“Piece of what, exactly?” Brie demands, folding her arms across her ample chest.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “No disrespect intended. All I meant was, maybe you were casually seeing him on the sly because he was technically with someone else.”
Brie scoffs. “No way.”
“Absolutely not,” I add. I would never get involved with someone who was already in a relationship… Right? The last year of law school had been the hardest of my life until then—increasingly difficult classes, applying for jobs, and Law Review editor duties, with a daily dose of Lexapro for anxiety on top. Not to mention a tough breakup at the beginning of the school year. I was under a mountain of pressure. Was it possible I indulged in a fling with a guy who was already spoken for, just to blow off steam? I shake my head hard. “No. Never in a million years.”
Marcus shrugs.
Bracing an elbow on her knee, Brie pinches her lower lip between her thumb and index finger. “There has to be a logical explanation.”
“Like the one I just offered?” says Marcus.
Brie flattens him with a glare.
His eyes glint. “Okay, what if it’s fate?”
“How so?” I ask.
Marcus shifts his weight. “What if you and Devin are supposed to meet? What if your memories of him, your accident, was fate at work?”
Brie sighs. “Fate is the excuse people use to justify when life-altering things happen, when in reality it’s the result of the decisions they make—and maybe a dash of pure dumb luck. Good or bad, people’s actions determine their future. Cause and effect. Action, reaction. Blaming things on fate only downplays the importance of choice.”
“So you don’t think there’s a guiding hand in the universe nudging people in the right direction—God, karma, kismet, something?”
“No, and in case you’re wondering, I don’t believe in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy either.”
Marcus tilts his head. “But there’s so much about the world, the universe, we don’t know. Perhaps it’s possible a higher power is at play here, guiding Cass and Devin together.”
Her lips tilt into a grin. “Marcus, are you a closet romantic?”
“Just playing devil’s advocate.” The tips of his ears flush.
She pushes her glasses farther up her nose. “Well, I don’t believe in woo-woo magical explanations for anything; I believe in provable facts. Science can explain what happened to Cass; we just need to form a hypothesis and test it.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Here’s my theory: Devin was never your boyfriend, but maybe you have met him before. You just don’t remember. There’s no other explanation.”
I sigh. “So how do we test your hypothesis?”
“You talk to Devin, of course. I bet he can crack this mystery wide open and tell us how you know each other.”
My thighs tense. “That would have been a good idea, but I kind of burned that bridge already.”
“How so?” asks Marcus.
“I went to Blooms & Baubles after work to buy some flowers, and I totally embarrassed myself in front of his brother, Larry.”
“You mean Perry?” says Marcus.
“Yeah, him. Guys, I saw Devin for approximately two-point-five seconds and I fainted. Like a Victorian damsel.”
“Are you okay? You didn’t hit your head, did you?” Brie grabs my skull and twists it around, looking for a goose egg. I’d left that detail out in my earlier explanation.
“Not too bad, I’m fine. But yeah, let’s just say Perry thinks I’m bonkers. Either that or a stalker. If I show up at the flower shop again, I wouldn’t be surprised if he called the cops.”
“How about I invite Devin to swing by my bar so you guys can talk?” asks Marcus.
“Your bar?” I ask.
“Marcus manages Zelma’s Taphouse on West Thirtieth,” Brie says.
I had no idea. “Oh, well, then yes. Sure. That’d be great.”
Marcus’s phone is in his hands before I can object, his thumbs already flying across the screen. After a minute of tense silence, he looks up. “He’s free tonight.”
“Tonight?” I blurt. “What did you say? Did you tell him about me?”
“I asked if he wanted to meet me for a drink and catch up since it’s been awhile. I didn’t mention you—way too hard to explain your situation in a text. I figured I could introduce you when he arrives and you can take it from there. Is that okay?”