Since Leland and Wesley were in the same grade, they graduated at the same time, and I attended their grad ceremony with my parents and Evie. Leland found me outside afterward and surprised me by giving me a long, tight hug and telling me how glad he was he’d had a chance to get to know me and how much he’d miss me.

  “If I could just make a gentle suggestion for next year?” he’d said, gripping my shoulders and holding me at arm’s length. “Find some new friends. You deserve people in your life who see who you really are and encourage you to be that person. I don’t think the real you is the one who’s been skipping classes, getting detention, and neglecting assignments.”

  “I don’t know if you remember what you said to me that day,” I say to Leland now. “But it stuck with me. I mean, I was pissed at the time, but it was only because I didn’t like being called out on stuff that everyone else had let slide for so long.”

  “I hated seeing you wasting your potential,” Leland says quietly. “Wesley talked to me about it one day after he saw us hanging out in the cafeteria. I told him he should talk to you, but he said he didn’t know how to anymore and he was worried he’d make you angrier than you already were. I knew it wasn’t my place, but I saw the opportunity and I ran with it. I figured if you did get mad, better to be mad at me since I was moving away and likely wouldn’t see you again.”

  “Smart,” I say, chuckling weakly. “And it worked. That summer, I started taking my therapy more seriously, and I started leaning on my real friends again. When school started in the fall, I distanced myself from that old crowd and asked Hollie to bring me into her new circle of friends. I was determined to turn things around and not waste my senior year.”

  “That couldn’t have been easy.”

  “Not easy, but worth it.” A lot of people still treated me differently, and some of that old group were jerks to me, including Nelle, who accused me of thinking I was better than them. That’s one of the main reasons I couldn’t and still don’t understand why she’d even want me at her reunion.

  When I tell Leland that, he says, “I’m not sure why I was invited either. I hung out with a few people from that group, but was never really part of it. And I wasn’t friends with Nelle. I could practically feel the drama rolling off her in waves, so I steered clear whenever possible.”

  “So we should both just decline and forget about it, right?” I ask.

  “And forget about our little run-in with Nelle here tonight?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I’m sure she’ll tell at least a few people what happened, but if anyone asks, we can say we broke up. We did tell her it wasn’t serious, so it doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

  My phone chimes from inside my purse. I intend to ignore it, but Leland tells me to get it while he goes to the bathroom. There are two messages, and both names make my stomach tighten with apprehension. I open the text from Tannis first.

  I know you didn’t mean what you said earlier. I’m free now if you wanna hook up.

  I roll my eyes and delete the message without responding. God forbid she apologize for her behavior or for leaving me hanging yet again. Even if she did, I meant what I told her earlier: I’m done. I deserve better than ‘wanna hook up?’ and someone who puts everyone and everything else before me.

  The next message is from Sylvie Bell, who I’ve been in touch with on and off since moving back to Bellevue, and who’s one of the many people Nelle invited to the reunion.

  Hi Stella. Sorry to do this, but I thought you had a right to know. Nelle sent a group message to a few of us saying she ran into you tonight and you ‘claimed’ you were dating Leland Levesque, but she thinks you’re making it up. Anyway, she’s as ridiculous and messy as she was back in the day, and talking to her makes me feel like I’m back in high school. Why did I agree to go to this reunion?! Please tell me you’ll be there so it won’t be as awful as I’m imagining. *Hugs*

  Wow, Nelle didn’t waste any time.

  Leland returns to his seat, his eyes moving from my face to the phone in my hand and back again. “What’s wrong?”

  Rather than trying to explain, I simply hand him the phone with Sylvie’s message on the screen. A quirked eyebrow is his only reaction as he reads. I expect him to hand the phone back when he’s finished, but instead, he hauls his chair around to my side of the table so we’re sitting side by side. My phone now has the camera app open in selfie mode. Leland puts his arm around me and pulls me close to his side, our faces almost touching. He smiles at the camera while my image on the screen appears bewildered. Leland squeezes me closer and keeps squeezing me until I laugh. He snaps a picture and shows it to me immediately. It’s cute; he’s smiling broadly, his eyes lit with humor. I’m grinning, mid-laugh, with my head tilted in Leland’s direction.

