“Where’s Sadie? Is she here?” Mikey peers around as though Devin’s ex-girlfriend is going to pop out from behind a beach chair.
“Ahhh, no. We broke up.”
“Oh man, I’m sorry. Sadie was the tops, the whole package. When you guys started talking about moving in together, I thought a ring wasn’t far behind. What happened?”
I stare at Devin. They were going to move in together? He never told me that.
Devin’s nostrils flare. “It didn’t work out.”
“But—”
“Mikey, I’d like you to meet Cass,” he says loudly. “Cass, this is Mike Howitzer. Mike and I went to high school together. He’s the one I told you about who works at a car dealership in Brook Park.”
Mike covers his mouth. “Oh shit, is this your new girlfriend?”
“We’ve been seeing each other for about a month,” I say.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry. I can be a real jackass sometimes.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” says the man next to him, grinning from beneath a neatly trimmed auburn beard. “Dev, it’s been too long.” He pulls Devin into a back-slapping hug.
“Gavin, good to see you. How’s med school?”
“Hard as hell.” He laughs, pushing his Ray-Ban sunglasses farther up his pointed nose. “I’m starting rotations in the fall, then hopefully a residency in cardiothoracic surgery. I heard you’re back in the C-L-E working for your dad. What does he have you doing?”
“A little bit of everything. Scouting properties, negotiating deals as part of our new expansion. That sort of thing.”
“Come on, you’re being modest. I bet you’re his right-hand man.”
The tips of Devin’s ears turn pink. “You know it.”
The guys laugh, and Devin grins when Mikey jostles him playfully. “Attaboy.”
The woman with long black hair and a pink sundress steps forward with a little wave. “Hi there, I’m Anisha Patel. This is my husband, Jai,” she says to me.
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” I wave back. “So, did you all go to high school together?”
“That’s right,” says Jai.
“St. Isaac, baby!” Mikey whoops.
St. Isaac is one of the most prestigious Catholic schools in Cleveland. It certainly explains the preppy vibe.
“Is that how you two met?” I flick a finger between Jai and Anisha.
Anisha smiles, revealing dazzling white teeth. “Jai was my senior prom date. We lost touch in college, but reconnected when we both started as analysts for Key Bank five years ago. We got married last summer,” she explains, patting her husband’s chest. A diamond the size of a small marble sparkles on her ring finger.
“Congratulations.”
“So, what do you do, Cass?” Anisha’s long, sleek ponytail falls over one shoulder as she takes a dainty sip of hard seltzer.
“Cass is a trial lawyer for Smith & Boone,” says Devin. Pride shines out of his every pore.
“Nice! Where’d you go to law school?” Jai asks.
“I went to—”
“Case Western,” Devin cuts in. “She was the editor of their law review journal and the captain of the mock trial team.”
A muscle jumps in my neck. “Devin, you’re making me blush,” I say through a tight smile.
Wrapping his arm around my waist, he tugs me closer until my side is pressed against his. “Come on, let me brag. You deserve it.” His tone is sincere, but the way his gaze drifts to his friends makes me feel like his words aren’t actually meant for me. My stomach twists.
“Cass.” Mikey snaps his fingers. “You’re the girl who was interested in the 2014 Lexus ES 350, right? Devin told me about you! Wait, weren’t you in a coma?”
Ice fills my veins, despite the heat. “Uh, yeah.”
Anisha pushes her sunglasses to the top of her head. “Oh my God, that’s terrible. What happened?”
“I was in a car accident last summer. I’m fine now.”
Mikey leans closer like he’s hypnotized. “What was it like being in a coma? Were you trapped in your body? Was it torture?”
Gavin punches him in the arm. “Jesus, Mikey!”
“What? I’m curious. I’ve never met anyone who’s been in a coma before.”
Everyone’s attention settles on me like I’m a specimen in a petri dish.
My throat squeezes and I suck in a breath. “Me neither.” I force a laugh, and it pierces my throat like a knife. Everyone laughs along with me.