He’s driving up with Brady.” Dan was Zoey’s other ex in the wedding party.

“You just orchestrated one of the most awkward moments of my life, and now this?” Zoey asked, selecting a glass from the cabinet and sitting down on the couch. She poured herself a healthy serving of rosé from the bottle already half-gone. Zoey had finished the entire iced coffee on the way back.

“Does it top the time you did the dance from Mean Girls to ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ at my Christmas party three years ago when someone gave you absinthe?”

“This was more awkward.” Zoey fell back into an incredibly comfortable couch. “Oh, I could fall asleep here.”

“Right?” Caroline moved closer and slapped Zoey’s knee. “Come on, Zoey. It’s been eleven years.”

“I would’ve kept going if you didn’t have the nerve to get married and make us your wedding party.” Zoey sat up and looked around. “Wait, why are you not running around like a maniac right now?”

“Well, I finally took half of a pill my brother gave me, and I feel wonderful.”

Zoey silently thanked Caroline’s brother, Brandon. As the wedding got closer and closer, Caroline’s anxiety had hit an all-time high. Everyone had told Caroline she should try anti-anxiety meds for years, and apparently her brother had finally convinced her.

“And you’re drinking too. You’re living dangerously.”

“Hey,” Caroline said with a finger point and a wine splash, “my aunt gets in tomorrow, and I am very stressed right now. Well, I was.” Caroline sank into the cushions. “This is really a comfy couch.”

Caroline had a master spreadsheet in Excel for the wedding and an intimidating color-coded binder, but surprisingly those were nowhere to be found. When she had sent Zoey for coffee, Caroline had been highlighting the venue contract…again. Caroline was also very cheap, so she reviewed the budget daily and she had hired questionable newbies to handle the big details, including a girl barely out of an event-planning internship to be the day-of coordinator. Sophie was adorable but young.

“Hopefully you wake up before the wedding,” Zoey offered.

“Whatever.” Caroline put her arm around Zoey. “So what happened?”

“I acted like a total nerd.”

“That’s part of your charm.”

Zoey adjusted her hair on the top of her head. “I figured if I ever saw Jonathan again, I’d be wearing a ballgown and diamonds and shit. At least stepping off a private jet and yelling at him like he was a peasant. I’m just a loser with a lot of debt working three dumb jobs and living with her mom. I haven’t gotten laid in two years, Caroline. I’m worried my hymen grew back.”

The door opened just as Zoey said “hymen.”

“Did someone say hymen?”

Dan and Brady filed through the front door with duffels and suit bags draped over their arms. Dan danced into the room, like usual, while Brady followed with a massive eye roll. After quick hellos, Dan scampered off to his room. Brady dumped his luggage and suit bag on the couch and covered Caroline with his body.

“Hi, hon!” Brady said, peppering Caroline with quick, staccato kisses. “You’re wearing the shirt.”

Caroline stretched the words out so he could see.

“Hey, Zoey,” he said, as an afterthought. Brady’s eyes searched the living room. “Where’s the wedding bible?”

“I put it away,” Caroline said. “I want to be present.”

“Excellent,” Brady said. He turned his eyes to Zoey and then back to Caroline. “Did Jonathan get here already?”

“Yeah, he went to the store to pick up some stuff for me,” Caroline said.

“So…” Brady trailed off. “Did Zoey see…?”

Zoey said nothing and kept her lips pressed together.

“Yes! We did it.” Caroline said with a fist bump to her fiancé.

“It had to happen, Zo,” Brady said. “You can’t avoid him all weekend. Caroline did you a favor. Maybe we can all hang out now in Lillyvale when he visits.”

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