  “Do you trust me?” he asks. At my nod, he sends the picture to himself, then returns his chair to its original position. I watch as he pulls his phone from his pocket and his fingers fly over the screen.

  He sets his phone down at the same time as mine chimes again. Without picking it up from the table, I can see the notification: Leland posted in the reunion group and tagged me. He tilts his chin toward my phone, so I pick it up and open the post. Leland has shared the picture of us with the caption ‘Stella and I are looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion!’

  “I want to point out that you have absolutely nothing to prove,” he says. “We have nothing to prove. I just think it could be kind of fun.” When I remain silent, he shifts in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table. “Say something, Stels.”

  Not many people know me well enough to call me that. Wesley and my three best friends do—among a million other nicknames, which is a byproduct of having the same core group of friends since birth—but other friends have always called me by my full name. It’s a small thing, seemingly inconsequential, and yet the familiarity of the way Leland says it creates a warm, tingly sensation in my chest.

  “Guess I should send you that friend request now, huh?” I say.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I return to Bellevue Village the next day to meet Leland. He had to leave last night before we could figure out how this ‘pretending to date for the reunion’ thing would work, and he asked me to meet him today at his sister’s shop so we could discuss it.

  I approach FandomTown a few minutes before our planned meeting time. The front windows have been covered with thick brown butcher paper to block the view inside, and the words ‘Coming Soon’ are scrawled across the sheets in various colors. I slip into the alley Leland told me about last night and go around to the back of the building, where Felicity lets me in when I knock.

  “It’s so good to see you again!” she says as she ushers me inside. “I couldn’t believe it when Lee told me you were back in town too. I was always so bummed I didn’t get your contact info before you left Toronto.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t come in to say goodbye. Once I decided to move back home, I sort of developed tunnel vision and wanted to get out of the city as quickly as possible.”

  My ex-husband had offered to let me stay in our apartment for six months after the divorce was finalized, as long as he got to keep it long-term. It was a kindness I hadn’t expected, especially considering how things had unraveled toward the end of our marriage, and how cruel he could be. To this day, I’m not certain why he made the offer. I only stayed for four months, during which time I attempted to get my life together before finally realizing I needed to come back to Bellevue and start fresh.

  “Well, you’re here now, so we’re clearly meant to be in each other’s lives,” Felicity says.

  Her words and welcoming demeanor ease some of the anxiety tumbling around in my stomach. She has such a kind, open face; she and Leland have a similar energy, despite being opposites in appearance.

  I follow her further into the store. “That’s a nice thought. I hope we can be friends now. I wanted to spend all my free time—and money—in your store in Toronto, but my ex preferred a more… minimalistic style.”

  I don’t tell her that he thought collecting toys, memorabilia, and other fandom paraphernalia was stupid, childish, and a waste of money. Or that my main reason for staying away from FandomTown was because Lars cultivated a bizarre ‘us against the world’ mentality and didn’t want me making new friends. It was a couple years into our marriage before I fully comprehended how he was trying to keep me isolated so I’d depend on him and him alone. It’s hard for me to acknowledge the fact it was easier to simply maintain the status quo and keep him happy, because when he was happy, he treated me better.

  “Oh, we’ll definitely be friends.” Felicity’s confident tone bolsters me as unwanted memories of Lars cause a sick feeling to mix with the anxiety in my stomach. She stops suddenly and spins around, laughing and gripping my shoulders when I nearly plow into her. “Leland told me what happened last night, and you have my full support. He’ll be back any minute, by the way. Guess I should have led with that when you arrived.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. I have all day.”

