Toe the Line(45)

I looked at the flames dancing in the fireplace in a corner of the bar. “I think he was overwhelmed. The thought of owing me something or having to worry about me wanting to pick up where we’d left off was too much pressure. Once he clarified things, we became closer than ever—without the added pressure of a romantic relationship.”

Veronique tilted her head, the light from the fire reflecting in her hazel eyes. “Really… I find that odd.”

I nodded. “Strange, isn’t it? After that, Archie emailed me even more, kept me apprised of everything. It was a surreal time for him. He had responsibilities he’d never anticipated. And I was happy to be there for him.” I took a breath. “After my summer visit when Archie put me permanently in the friend zone, I met Shane—my first boyfriend, I guess you could say. We were together for several years but broke up fairly recently—earlier this year.”

“I see.” Veronique nodded slowly. “And by that time…Archie was with this woman he’s marrying.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you think Archie would’ve changed his mind about the two of you if you hadn’t been with Shane all those years?”

My heart felt heavy. “When Archie and I were last together at the house on Whaite’s Island—this past August to prepare it for sale—I got the impression that some of those old feelings were still there. We were drunk one night, and he alluded to waiting for me to break up with Shane. That confused me. It made me wonder if he’d pushed me away for my own good and not because he didn’t have feelings for me.” Looking over at the fire again, I added, “Anyway, it’s all a moot point now, isn’t it? Considering the reason I’m here in Sonoma.”

“When is the wedding?”

“Tomorrow. About twenty minutes from here.”

“Wow.” She shook her head and chuckled. “I give you credit for showing up.”

“I have to. For him. I promised to always be there for him.” I lifted my hands. “And so, here I am.”

“Please tell me you have a killer dress.”

I managed to laugh. “Oh, you know it.”

“What are you hoping for next…after this weekend?”

I blew out a breath. “I’m hoping I can finally move on, that tomorrow will wake me up to the fact that Archie and I are over. I almost need to see this wedding happen to believe it.”

Veronique sighed. “I hope you don’t mind me saying… This is like a real-life soap opera.”

I chuckled. “Well, glad I could take your mind off things for a bit.”

“You did. I can’t thank you enough for sharing your story with me.” She leaned in. “Listen, I’m feeling a bit tired, so I’m going to head up to my room. But if you have any time before you go back to New York, I’d love to have breakfast or something before you leave. I’ll be here until Monday. I don’t think I can go home without hearing about this wedding.”

The idea of getting to see her again made me happy. “We can absolutely do brunch on Sunday morning. That would be amazing. I feel like meeting you tonight was a gift, Veronique. Telling the story really helped clear my mind.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” She patted my arm. “Take care of your heart tomorrow.”

? ? ?

Shortly after Veronique went to her room, I headed back to mine to have a pity party for one. Aside from that lovely stranger in the bar, there was no one else I’d felt comfortable sharing these feelings with. I wished I could talk to Archie tonight. But since that wouldn’t be appropriate, I pulled up some of our old emails. I’d favorited certain ones over the years so I could find them easily.



Noelle,

This is a bad dream I can’t wake up from. It’s been three weeks, but it feels like three years. My mother’s mental state is not good. There’s so much paperwork and shit we have to figure out. My dad didn’t have as much money saved as we thought. Anyway, I don’t want to burden you with all that shit.

I want you to know how much it meant to me that you came out to California and missed the start of school to be here. I hope you have a kickass year—don’t let the nightmarish way this summer ended put a damper on that. I also hope you don’t mind if I write to you from time to time. I feel like you’re the only one who understands what I’ve been through. It’s just too much to open up to anyone else right now and have to rehash it. I hope I’m not depressing you. Because that would suck.

Enough about me. What’s going on with you? Tell me all about BU.

xo

Archie



I scrolled down to my reply.



Archie,

Please don’t ever feel like you have to hold back with me. I can’t be there for you in person, so it makes me really glad to know you feel like you can count on me for venting.

It all seems surreal to me, too. I have to be honest, I’ve had a tough time focusing since school started. I’ve been thinking about you a lot, thinking back to the good parts of the summer. My heart is still on Whaite’s Island. Actually, that’s a lie. My heart is with you. I’m sure things will get easier once some time passes.

BU is okay so far. There’s not really much of a campus. It’s basically like living in the city. So not a lot different than home. But I don’t mind that. I’m a city girl at heart.