“To be fair, she guessed that part.” Merrick takes a sip of his wine.
Henry purses his lips for one … two … three seconds before his head tips back and a loud, booming laugh escapes him.
“She pounced on me the second you were out of the room. Played out just like you said it would, man.” Merrick holds his glass up.
Henry clangs his against it in a toast. “Fuck, I missed you, Mer.”
Wait a minute. I gape at Merrick. “Were you lying to me? I’m not going as the bearded lady?”
He winks. “I told you not to bother trying.”
“That time Dean Warrick caught Preston in his daughter’s room?”
Preston groans and covers his face as Warner, Henry, and Merrick burst out laughing.
“I remember looking out my window and seeing a bare, white ass trying to run through knee-deep snow,” Merrick manages, gasping for air.
“And then he lost his balance and star-fished facedown,” Henry adds.
“Listen, you arseholes! I got frostbite on my dick that night!” Preston yells with indignation.
“Next time grab your clothes before you jump out a window in the dead of winter,” Warner throws back, absently keying an upbeat tune on the baby grand piano in the corner. “Or don’t get caught fucking the dean’s daughter.”
Dinner is finished and we’ve moved to the living room where the bartender plies us with drinks and the guys regale us with embarrassing boarding school stories. The only one not laughing is Tatiana, who’s parked on the couch, consumed by editing pictures of herself on her phone.
“Come on, I may have fucked the dean’s daughter, but Wolf takes the crown.” Preston jams a finger toward Henry. “How many times with our English teacher?”
Henry smooths a hand over his mouth as the men explode in a raucous roar.
“In detention once, right?” Warner asks. “Also in the library one night, after it closed.”
“Henry!” Margo exclaims. “How old were you?”
“Sophomore year,” Preston answers for him.
She tsks, but she’s smiling. It’s impossible to shock that woman.
“But wait. Isn’t that, like … bad?” Kendra giggles, scrunching her nose as she tries to hide her disapproval.
“Fuck yeah, but Wolf wasn’t innocent. I was so jealous of him.” Merrick shakes his head. “Remember those heels she always wore?”
Warner moans. “God, yes. You think she still teaches in those?”
Henry’s eyes fly to mine, and I see the same unease in them that’s cycling through me. This feels wrong, listening to them froth at the mouth over the woman when she’s freshly in a pine box.
The mother of Henry’s child.
But they don’t know any of that because Henry hasn’t told them, and now is hardly the time.
“Guys, enough.” He gives them a warning look, but they all just laugh harder. No one else seems to notice the way his body has stiffened.
“Come on, that was forever ago. As if anyone would care now.” Preston chuckles, but then gasps and points at me. “Wait a minute, did she not know?” As if I’m not listening to this entire conversation.
Henry’s jaw tenses. “Abbi knows.”
Boy, do I ever. And plenty of people would still care. One of them is a girl struggling with the memory of her mother. I’ve thought about Violet more than I expected to this week—about how she’s feeling, how she’s coping. I nearly asked Henry for Gayle and Howard’s number so I could call and check up on her, but I decided against it. She needs more time.
A chorus of chirps sounds with incoming texts. The four men and Margo fish for their phones.
“We’ve got the location!” Merrick announces, the first to read the message.
Henry’s shoulders sag, with relief for the change in subject, I’m sure. “And it’s a good hour’s drive from here, so we better get a move on. See you all there.”
“I think he’s kicking us out.” Preston downs his drink.
“He’s definitely kicking us out.” Warner pats Henry’s shoulder with one hand. “See you soon, buddy.” Swooping in to collect my hand, he kisses my knuckles. “I know this degenerate had nothing to do with dinner, so thank you, Abbi, for making the first part of the night perfect.” He winks. “See you later.” He waves at everyone else.
Tatiana stands and follows him without a word.
“Not the most charming, is she,” Joel mutters, his face pinched with distaste.