  She tilts her head to the side, a flash of sympathy crossing her face and disappearing just as quickly. “Leland mentioned you’ve been job hunting. Since you have some free time, maybe you can help me sort through some of the boxes that just came in? You can start planning what kind of stuff you want to collect.”

  I laugh at her persuasive tone and the way she wiggles her eyebrows. “Deal.”

  Felicity shows me around the mostly-empty space, chattering away about where she wants to put shelves and what kinds of displays she wants to feature. We’re discussing ideas about what to feature for her first window display when the back door bangs shut and Leland appears.

  “Sorry for the delay, but I come bearing lunch.” He brandishes two large paper bags with the Cravings logo, along with a tray of drinks. Felicity and I follow him into one of the back rooms, which is empty except for some cushions on the floor surrounding an assortment of boxes that have been pushed together to form a makeshift table. Plates, napkins, and cutlery have already been set out.

  “We’ve been improvising until my new desk arrives,” Felicity says, dropping to her knees on one of the cushions and helping Leland unpack the bags. “Pull up a pillow. Hope you don’t mind eating picnic style.”

  “Not at all.” I sit on one of the cushions and watch the siblings set everything out. The way they work seamlessly around each other, talking and joking, makes me think they must be close. I suppose they’d have to be to even consider going into business together without worrying it would damage their relationship. I love Wesley with my whole heart, but I’m not sure I could work with him every day.

  Leland sends me a wink when he catches me watching him. I smile and accept the cardboard cup of coffee he hands me. “I wasn’t sure what you might like, so I got a bunch of stuff and figured we could share everything,” he says. “I’ve become partial to Willow’s eggplant parm sandwich, so I got a couple of those, and there are other sandwiches, wraps, and some salads.”

  “Dessert?” Felicity asks.

  Leland side-eyes her. “I know better than to skip dessert.”

  I settle into my cushion and follow the siblings’ lead, filling my plate with a variety of food. I’m not sure what I was expecting when Leland asked me to meet him here today, but it wasn’t a picnic lunch with him and his sister. I thought we’d likely have a quick conversation, maybe exchange numbers so we could plan for the reunion, and then go our separate ways. This is so much better.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I told Felicity what happened last night,” Leland says. “We tell each other pretty much everything, plus I thought she’d get a kick out of it since, well…” He looks to his sister as if for permission to continue.

  “Nelle treated me and my friends like crap in high school,” Felicity says. “It’s not like this is any sort of karmic comeuppance for her, but pulling one over on her? I’m down with that.”

  I laugh, but quickly sober when I think of the first thing she said. Nelle was always picking on anyone she considered ‘uncool’, like the kids in band or chess club. Her targets changed from week to week, although some stayed consistent. I never said anything because I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of her vitriol, especially considering I was certain if she knew the real me—the one who loved Star Wars and comic books and still had magazine collages of bands on her wall—I’d be on her list of losers.

  “I’m sorry she went after you in high school. I wish now I had stood up to her and put her in her place.”

  Felicity waves a hand as if brushing off my words. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. Some people need to be challenged, but with Nelle it likely would have made her worse, all while putting a target on your back. It didn’t really bother me anyway. I had amazing friends, and I was proud to be in the band.”

  “And you turned your nerdiness into an entire career,” Leland says, his pride in his sister evident in his voice.

  Felicity laughs. “Hell yeah, I did. Here I am, building my nerdy empire one fandom store at a time, and she’s still the mean girl she was in high school.” She shrugs, pausing to take a sip of her drink. “I’d consider myself the winner in all this.”

  “Definitely,” I agree. I wish I could say I felt that way about myself. While I’m not the same person I was in high school, I’m not where I expected to be at this age, either. I know as well as anyone that life doesn’t always go the way you plan, but sometimes it feels as if nothing has worked out for me the way I thought or hoped it would.

