Chapter 11

Jade

“Her name’s Hazel. She’s so sweet and good-mannered. Painfully shy too.” I sighed into my glass of strawberry rosé spritz, the bespoke birthday cocktail specially curated for tonight. “She’s going to be really good company, I can feel it. Anything beats being alone all day, right?”

Bells ignored my attempt at making a lame joke of my pitiful living situation. “And Julian didn’t bother telling you about her before she showed up?” she asked for confirmation since I’d mentioned it before.

“Nope. I tried calling him later about it but he never answered. He must have been busy.”

She snorted and I heard her mutter ‘what a dick’ under her breath before she took a sip of her Peach Bellini mocktail.

“If it isn’t the now fully legal birthday girl looking hotter than sin itself.” Someone whistled low from behind us.

I spun around from where I was leaning against the open bar at the familiar voice and lit up at the sight of one of my oldest friends, Harry Bellinger.

“Oh my God, you came!” I squealed before throwing my arms around him in excitement.

“Yeah, I did.” He gripped me tight, hands snaking around my waist to pull me closer. “Traffic sucked sweaty balls out there but here I am.”

“Happy birthday Jade ‘born-to-be-a-star’ Starling,” he said with a wide smile when I disentangled myself from him, extending his hand holding a pink gift bag between us. “Here you go. A special present for my special girl.”

Bells smacked his arm at his flirty words, directing a pointed glance at my very conspicuous engagement ring. “She’s someone else’s special girl now.”

“Fuck, that’s true. Didn’t even get you an engagement gift. My bad, gonna make it up to you soon. Where’s the lucky guy anyway?” He looked around the private dining room that currently held around thirty people, eyes searching.

Most of them were my friends from school, others acquaintances I had made through my parents who I could tolerate. They had broken into the ‘happy birthday’ song when I walked in with Bells, beaming faces encouraging me to blow out the candles on my strawberry cake and make a wish.

I had of course wished Julian loved me back. Then we danced and took pictures to post on social media, laughing and gossiping and munching on petite desserts.

All of it felt intimate and perfect, my dream birthday celebration except without my dream man.

There was a polaroid station, champagne tower, and soft speakers playing instrumental covers of popular songs. Everything I loved. No one knew me as much as Bells did and I loved her for it.

“The lucky guy?” I said with disbelief in response to Harry’s odd statement. “Tell me you don’t know I got engaged to Julian Davenport. The Julian Davenport.”

“So?” he scoffed, not looking impressed in the slightest. “He’s still the lucky one. He has no idea what an amazing woman he had snagged for himself. Fortunate bastard.”

I exchanged a subtle glance with Bells. She had always told me he had a crush on me right from our university days when she met him, but I had never seemed to believe it. He was just overly flirty with every girl he came across and I wasn’t an exception. I also wasn’t the type to read signals where there were none and complicate things for myself.

Besides, I had only ever had my heart set on Julian. Only ever saved myself for him. So every other guy never so much as breached my radar.

The thing was just that, Bells was rarely ever wrong about stuff like that.

And now I was having my suspicions too.

“Where’s he then? Shouldn’t he be glued to your side growling at anyone of the opposite gender who so much as looks your way?”

Bells made a face of disgust. “That’s a bit too caveman. Even for you.”

Harry ignored her, looking at me for a response.