“You’ve seen my schedule. Most of that stuff has been planned for months now. And aren’t you the one who said, nay, demanded that I have some fun this weekend?”

“Babysitting your best friend’s mom is not what most people would call fun, Tommy.”

“Hmmm… I don’t know, Darcy. Thinking of absurd things to say to make you blush feels like a lot of fun to me.”

And then, right on cue, I did blush. “Behave, Tommy,” I scolded lightly.

“What’s the fun in that?” he asked.

Mrs. MacFarland, Shannon’s mother, cleared her throat, and thankfully, that was enough to douse the heat that Tommy was stoking between us.

“Where’s Jolene? She did say she would bring Dylan, right?” Jared asked.

“They’re probably just running. He’ll be here soon.” I gave his forearm a reassuring squeeze. But that was a lie, wasn’t it? Jolene had RSVP’d, but I had no idea if she was running late or had decided not to attend.

Dead for damn near seven years, and I’m still covering for him.

Tommy cleared his throat to draw my attention and gave me a questioning look. I gave him a subtle head shake. This weekend was not about Jolene or her affair with my husband, and I refused to make it about them.

“So, Tomás,” my sister Amelia began, leaning forward so she could look down the table at him. “When was the last time you were in Charleston? Seems like it’s been a while?”

“It has. Hm. I think the last time I was in town, you were pregnant with your first kid,” he said, gesturing toward my younger sister’s pregnant belly.

“Oh, well, it’s been a while then,” James responded. “This one is her fourth!”

Gradually, the group at the table began to make idle conversation. Surface deep, but pleasant enough considering the group I had gathered here. Another hour more, and—

“I hope y’all didn’t eat all the bacon!” Jolene bellowed as she came around the corner.

I was almost instantly annoyed by her presence. I couldn’t decide what was worse — showing up late or not showing up at all. Once I saw her, that decision fell solidly into the showing up late column.

Shannon cheated on me pretty much the entire marriage. There was a time when I thought it was just something I had to endure. Men like him, men with massive egos and just as much ambition, needed more than one woman — or so I’d been told. And I guess I sort of made my peace with that in the early years.

Then he took up with her. Jolene Kirkland.

How ridiculous was it that her name was actually fucking Jolene?

She a younger version of me. Tall, fit, brown-skinned, half my age, and determined to be wife number two.