Circle of Friends, Part 2 by Susan Mallery Page B

that,” Dev said, refusing to believe it was possible.
    â€œWhy make it complicated? You found an amazing woman, Dev. You got lucky. You’ve always been smart. Why be stupid now?”
    â€œYou make it sound so easy.”
    â€œIt’s not. But it’s worth it.”
    â€œHave you been in love?” Dev asked.
    His father nodded. “Twice. Once with your mother, until she crushed the feeling out of me, and once a few years ago. But she belonged to someone else and she wouldn’t consider leaving him. Love doesn’t come along all that often. When it does, you should grab on with both hands and never let go.”
    * * *
    N OELLE HAD YET to get used to having Dev gone. With Tiffany around, the house was never quiet, but there was definitely something missing. At night her bed seemed too big for one person and she couldn’t seem to get to sleep. Pathetically, she’d taken to wearing one of Dev’s T-shirts instead of pjs, so that she could pretend to be close to him.
    She felt emotionally exhausted. So much had happened in the past few weeks. She’d been living a roller-coaster life and part of her just wanted to get off and slow down for a while. But that scenario didn’t include having Dev walk out on her. Instead, she would prefer that the two of them were together, falling deeper in love, discovering how great it was to be married.
    â€œStupid fantasy,” she murmured as she whipped up a batch of brownies on Thursday morning.
    She’d just put the glass pan into the oven, when Tiffany walked into the kitchen and announced, “I’m leaving. I’m going back home. Mom’s coming to pick me up in an hour.”
    Noelle was torn between amusement at her sister’s self-made drama and the uncomfortable realization that she was one person closer to being totally alone.
    â€œOkay,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed having you here.”
    â€œI guess I have to thank you for letting me stay,” Tiffany said, not sounding the least bit gracious. “But you weren’t very fun. There are too many rules here. Even Mom doesn’t have this many rules.”
    Noelle didn’t bother pointing out that she and her mother had exactly the same rules. If Tiffany needed that as an excuse to go home, Noelle was all for it.
    â€œAre you all packed?” she asked her sister. “Do you need any help?”
    Tiffany’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re happy to see me go, aren’t you? You’ve hated having me here.”
    â€œWhat? No.” Noelle moved close and touched her arm. “Tiff, I’ve really liked having you here. It’s been fun being in the same house again. I’ve missed that. I’m not trying to push you out. I just know that when you’ve made up your mind, it’s made up. My offer to help you pack was just that. An offer to help.”
    Tiffany didn’t look convinced. “You shouldn’t be like that. All stiff and full of rules. I know it’s why Dev left.”
    Noelle knew her sister was lashing out, hurting in return for being hurt. It didn’t matter that Noelle hadn’t meant to wound. Still, the words did what they were supposed to.
    â€œDev left for a lot of complicated reasons,” she said quietly.
    â€œHe left because you have too many rules and you’re no fun. He was hardly ever home. He didn’t want to be around you.”
    Tiffany’s angry outburst articulated every one of Noelle’s personal fears. She ached inside for what she’d wanted and lost without ever having.
    â€œYou don’t know what you’re talking about,” Noelle told her.
    â€œSee,” Tiffany said. “You don’t even care that he’s gone. You’re not crying. Why aren’t you crying?”
    It was too difficult to explain that there weren’t any tears left. Not for Dev or their relationship. Noelle wasn’t sure how to fix