The dessert box Bruno ordered for the five of us arrived on the last Thanksgiving before graduation.
It was from that famous Italian pastry shop in Brooklyn, a four-piece set.
Each cannoli had a name written on it in chocolate.
Matteo, my brother.
Nico Bellini, my childhood friend.
Bruno Santoro, my boyfriend of three years.
And my cousin, Bianca.
Four names. Mine wasn’t one of them.
Everyone looked at Bruno.
He scratched his head, his tone casual. “The custom box only had four slots. I figured you’re not that into sweets, so I left you out.”
“It’s just a few pastries,” Matteo said, reaching over to smooth my hair. “You’ve never really cared about this stuff, right?”
“You two have been together for three years,” he added. “Why split hairs? What’s his is yours. Bruno’s is basically yours.”
They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 16 At that same moment, my project team in Austin was having dinner on a rooftop terrace. Lauren had ordered dessert. When the box was opened, there were six portions inside, each with a little name card. I spotted mine immediately. A
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 15 A year later, on Thanksgiving, Matteo booked the same restaurant again. This time, he reserved a five-person set menu in advance. There were five cups on the table, five sets of utensils, and five desserts waiting. On the one at the
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 14 “It wasn’t that you didn’t know.” “It was that you were okay with it. Every single time.” Bianca’s face went white. Matteo looked like he was about to defend her, but when his eyes met mine, he slowly closed his mouth.
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 13 Three days after Bruno left Austin, Matteo came. Nico and Bianca were with him. They reserved a private room at a restaurant near my office. Five gifts sat on the table. Five mugs, five bookmarks, five commemorative festival cards. Even the
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 12 Even now, he thought the problem was Bianca. But it could have been anyone. The result would have been the same. What made me leave was the fact that he had never once treated my feelings as something to be taken
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 11 The moment Bruno saw me, he walked straight over. He had lost weight, and the exhaustion under his eyes was stark. The paper bag in his arms was soaked through, the corner of a dessert box showing. “I brought everything I
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 10 With red-rimmed eyes, Bianca asked, “Did she leave because of me?” Matteo’s first instinct was to comfort her. But when the words reached his lips, he paused. Before, every time she cried, they had always rushed to tell her it wasn’t
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 09 The four of them still went to the festival. Standing at the entrance, each holding a ticket, no one said a word. The year before, after we’d failed to get tickets, I had forwarded the band’s tour announcement to Bruno. [If
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 08 After I left, their lives fell apart with surprising speed. The day they moved into The Arches, Matteo realized no one had booked the movers. Nico thought Bruno had arranged it. Bruno assumed Matteo had handled it. In the end, the
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They Never Saved Me A Seat So I Built My Own Table Chapter 07 By the time I landed in Austin, the sun was just beginning to rise. Lauren, my project lead, picked me up from the airport. She glanced at my single suitcase and paused. “Is that all you brought?” “It’s enough.” She didn’t
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