Come Alive Read Online Free PDF Page A

continued. “I know you and Bill work at your
marriage, but I’m excited to work together with Andrew. I love him. There’s no
one else I would have wanted to do this with.”
    “Not
even Kyle Medley?” I asked, giggling to myself as I took another sip. “Come on,
you said the same thing about him in college.”
    “I
think you’ve had enough,” Gretchen said, reaching for my drink.
    I
recoiled, sloshing pink liquid on my dress. “Damn,” I muttered, swiping at the
stain.
    “I
didn’t know what love was until I met Andrew,” Lucy said.
    I
blinked at her once and then burst into laughter. “Lucy, do you hear yourself?
You’re just saying that because to admit otherwise would mean you could be
marrying anyone right now. Including Kyle Medley.”
    “You’re
not making any sense.”
    “I’m
making perfect sense! If instead of dumping you, Kyle had proposed, you would
have said yes. Hence, the eradication of the soul mates theory. At the time,
you thought he was your soul mate. And if you and Andrew broke up and you met
someone else, you’d say he was your soul mate.”
    “You’re
putting words in my mouth. I never thought Kyle Medley was ‘the one.’”
    My
face scrunched under the weight of my skepticism. “Okay,” I said, holding up my
hands. “If that’s your story.”
    Lucy’s
face etched with worry when she looked from her sister to Gretchen. “So are you
saying that Bill isn’t your soul mate?” she asked after a moment.
    “I’m
saying the whole ludicrous idea doesn’t exist. And I know Bill would agree with
me.”
    “So
what do you suggest, that nobody ever get married?” Dani asked.
    I
felt my brows crease as I looked at her. “No,” I said emphatically. “That’s not
what I’m saying at all. Just don’t make it into something it’s not. Obviously
Bill and I love each other, and we’re happy and we are building this life
together – but to say that it’s this fairytale romance where we make love
on a bed of rose petals every night, I mean . . . That’s what Lucy wants.”
    “No
I don’t. But Andrew and I share something pure that neither of us could
experience with someone else. Romance isn’t exclusive to sex. And even as we
get older or fight or have kids, we’ll still have that passion for only each
other.”
    I
only raised my eyebrows and gripped the table when the room undulated suddenly.
    “Don’t
listen to her,” Dani said softly, but not soft
enough.
    “Oh,
I’m sorry, Dani . How long have you been married?”
    “ Liv !”
    “It’s
fine, Lucy,” Dani said, pursing her lips at me.
“She’s right. I’m not married. None of us are, so maybe she has a point.”
    I
gave the table a hard nod and pointed to Dani . “See?
She knows what’s up.”
    “I’m
calling you a cab,” Gretchen said, digging in her purse.
    “Don’t
make me the bad guy, Gretchen,” I pleaded, suddenly upset. “I’m just trying to
be honest. It doesn’t mean I love Bill any less or that I’m not happy. I am
happy. I just want Lucy to be happy, too.”
    Lucy
came to sit next to me. I was enfolded in a lavender cloud when she hugged me.
“I know,” she said, squeezing my shoulders. “Nobody thinks you’re the bad guy.
Everyone is happy.”
    “Good,”
I said. “You smell nice.”
    She
threw her head back and laughed. “Thank you.”
    “Do
you want me to call her a cab?” Gretchen asked.
    I
frowned. “I’m sitting right here.”
    “Actually,
I think it might be time to call it a night,” Lucy said. “I don’t want to be
puffy on Sunday.”
    Everyone
agreed emphatically that they did not want to be puffy either, so Ava and
Bethany went to hail cabs while Lucy left for the restroom.
    “You
know, you really should keep your marital problems to yourself,” Dani said to me as we settled the bill. “Lucy doesn’t need
to hear that a couple days before she walks down the aisle.”
    “I
don’t have marital problems.”
    “All
the same, don’t spoil this for her. She