Oh, ouch. All at once she could see her mom’s attitude was anything but casual. “Why are you angry at me? So, I need a few minutes to myself. It’s not easy for me to be around him.”
“Yes, Callie, I get that. We all get that. But it’s been six years. And if you’d just talk to him, you wouldn’t have to keep avoiding him.” Her mom blew out a frustrated breath. “Don’t you want to move on?”
The words stung. Move on? She’d done exactly that. With her undergrad and graduate degrees from NYU, she’d made her dream of living in New York City a reality. A few years from now, she’d—hopefully—become a museum curator.
She wanted to say, Look at me. There was none of the old Callie left. How could her mom not see that? “Are you kidding me? I have completely moved on. I’m a few months away from working at the MoCA. I have the best boyfriend in the world.” Who couldn’t be more different from Fin. “He and his parents have been wonderful to me. I love my life.” And, frankly, it hurt that her mom couldn’t see it.
“Yes, you’ve done a bang-up job of reinventing yourself. Congratulations. But I don’t know how you think you can start a new relationship when you haven’t closed out of the last one. You’ve got the degrees and clothes and bank account of an adult, so now act like one. Go out there and talk to Fin. Face the terrible decisions you both made so you can move on.”
Frustration and anger got her blood pumping. “I’m not an adult because I won’t talk to my ex-boyfriend? There’s nothing to talk about. He made his decision, and I made mine not to put up with his crap anymore.” It wasn’t like her mom could relate. She’d married her high school sweetheart. “Mom, he’s never going to change. This meme proves that. He’s always going to put his brothers before anyone else.” Before me. “Moving on means accepting Fin for who he is and not trying to change him. That’s closure.”
“Then why are you hiding in the laundry room at your brother’s rehearsal dinner?”
“Ellen?” The caterer leaned in. “We’re about to pass out the champagne. You want to give the heads-up to anyone giving toasts?”
“Sure.” Her mom nodded warmly, and then turned back to Callie. “Put your phone away and be here for your brother, okay?”
Callie ran her fingers over the heavy, jeweled bracelet Julian had given her for graduation. “Of course.” Heart pounding, she followed her mom out the back door. As she crossed the scarred wooden deck, she dropped her phone into her clutch, accepting that her mom was right.
Callie had lost touch with her brother; she barely even knew his bride. She wanted to get to know her four-year-old nephew and spend time with her parents without the constant worry that Fin might show up. It was time to put the past to rest and just…be home.
Stepping off the deck, she thought of Julian’s mother, the way she so fluidly and elegantly worked a room. Yes. Be Mrs. Reyes. She’d simply act like she was at an art gallery opening, and Fin was just someone in the room.
Well, someone she’d had sex with. A lot. In pretty raunchy ways. Oh, Lord.
Stop it.
Think about the meme. Because if Fin had bailed on Traci like that, then he hadn’t changed. And that emboldened her. Because it meant he could never hurt her again.
She’d never give him the chance.
When she stepped onto the grass, she put her weight on her toes to keep her sharp heels from sinking into the dirt. She scanned the yard. The moment her gaze landed on Julian, the pressure on her chest lifted.
Urbane, polished, and charming, her boyfriend stood out among the other guests in their Western-wear and more casual attire. In his custom-made Brioni suit and crisp, white dress shirt, his hair slicked back off his handsome face, Julian looked like a model for a watch ad.
Callie made a bee-line for him. Weaving through round tables covered in white linens, she noticed the pink and lavender flower centerpieces with flickering candles were the only nod to décor. But with the Grand Tetons as a backdrop, what else did they need? The striking sight never grew old, especially now when twilight cast purple and peach shadows over the starkly rugged peaks.
With a smile in place, she glided past familiar faces. A jolt of anxiety zinged through her when she saw a wall of muscle blocking her boyfriend. Two of Fin’s brothers reached for champagne flutes on a wicker tray. Crap. The heel of her five-inch stiletto sank into the grass, breaking her stride. A cold sting of embarrassment shot through her, but she quickly corrected. Perspiration sprang out on her forehead. She stopped herself from patting it away so she didn’t mess up her foundation.
Fortunately, they’d moved on by the time she got there, revealing Julian’s companion.
Megan. Ugh. Obviously, she’d known her friend would be at the wedding. She just would’ve preferred if their first reunion in years didn’t take place in front of her boyfriend. No one understood her better, though, so she had to hope her friend got why she’d fallen out of touch. “Megan. It’s so good to see you.”
But when she leaned in for a hug, her friend’s arms remained at her sides. “Hey.” She didn’t even smile.
Heat raced up Callie’s neck, enflaming her cheeks. Trying to cover for her embarrassment, she placed a hand on Julian’s biceps and channeled his mother. “I see you’ve met Megan.”
“Yes, I have.” Julian gave a gracious nod to her old friend. “We’ve been chatting about her yoga studio.”
“Well, it was nice to meet you.” But Megan’s flat tone said otherwise, and she turned to go.
Underneath the shock of her friend’s blatant rejection ran the horrifying awareness that Callie had earned it.
How in the world had she assumed Megan would understand what she’d gone through when Callie had never told her? “Megan, I—”
Her friend stopped and turned to her with a challenging expression.
Did she really want to have this conversation in front of Julian? Later tonight, she’d pull her aside and they could talk. But for now…For now, Callie needed to keep it together. “It’s great to see you. So, you teach yoga? Where?”
When Megan didn’t immediately respond, Julian said, “Here. In Calamity.”
“That’s great.” But she couldn’t hide her surprise. Megan had always wanted to be in theater.
“I keep trying to get Calliope to use my yogi, but she refuses,” Julian said.
Having grown up with obscene wealth, Julian had no understanding of her financial situation. Not only couldn’t Callie afford yoga classes, but she wasn’t about to sponge off her boyfriend. Crashing at his place is bad enough.
“Calliope?” Megan seemed surprised to hear Julian use her full name. No one did that.
“Yes.” Julian beamed a proud smile and wrapped an arm around her, tucking her in against him. His expensive cologne overwhelmed the scents of sage and mountain air. “Calliope and I met in the graduate program at NYU.” He gave her an adoring smile. “I fell in love with her the moment I saw her.”
Gratitude flooded her. She loved his unwavering devotion. But she had to fix things with Megan, so she reached for her friend’s forearm. “Hey, can we talk later? I’d love to catch up with you.”