Page 130

Was I shocked to discover she'd been sleeping with Kenny? Sure.

Was I thrilled with that development? No.

But hate required energy. Energy I refused to waste on two people who weren’t worth it.

"Excuse me." I stepped aside.

She blocked me and raised her voice as she exclaimed, "It wasn't my fault!"

Several heads turned our direction. Perfect.

Nothing said classy like a drunk confrontation with your former best friend while a country song about drinking beer and making bad choices blasted through the speakers.

Although the soundtrack was appropriate.

"Annie, maybe we should⁠—"

"It wasn't!" she shouted again. “My fault. It wasn’t.”

"Cool," I responded as I once again attempted to step around her.

"No, it’s not cool because you don't understand. I was with Kenny before the high school reunion."

My stomach instantly twisted into knots. "What?"

"We were already together,” she stated as if it was some big ‘mic-drop’ moment.

In response to her big epiphany, I offered my unsolicited advice free of charge. "I think you should slow down on the tequila."

"No!” she slurred, clearly offended. “I mean, yes, I've had a few drinks, but that's not why I'm saying this."

"Okay."

"I'm telling you because I'm not the bad guy."

"Congratulations."

She pointed at me. "You are."

“I'm sorry.” I blinked. "What?"

"You're the bad guy."

I burst out laughing. It seemed my brain had reached its daily limit for processing stupidity. "Well, this has been enlightening. Enjoy your evening."

I tried moving around her.

She grabbed my wrist. "Me and Kenny were together way before the reunion.”

That tidbit caused me to freeze in place, and the tiny hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood at attention. "Annie, you were married to Toby then."

"Yeah. I know,” her reply dripped with a condescending tone, as if I’d pointed out the sky was blue. "That's why Kenny got back with you."

"What?" Nothing was making sense to me. I felt like I’d stepped into the Twilight Zone or an alternate reality.

She let out a loud exhale, clearly frustrated that I wasn’t following along. "He rekindled things with you to make me choose."

The music seemed to grow louder. Or maybe that was just white noise in my ears.