Under the Same Stars(81)
I waved my hand. “He has his own RSVP. He’s invited to the wedding.”
She smirked. “I bet Katie and the bridesmaids would still love for you to write his name down!”
“Oh, would they ever…” I smiled and stuffed the little card in its little envelope, prestamped and addressed to Hotel Gallant.
Natalie’s voice softened after I sealed it with saliva. “Mads, you do know these invitations…”
“More or less cost five thousand dollars?”
“I would hope so!” Natalie said. “Lily Hopper works wonders, my friend.” She shook her head. “But no, I meant…you know every piece of this invitation is a love letter to your home, right?”
I gave her a look. “Wait, what?”
Natalie nodded. “All of this, Mads, is for your family.” She pointed to the RSVP missive. “The barn on the back of your dinner order? It’s your Christmas tree farm.” She rifled around for Austin and Katie’s watercolor save-the-date and pointed to the chestnut mare outside the Bedens Brook clubhouse. “That’s Tally-Ho!”
My heart slowed, seeing our horse in her holiday tartan blanket. Oh…
Natalie got right in my face with the envelope’s winter watercolor insert. “And this scene isn’t at Bedens Brook!” she said. “It’s based on a photo that’s framed downstairs.” She swept her arm toward my window, as if pointing all the way down to our pond. “It’s right over there.”
“Austin,” I whispered, eyes smarting with realization. “This was all Austin’s idea. Katie…” I rubbed my forehead. “She let Austin design the invitations.”
“Well, I think Lily deserves at least a little credit.” Natalie poked me. “But yeah, it looks like it. You’ve been saying Katie hasn’t wanted any of his opinions.”
“Except this one.” I picked up the invitation, as if to look at it for the first time. Austin’s and my childhood flashed in front of my eyes. “It’s timeless.”
“Yes,” Natalie agreed. “It’s timeless.”
***
A few hours after Natalie left, I called it a night. “I’m going to Bedfordshire,” I yawned, snapping shut my copy of Emma before giving my dads hugs.
But once I’d changed into pajamas, brushed my teeth, and exchanged good night texts with Connor, I found myself restless. I tossed and turned in bed for a while, then threw back my covers to pace my room. Moonlight slipped through my closed blinds. We thought you’d want to know that Marco and Shelly broke up, I heard Zach’s voice in my head, followed by Simon: I suspect she knew that Marco was never hers to lose.
In the end, I had to dare myself to do it. I dare you, I thought. I dare you to text Marco.
Hey, I typed, trying to tune out the voice in my head: Why are you doing this when you have Connor? I hated myself for it, but after hearing Austin talk about Katie, I’d started wondering if Connor truly was my Samira…and only my Samira.
Which meant I had a Katie out there.
I closed my eyes when I hit send, knowing the conversation could go wrong. Or, even worse—he could ignore me exactly like I’d ignored him.
But his reply was almost immediate.
Hi, it read. Long time…
No see, I finished for him. No chat.
And whose fault is that? he wrote.
My cheeks warmed. I don’t know. You never come to my games.
Only because I have class. In addition to the very minute detail that you don’t want to see me.
That’s not true, I thought. It once was, but not now.
I also joined the club soccer team, he added when I didn’t respond. Significantly lower commitment than varsity, less pressure, and much more fun. Everyone has pure love for the game.
I smiled a little. You’re still playing soccer?
Yes, he said. It turns out it wasn’t that easy to give up.
Suddenly, I wanted to ask him a thousand questions. I wanted to know what he found interesting about his classes this semester, his family, and if he’d finished his manuscript. I wanted to hear about something that had recently made him laugh.
I wanted to know why he’d agreed to play Katie’s reconnoiter.
They told you, he texted. Right?
Shelly. He was talking about Shelly.
I gulped and did my best to dodge the question. Do you want to call and catch up? I asked. I’m wide-awake.
Gray typing dots appeared, then disappeared.
Appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
No, Marco messaged.
My stomach sank, but I still had the guts to challenge him.
Why not?
Because, he wrote, if I hear your voice, I’m never going to hang up the phone.
I swallowed hard, a lump in my throat. This isn’t platonic, I thought after leaving him on read. And I can’t ever pretend it is.
***
Mr. and Mrs. Gallant had invited my parents to a Devils game on Saturday night, so I had the house to myself while I got ready for dinner with Connor. Grey was a fancy restaurant, so I went all out in a little black dress, silver heels, and the diamond earrings my late grandmother had left me. The studs sparkled in the mirror, and I remembered her ruby engagement ring just sitting in our basement’s safe instead of on Katie’s finger. Part of me still couldn’t believe she didn’t want a family heirloom. It was unique, but if she was Austin’s favorite person, it belonged to her.