“Yeah . . .” He sounded embarrassed. “Remember me telling you about my old college girlfriend?”
“Sheila?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Well, she called me up this week . . . and I . . . I’m sorry.”
So he’d cheated on her. She could hear it in his voice, yet she didn’t care. It would have been hypocritical to care given that she’d only arranged to marry him in the hopes that another man would come along and destroy their wedding. “Mitch, believe it or not, I really do want you to be happy.”
“So this worked out for both of us?” he asked, sounding like he didn’t quite believe it.
“Yeah.” She laughed, wiping a tear from her cheek. Karma was a real bitch, but this was what she deserved for treating him like crap. It sounded like Mitch had found his match, and Libby was still alone. “I suppose it did.”
“I hope you find what you’re looking for, Libby. I knew all along I wasn’t it. I should have ended things months ago, but you were like the perfect woman, you know? Gorgeous and laid back, and you didn’t even care that I was gone so much. I couldn’t understand why we just didn’t feel right, but I figured it would all work out in the end.”
She sighed. “Me too.”
“Take care of yourself. And if you haven’t already, call Megan and Blair. They’re flipping their shit.”
She cringed. “Thanks.”
She hung up and called Megan, figuring she would probably be the easier to deal with of her two friends.
“Hello?” Megan answered tentatively.
“Megan, it’s me.”
“Oh, my God! Are you okay? Blair’s raising holy hell because the police won’t put out an Amber Alert for you.”
“Amber Alerts are for children.”
“Everyone’s told her that . . . not that she cares. She was certain you were kidnapped. Where are you?”
A sharp wind hit her, making her shiver with cold. “Junction City, Kansas.”
“What? How did you get there?”
“Noah just drove—”
“Noah? How could you be with Noah? He’s in Seattle.”
“No, he changed his mind and flew to Kansas City, but his plane was delayed, which is why he was late. He was driving the car I got into.”
There was a long moment of silence, then Megan said, “So you planned this?” There was a sharp edge to her voice now.
“What? No!”
Megan was silent for another beat. “Why did you run away, Libby?” she finally asked.
What should she say? “I was scared. It was all too much.” Both true.
“You never intended to marry Mitch, did you?”
Oh, God. She’d figured it out. Libby’s face burned with embarrassment. “How can you say that?”
“Because you believed in the curse more than any of us. And after what happened to Blair and me, of course you’d think the same thing would happen to you.”
How could she respond? Megan was right, but that didn’t mean she wanted to own up to it.
“I’d ask you how far you were willing to let it go, but I guess we all got front row seats to that answer.”
The condemnation in her words stabbed Libby in the heart. In all the time she’d known Megan, she’d never sounded so judgmental.
“Why shouldn’t I believe in the curse?” Libby asked, wrapping an arm across her chest in an effort to block out the cold. “It worked out exactly like the fortune teller told us it would for you and Blair. She said the curse covered all three of us. It should have worked!”
“The curse isn’t real, Libby!” Megan lowered her voice. “You’ve pulled some crazy things before, but this . . . Think about what you did to Mitch. You left that poor man at the altar, when you had no intention of marrying him at all.”
“I’ve already talked to Mitch. His old girlfriend called him this week. Turns out he didn’t want to marry me either, but he felt bad about breaking up with me right before the wedding.”
“Libby, that doesn’t make it right.”
Anger roared in Libby’s head. “You know what, you’re one hundred percent correct. It doesn’t make it right. Not even close. I feel like a bitch and I already apologized to Mitch. But let me ask you this, Megan Vandemeer McMillan: Who stood by you when you paraded a fake fiancé around claiming he was Jay? And who helped you realize that he was the love of your life? Me. That’s right, me!” She stamped her foot for effect, sending pain shooting up from her heel to her shin. “I stood by you because you’re my friend. I’m sorry if you think it’s too much for me to ask you to do the same!”
“Oh, God, Libby,” Megan said, sounding horrified. “You’re right. I’m so sorry.”
“Too little, too late.” Then she hung up and sucked in a deep breath of cold Kansas air. Megan’s words had stung, but there was no denying they were true. She’d been irresponsible and self-centered, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. She felt a sudden need to see Noah. He’d make her feel better. He always did. Turned out he really was her best friend.
Chapter Five
Noah anxiously glanced at the door for what had to be the hundredth time, wondering if he should go outside. Calling Mitch had to be difficult for her. What if she needed support? After five minutes passed this way, he decided to go after her, if only to give her his jacket, but the door opened and she walked into the restaurant with a strange look on her face.
She stopped at the table of the woman who’d lent them the phone, plastering what he recognized as a fake smile on her face. “Do you want to take that photo now?
The woman hopped out of her chair and raced around to stand next to Libby, pausing only to hand the proffered phone to her husband. “Get close up, Bill. No full body shot. I don’t want my fat rolls showing.” She turned to Libby. “I’m posting this on social media. No one will believe this, so I need proof.”
Libby’s smile widened as she faced the camera. After several clicks, Libby turned to face the woman. “Thank you so much for letting me use your phone. If you get a call from a woman named Megan, please tell her I said to go to hell,” she said in a sweet voice.
Noah’s blood pressure began to rise. So she’d called his sister-in-law, and apparently Megan had been a bitch about the whole runaway bride thing.
The woman’s head jutted back in surprise, and then she laughed. “Will do. I’m sure there’s a story there.” She cast a wicked glance at Noah and winked before leaning close to Libby and whispering something in her ear.
Libby’s eyes widened and she shook her head, mouthing the word no, but the woman ignored her and sat down with her family.
By the time Libby returned to the booth, the fake smile had slipped from her face.
“Lib? Did you get ahold of Mitch?”
“What?” She glanced up at Noah. “Yeah.”
“And?”
She released a heavy breath. “He’s actually pretty okay. He said he was having doubts too. Turns out his old college girlfriend contacted him this week . . .” Her voice trailed off, but he thought he heard her mumble something about a curse working for Mitch.