Practice Makes Perfect (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 27

"So, I try my best to stay out of Ric's business and not get involved if at all possible," Beth begins. "But this - whatever is going on, or not going on, with you two - is an absolute clusterfuck!" Exasperation twists her beautiful face.

I instantly jump on the defensive. "What am I meant to do, Beth?" My voice sounds loud in my own head, and I hope I'm not shouting. Luckily, DiMaggios is always a bit noisy anyway. "I really like the guy. I let myself get my hopes up that things might actually have potential between us . . . And then he just called it before we could even see what might happen."

Beth's hazel eyes soften. "I get it. Truly, I do. But you've got to understand where he's coming from, too. He likes you too. A lot. To be perfectly honest, it's been a really long time since I've seen him like this over a girl. But you're just out of a relationship and . . ."

"I'm totally over Declan," I blurt out over her. "But it feels like I could tell Ric that until I'm blue in the face, and he still won't believe me." Our drinks are placed in front of us, and I take a big gulp of mine. I wish it was wine.

"He has his reasons," Beth says. I'm not sure if she's deliberately trying to be mysterious, but it's coming across that way, and it's immensely irritating.

"Care to enlighten me as to what they are?" Frustration has made me blunt. And more than a little snarky.

"He'd probably kill me for telling you," she mutters, looking like she's having an internal battle with herself. "Fuck it, I told myself I was going to try to fix this, and I'm gonna do it," she adds determinedly. "So a few years ago, Ric fell head over heels for this girl. Leah." She makes an apologetic face. "Sorry!"

"We all have a history," I shrug, although it bothers me more than I want to admit. It's not like I believed that Ric was some sort of gauche virgin, but I still prefer not to have to imagine him with other girls. Especially when feelings are apparently involved.

"True." Beth continues. "Leah had been in a previous relationship for a couple of years, and it had been over for a while before she met Ric. She seemed to be over it, seemed to be as into Ric as he was into her . . . And even I thought that, viewing it from the outside."

The penny is starting to drop. "Did the ex come back for her?" I ask.

She nods. "You got it. She was pretty transparent with Ric about the whole thing, up to a point anyway. Said he was contacting her, wanting to meet up, but she wasn't interested. Ric had no reason not to believe her. Until . . . She suddenly decided that the ex deserved another try."

Ooft.

"That's horrible."

"Ric was blindsided," Beth continues. "He and Leah had only been together about six months or so, but he'd absolutely trusted that she was over her ex. To be fair to Leah, I think she had convinced herself she was too. But the guy was like her kryptonite. She couldn't resist giving him another chance - she'd been meeting up with him secretly for a couple of weeks and juggling them both while she made her decision, and when she finally made a decision and came clean, Ric was devastated.