“That’s not it at all. We just know that sometimes you act impulsively.” Addy rubbed my shoulder and smiled.
“So, this is how it’s going to go down. You’re going to walk past his table and appear surprised to see him before saying…” Coco paused. “Oh, hey, Ty. Hope you’re doing well. It’s nice to see you.” She tried to make her voice sound like mine, but it was far too high and a ridiculous impression.
I groaned. “Fine.”
“Say it,” Coco insisted.
I used my fakest voice as well. “Oh, hey, Ty. Hope you’re doing well. It’s nice to see you.” My hands were fisted at my sides.
“That’s good. But maybe try to calm your face. You look like you want to punch somebody.” Addy reached for my hand and squeezed.
“Okay.” I shook my head back and forth a few times and forced a smile. “I’ve got this.”
“Stick to the plan. Calm and cool. You can do this, Ive. And we’ll be right beside you as you brisk right by him.” Coco reached for my other hand.
“It looks like I’m nervous if you’re holding my hands. I am a grown woman after all,” I said over my laughter as they dropped my hands and we moved past the photographers.
Coco wriggled her brows before pulling the door open. “Let’s do this.”
The place was buzzing, but I found Ty in a matter of seconds. He was staring right at me. Dark brown eyes that locked with mine. My stomach flipped. But I remained perfectly calm and cool. Just like we practiced. I held my head high. I repeated the words in my head that I was going to say. I stopped when we reached his table.
I’ve totally got this. Easy breezy.
He smiled.
The bastard smiled at me. The nerve.
“Hey, Ive. Long time no see,” Ty said. His voice a little deeper than I remembered, but it was filled with empathy.
And I suddenly fought the urge to cry.
A lump formed in my throat, and I was overcome with emotion.
But then I remembered how much he’d hurt me.
My hands shook and I did the only thing that felt natural.
“I curse the ground you walk on, Ty Greene!” I couldn’t stop myself from reaching for the chocolate shake that was sitting right in front of him. I doused it right in his handsome face, and it felt exhilarating.
That was for all the hurt. All the sadness he’d caused me. He was lucky there wasn’t hot lava sitting on the table.
Coco and Addy gasped beside me, and I realized everyone was watching. Ty just smiled and wiped some chocolate from his face and popped his finger in his mouth. Talia sat with her mouth gaping open and I tried to think of what to say.
“Hi, Mr. Greene. Hi, Talia. It’s good to see you. I’ll meet you at my office in a bit?” And then I curtsied like I was a fucking royal. I had just made a scene at the Rusty Pelican and all eyes were on me. What else was I supposed to do?
Mae appeared out of nowhere with a stack of napkins and a big grin on her face.
I turned on my heels and walked toward the door. I certainly couldn’t eat here now. I heard Addy apologizing to Mae and Coco was laughing hysterically beside me, as the three of us hurried out the door.
“Well, that was another way to go,” Coco said when the blast of warm air slapped me in the face once we stepped back outside. A few photographers snapped photos of us as we walked by, so they must have been watching through the large front window.
We made our way to The Chocolate Fountain, another local favorite of ours. Once inside, we all three burst out in laughter.
“Eek. I don’t know what happened back there. Sorry about that,” I said as we found a table and ordered french fries and milkshakes from Lenny.
“We practiced too.” Coco shook her head. “But I actually think I liked this better. Now he knows how you feel.”
“I agree. I mean, throwing the shake in his face on top of cursing the ground he walks on was definitely a statement,” Addy said before walking over to the counter to help Lenny carry our shakes over to us.
“This might be awkward now when we meet this afternoon,” I said, as my mouth watered at the sight of the milkshake topped with whipped cream.
Apparently telling off your ex-boyfriend could work up an appetite.
“Nah. He had it coming.” Coco used her spoon and scooped off the whipped cream and popped it in her mouth.
“Talia looked a little surprised. But at least now you don’t have to be fake for the meeting,” Addy said. Always the optimist.
I closed my eyes and released a long, slow breath. “I probably shouldn’t have done that in front of Talia. She’s my client.”
“She’s your friend,” Addy said.
“I don’t know what happened. He just smiled and he looked so damn good, you know? It infuriated me.”
“You’re the one who looks good, Ive. That boy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he looked at you. He actually looked happy when you threw the shake in his face.” Coco shrugged and clapped her hands together when Lenny set three baskets of french fries down in front of us.
“I hardly think his eyes were doing anything other than probably panicking when we walked in. And Ty’s just always happy. Clearly that hasn’t changed.” I huffed and reached for a handful of fries.
“I thought he looked pretty happy about it too. He always did like getting a reaction out of you,” Addy said, as she took a long sip from her shake.
“Well, damn him. He blew our plan.”
“He sure did.” Coco smirked. “So how are you going to play things this afternoon?”
“Hmmmm… I think I’ll just feign ignorance. Pretend it didn’t happen and act like a professional. It’ll be at my office after all. On my own turf.”
“You have to call us right away. Let’s meet after. We’ll come by your office. Send us a text when the canary leaves the birdcage,” Addy said, shimmying her shoulders like she was very proud of herself for being mysterious.
“Wait. Who’s the canary? Ty or Ivy?” Coco asked.
“Ty. Definitely Ty.” Addy bit off the end of a fry.
“Yeah, Ty’s definitely the canary. And it’s time to make that bastard sing,” I hissed as the table erupted in laughter again.
We finished eating and Addy went back to the news station where she worked, and Coco went to meet her team for the photo shoot they were filming out at her family’s property. I walked into the office and Kathleen greeted me.