Page 84 of Ethan & Grace

“Ethan,” I admitted. I wasn’t going to lie.

“So he’s still not out of the picture?” Rose asked.

“No. To be honest, he’s very much in the picture.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve been seeing each other a lot,” I confessed. I didn’t know exactly what Ethan and I were, but it was definitely more than a casual fling.

Rose’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

My first instinct was to apologise, but the truth was, I didn’t feel sorry. Not in the slightest. I had been endlessly grateful to Ethan over the past weeks, and I wouldn’t deny it. “If you knew Ethan, you’d understand. Perhaps the three—or four—of us can do something together. The five of us, if Henry wants to join too.”

“Oh, sign me up!” Rose said sarcastically. “And while we’re at it, why not invite Richard too? That would really make for a cracking evening.”

“You’re not being fair,” Kate interjected.

“You know Kate and I can’t stand Mr. Darlington either,” I added, though that was a total understatement. I hated him, and Kate’s own disdain for Richard had only grown since she’d got together with Henry. “Henry and Ethan aren’t like him. Do you really think the two of us would fall in love with tyrants?”

Rose froze. “You’re in love with Ethan?”

“Would it make a difference if I were?” I asked evasively.

She stared at me, her expression a mixture of anger, despair, and disbelief. “Why him, of all people?”

“Because he’s a good person.”

“You were still calling him Beelzebub a few weeks ago.”

“He’s still Beelzebub—but in a sexy, likeable way. Like Tom Ellis in Lucifer,” I explained, trying to lighten the mood by bringing up one of our favourite TV shows. But my reference didn’t soften Rose’s bitter expression. I sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Rose. I like Ethan. And I wish you could be happy for me. I didn’t choose him to hurt you, but because I feel better when I’m with him. You can hate his dad—I hate him too—but Ethan isn’t like his father. And you don’t even have to like Ethan. It would be enough if you accepted him. For me.”

Rose didn’t speak, but her silence spoke volumes.

I felt a sharp pang. Shit, I couldn’t lose Rose over Ethan. She was my best friend, even if she wasn’t acting like it right now. But at the thought of letting Ethan go, a weight settled on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

“Rose . . .” I reached out to her. “Please.”

She didn’t move.

“Ethan is good for Grace,” Kate said, stubbornly meeting the withering look Rose shot her. “Come on, it’s the truth. You saw for yourself how she was at the start of the year. She didn’t smile once in the two months after Amy’s death, and you saw just now how happy she was when Ethan messaged her, how she grinned at her phone because of him. That’s a good thing.”

Rose’s eyes darted between Kate and me, her sombre expression remaining unchanged and so dark that even her usually radiant green eyes seemed dull. She pushed back her chair and stood up suddenly, grabbing her handbag from the back of the chair. “I can’t do this right now.”

“Rose . . .” I pleaded. Her words made my throat constrict. I reached out to her again, but she stepped back before I could touch her.

“I need some time to think.”

I let my arm fall. “OK.”

Wordlessly, Rose turned away from us and pushed through the crowd towards the exit. I wanted to follow her, but I knew it would have been the wrong thing to do in that moment. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t force her to accept Ethan. She had to get there by herself—or not at all.

Kate and I stayed in the pub for a while longer, but our mood had plummeted. We continued to chat, yet neither of us dared to bring up what had just happened with Rose. Things only started to feel lighter when a group of students challenged us to a game of pool. They were drunk, and Kate and I won easily. We turned down a rematch and decided to go home, no longer in a festive mood.

We were going in different directions, so we said our goodbyes at the door. There were still plenty of people outside the pub, but the further I walked, the quieter the streets became. That uneasy feeling that had been dogging me since receiving the threatening letter grew stronger, but I forced myself to stay calm. It had been over a week, after all, and nothing had happened so far. Someone was probably just trying to scare me. Still, I quickened my pace just to be on the safe side.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw a tall man in dark clothes. My muscles tensed, and I looked around for a group of people I could join for a few minutes, but there was no one in sight. Fuck!