Chapter 37

I didn't have many friends from back home. Especially in the past few years, when things got hard, it was just Alice and Sam.

So, the next morning, when Anna called, I answered. She told me Gabriel was working late with her husband, Zach, and suggested we get together. I said yes.

That's how I found myself at a club with Anna. It was Sunday night, so the club was packed, with people swaying to loud music I didn't recognize. Anna and I sat at the bar with a tray of vodka shots.

"I don't do this often," I shouted over the music, slightly swaying from the three shots I'd already had.

"Me neither!" she yelled back. "I just wanted to do this today!"

"Why?"

She pouted. "Zach always works!"

"Yeah," I huffed, "Gabriel always works too."

A grin spread across her lips as she picked up her fourth shot glass and passed me one. The first two times, I'd been hesitant. Maybe it was the short dress, my low alcohol tolerance, or the fact that my husband didn't know I was out. Maybe it was all three. Now, fueled by alcohol, I wanted more.

So I grinned at my new friend, picked up the shot glass, and downed it in one go. The burning sensation felt exciting, not nerve-wracking, as I let go of control.

"I'm soooo happy we did this!" I hugged Anna from behind in the women's restroom as she reapplied her lipstick, smudging the red across her lower lip. "Oops!"

She laughed, trying to rub it off and making it worse. "You're so fun."

"No, you're fun," I grinned, wiping off the lipstick with my thumb. "Why didn't we do this before?"

"Maybe because we have boring husbands."

"So boring," I repeated. "You know what we should do? You should meet my girlfriend from home, Alice. You'll love her."

"Oo! Another girlfriend?"

"Another girlfriend!" I put my arm around her shoulder as we walked out of the club, passing the VIP section. If we'd come with our husbands, we'd probably be lounging there instead of having all this fun. We did have boring husbands.

"Sof!" Anna swayed under my arm as we walked on the sidewalk. "Where did we park the car?"

My eyes widened. "We are NOT driving. We're sooo drunk."

She giggled. "I know that, silly. I left my wallet in my car, and we spent all our cash on vodka! How will we pay for a cab?"

I looked at her, amazed. "You're so smart."

She flipped her hair. "I know!"

"I'm smart too," I told her.

"How so?"

"If you go one letter up in the alphabet, Anna becomes Boob!"

Her eyes narrowed in thought, then widened. "Oh my God! You're even smarter than me!"

I grinned proudly. "I know." Then I frowned. "I'm sure my husband wouldn't think so."

"He does, he does," she coaxed. "He looooves you."

The drawn-out "love" suddenly hurt. I sat down on the sidewalk where I was, and she turned around, realizing I wasn't beside her.

"Sof!" Panic laced her voice. "What happened?" She ran back and sat beside me. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, my smile fading. "Gabriel doesn't love me!"

"He does!"

"No, he loves someone else. Probably that silly Lily."

Her eyes widened. "You know about Lily?"

I looked at Anna with tear-filled eyes. "I should have Googled him before marriage."

"Gabriel doesn't love Lily!"

"He does," I said, my tears threatening to spill.

"He does not!" she insisted. "He never took her on trips with us. Nobody liked her—not me and Zach, not Gabriel's parents or grandparents. Nobody!"

"Why?"

She didn't answer directly. "Gabriel told me he'd burn any man alive who dared to look at you. That's loooove."

My eyes narrowed. "He said that?"

She bobbed her head like a child. "He said that. The day after the charity gala." She paused. "That reminds me, you're coming to tomorrow's charity gala, right?"

"There's a gala tomorrow?"

"It's every two months, silly. Of course there is."

"Gabriel didn't tell me!" My hurt turned to anger. Why does he never tell me about charity galas? Does he attend them without me? "I will kill him!"

"Come tomorrow," she said, hitting my shoulder.

"Only if we can get this drunk there too," I countered.

She grinned. "There's an open bar."

"Oh my God!" I felt happy, hugging my knees to my chest to cover my dress. "Anna, I love you."

"Sof, you're my best friend—now! I love you too!" She pulled me into a side hug, and we almost fell over, laughing until a flashlight shone on us.

I squinted at the man in the blue suit. "Is everything okay here?"

"Yes," I nodded. "She's my best friend. I love her!"

He switched off the flashlight, his eyes narrowing. "How high are you?"

Anna giggled. "Sir, it's not 'how high are you,' it's 'hi, how are you!'"

My mouth hung open.

"Oh my God. You're soooo smart."

The policeman didn't seem impressed. "How are you two planning on getting home?"

"I have a car," Anna said, proudly.

His eyes narrowed further. "Are you planning to drive?"

"No, silly. I'll get my wallet from the car and pay for a cab."

The policeman sighed. "You two don't look fit to travel alone. Do you have anyone I can call to pick you up?"

"My friend Alice!" I said, omitting the fact that she lived three hours away.

"Can I have your phone? I'd like to call your friend."

I nodded, handing him my phone. Then I turned to Anna. "You can meet her now!"

She seemed excited.

"Yes!"

The policeman interrupted. "I thought you looked familiar. Are you Sofia Whitlock?"

"Yes! How do you know me?"

"It's kind of hard not to when your wedding was the only thing the newspaper considered relevant for weeks."

Anna bumped my shoulder, and I smiled shyly. I wish I'd known Anna the day of my wedding. It would have been so much fun.

The policeman handed me back my phone. "Is Alice coming?"

"No," he replied, "I believe your husband is."