  Shaking that train of thought from my mind, I sit up straighter and reach for another half sandwich; Leland was right about the eggplant parm. “So, how is this going to work? We’ll show up at the reunion together, act like we’re together for the night, and that’s it?”

  Leland and Felicity share a look that has me thinking they have the ability to communicate telepathically.

  “What?” I ask. “What am I missing?”

  “I’m not sure it’s that simple,” Leland says. “Other than a few minutes here and there when we’ve both been in town, we haven’t seen each other in almost twenty years. I’m not sure we could convince Nelle or anyone else that we’re together with what little we know about each other as adults.”

  “You know Nelle will quiz you,” Felicity chimes in. “And expect you to be comfortable with each other.”

  They have a point. “Okay, so…?”

  “So you fake date!” Felicity says, clapping her hands together. At my bewildered huff of a laugh, she adds, “I was just reading a book with that trope. You know Ivy Sima-MacKinnon, the woman who co-owns the Village and the bookstore here? She’s a huge romance lover and she recommended it to me when I stopped by the bookstore. Anyway, it’s the perfect solution.”

  My gaze swings to Leland, who’s watching me with an inscrutable expression. “Couldn’t we just spend some time together before the reunion?” I ask. “Grab coffee, maybe even dinner? Do this a few more times?” I wave a hand around our lunch and then the room at large.

  “We could, absolutely,” Leland says. “But Fee pointed out how us pretending to date could have a side benefit.” At my questioning look, he shifts around so he’s facing me fully. “I want to preface this by saying my mom is awesome and I love her to bits. But…I had forgotten just how much of a meddler she is until I got back to town. She often commented on how my lifestyle wasn’t conducive to a long-term relationship, but I’d tell her it wouldn’t be forever, and I’d think about dating seriously when I decided to stay in one place for a while.”

  “And now you’re back in town…” I say, trailing off.

  “Exactly. Suddenly I’m Bellevue’s most eligible bachelor in her eyes, and I should be dating, even though I’ve only been home for a few weeks. Oh, and not dating too much, because I should be choosing wisely with an eye on the future.”

  “Ahh, okay, gotcha. Evie’s mom was like that before she and Wesley got together. She was always trying to set her up with ‘suitable’ guys, even though Evie was firm about not being interested in her mom’s matchmaking attempts.”

  “Our mom hasn’t gone quite that far yet, but it’s only a matter of time,” Felicity says. “Which is where you two pretending to date for more than just the reunion comes in.”

  “Ahh,” I say again, drawing out the word.

  “It wouldn’t be for long,” Leland says quickly. “And it wouldn’t be much of a time commitment for you—”

  “Leland, I have nothing but time right now.”

  He smiles ruefully. “Still. If I could tell my mom I’m seeing someone, at least until I have a chance to adjust to life in Bellevue and a new career path, it would be one less thing for me to worry about. Being back here after all this time is weird enough as it is.”

  “Tell me about it,” I murmur.

  “See, you get it. You probably never thought you’d end up back in Bellevue, either.”

  I make a little hum of agreement as I stuff the last bite of sandwich into my mouth. Silence falls as Leland and Felicity finish their lunches.

  When Leland excuses himself to wash the pesto off his hands before we dig into dessert, Felicity inches closer to me.

  “No pressure whatsoever, but I think you and Leland could be good for each other,” she says quietly.

  “Even though we’d just be pretending to date?”

  “You’d grow closer as friends, though. Leland likely wouldn’t admit this, but he doesn’t have many close friends. His former work lifestyle wasn’t ideal for dating or maintaining friendships. I love hanging out with my brother, but between working together and temporarily sharing an apartment, I haven’t had much time to myself. I’d like to think about dating a bit too.”

  “Actually dating?”

  She grins. “Yes, actually dating. This is a completely harmless situation that’s a win-win for a lot of people. You stick it to Nelle at the reunion, get our mom off Leland’s back for a few weeks, and you get to have some fun outings while you and Lee get to know each other.”