Chapter One

At the sound of the doorbell, Liv dabbed her eyes and cursed to herself, seeing they were still red and puffy. She’d have ignored it on any other day but Cassie and Maggie were picking her up to take her to drive over to Polly and Edward’s fortieth wedding anniversary party.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Liv answered her door to her friends, both dressed to the nines.

“You’ve been crying.” With a concerned look on her face, Maggie pushed her way into the house and Cassie followed.

“I’m fine. Really. I’m nearly done, I just need to fix my eyes. I don’t want you two to be late.”

“I’ve spent all afternoon with Polly, and Cassie took care of the set up. Edward’s out with Polly, he’s taking her for a drive. I think they’re going to make out at the lake. And that means you’re going to tell us what’s going on.” The look on Maggie’s face told Liv she wouldn’t back down.

“Brody.” Liv sighed, turning to the mirror so she could repair her makeup.

“Brody what? What did he do?”

“Not what. Who. That rat bastard cheated on me with Lyndsay Cole. I walked in on them yesterday afternoon at his apartment. Got off work early and brought him some dinner. I got a lot more than the thank you I was expecting.”

“He did not! She did not! That bitch,” Maggie hissed. “That man-stealing bitch. I’m going to make a Lyndsay doll and stick her full of pins.”

Liv snorted a laugh. “You always make me feel better. And someone was already sticking her full of something. But don’t blame her. She wasn’t in a relationship, Brody was. Pig.”

“I hope his pecker falls off,” Cassie said through clenched teeth.

“Or maybe it should get like a thousand paper cuts and then have lemon juice poured on it. And I hope Lyndsay gets a cold sore. A big one and a wart on her chin.” Maggie nodded.

“With a big, black wiry hair that grows out of it and no one tells her,” Cassie added.

“You two are the best.” Liv grinned and turned around, finger combing her hair and smoothing down the front of the sweater dress she’d chosen for the party.

“I feel better than I have since yesterday when I found out. I wish I could say he sucked in bed, but I’d be lying. What is it about me? Why can’t I find someone?

Something real?”

Maggie sighed. “You found out yesterday and you’re only telling us now?”

Liv shrugged. “I couldn’t face anyone. I caught them and I couldn’t get it out of my head. You and Kyle had a date, Shane and Cassie only got back from their honeymoon and Dee and Arthur just finished the move to Atlanta. She’s already got high blood pressure and I don’t want to make her pregnancy worse. I came home, ate too much ice cream, watched Thelma and Louise and went to bed.

“I know Brody and I weren’t engaged or anything. I didn’t think he was the one, but I thought perhaps someday… Oh I don’t know what I thought but I do know we were supposed to be exclusive. It could have been right some day to move to the next step. You know, he could have broken up with me. He didn’t have to f**k someone behind my back.”

Cassie hugged her tight and Maggie followed. “He’s a pig. He’s a pig, a jerk and a dick.”

“And an ass. And his nose is big,” Cassie added.

“Marc asked if I wanted him to kick Brody’s ass.” Liv grinned.

“You told Marc? You told Marc Chase before your best friend?” Maggie’s eyebrows flew up.

“It just happened. He came by this afternoon looking for Shane. Something about the party. Anyway, he came by to look at my legs and flirt a bit and he asked if I was coming tonight with Brody and it just came out. He was very sweet about it.”

Maggie harrumphed but looked mollified. “Well I suppose if you have to unburden such a shitty story to someone, it may as well be someone who looks as good as Marc does.”

Liv laughed. “He does, doesn’t he? Lawd, you should see the damned place every time he walks through, women coming out of the woodwork to be seen.”

They all walked to the car and admittedly, Liv felt better.

“I just want someone I can trust. Someone I can come home to at the end of the day and share my life with. I want to be in love and get married and have kids. Not tomorrow or anything but I feel like I’m very far off schedule.” Liv chewed her bottom lip as she pulled her seatbelt on.

“Love doesn’t have a schedule, Liv.” Maggie said from the back seat. “And you will find love. You will, I promise you. This thing with Brody isn’t about you at all. He didn’t cheat because you were bad. He cheated because he’s a jerk.”

“And Matt?” Liv’s heart still ached a bit when she said his name.

“Matt is a good person, don’t get me wrong. But he was not right for you. He’s not right for anyone just yet. She’ll come along though. But you aren’t her and I’m sorry because I know you wish it was different. He’s not ready.”

“I want what you have with Kyle. What Cassie has. What Dee has. I look at Polly and Edward and think about how they’ve had forty years together and I wonder why I can’t have that.”

“You can have that. It’ll come.”

“It’s only because you’re pregnant that I don’t smack you for saying that. People who are so happily married it makes my teeth hurt can say that stuff awfully easily. You have Kyle who looks at you like there’s not another woman on Earth. Cassie has Shane who can’t take his eyes off her for three minutes.”