Chapter 26 I Lie My Face/Off
I LIE MY FACE/OFF
Best friend?
Cole: My brother. He’s the person I trust the most.
Bridget: My college roommates, Tessa and Justine, are my best friends, but now we’re part of a larger group of friends. It includes some of their boyfriends.
brIDGET
Standing on the sidewalk outside Barb’s Bar, I took a deep breath. I was late, as usual, and should’ve rushed in, raining kisses and apologies on my friends like always.
But my secret made tonight different. More than anything, I wanted to tell my friends what had happened in Costa Rica, but Cole and I had agreed not to tell anyone. It was the smart thing to do.
Still, I hated lying. It was why I’d ducked my family since I’d gotten back. I’d claimed it was because I was busy catching up on work and implementing my ninety-day plan, but the truth was, I couldn’t hide what had happened with Cole from my sisters.
I wasn’t sure I could hide it from my friends, either, but if I didn’t show up to Margarita Wednesday, they’d burst into my place and figure it out even though it had been over a week since Cole had slept over.
Lucie would sniff out the fancy coffee beans or the hand cream he’d forgotten in the guest bath.
It was probably expensive, and I should return it to him, but a dab of the heavenly-smelling stuff at the base of my neck helped me drift off to sleep the way nothing else did.
While I was still imagining the weight of a pair of muscular arms around me and the scents of coffee and vetiver—I hadn’t even known what vetiver was until I read it on the ingredient list of his fabulous hand lotion—the door opened.
Tessa leaned against it and said, “Are you coming inside, or are you reimagining the paint scheme?”
“Are Danny and Lucie ever going to fix it?” I nodded at the peeling green paint on the door that clashed with the orange neon sign.
“Apparently, they risk offending the regulars if they change anything, including the name. So it all stays.”
“Maybe they could attract a new clientele if it were a little less…dive-y?” I stepped inside. Keep it light and focused on everyone else, and you’ll never have to actually lie.
“Are you saying you’ll donate your marketing expertise to make it a hipster hangout?”
I scanned the ancient, water-stained tables and beat-up chairs, the chipped hexagon tile floor, the dark wood bar that was polished to a shine, and the vintage beer signs hanging on the walls.
I could feel my heart rate slowing with every clink of a glass and every gruff greeting from Danny’s cousin at the bar. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
She chuckled. “Come on. We’re over here.”
The gang was seated at Lucie’s favorite booth in the corner, and the margaritas were flowing. “Bridget!” Lucie stood and wobbled.
I rushed around to hug her and save her from falling on her ass. I kissed her cheek, and I could almost taste the tequila on her skin.
“You’re late,” she grumbled. “We had to start without you.”
“I’m sorry. I had to—”
“Work late. We know, we know.” Lucie flopped onto her chair and squinted to focus her bleary eyes on me. “How’d your big deal presentation go?”
I sank into the chair next to her. “Great, mostly. We shared it at the staff meeting on Monday. The only thing is…” I grimaced. “Everyone seemed to think it was Cole’s idea even though we both presented it.”
“Jesus Christ on a cracker with shit paté!” Lucie slammed her hands on the table, making the glasses rattle. “I fucking hate that.”
“Me too. But they liked the idea. That’s what’s important, right?
We’re going to save the company and our customers so much money.
” Cole had shown the most beautiful charts where the expense lines went down and the profit lines went up, up, up.
I supposed that was why everyone thought he’d come up with it.
“It’s not a great precedent to set,” Tessa said, “but if you’re okay with letting him take the credit…” She shrugged.
I straightened. “We’re co-CEOs. Partners. In a way. I’m focusing on the long-term success of the company.”
“You go, girl.” Lucie lifted her glass in a toast. “Fuck the patriarchy!”
We all toasted that. Then I leaned toward Lucie. “Rough day?”
“Actually, I’m celebrating. Mia is fully weaned. I can drink whatever and whenever I want. Woo!” She lifted her margarita again, and some of it slopped onto the table.
“It’s a milestone,” Savannah said. She was the only other one of our friend group who’d given birth. “Though you’ll be a lightweight for a while, since you’re not consuming as many calories. Maybe slow down?”
“Are you telling me to stop? You can never, never ask me to stop drinking. That’s a line from a movie, you know,” Lucie said.
“I remember,” Savannah said. “Leaving Las Vegas.”
“Ugh, Lucie,” Carly said, sipping her drink, “why would you bring up such a sad movie on margarita night?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Lucie said. “Let’s talk about happier Nicolas Cage movies.”
My friends had made it too easy for me. I wouldn’t have to lie at all while Lucie argued with Savannah about whether Moonstruck or Adaptation was his best film, with Justine advocating for Face/Off.
Lucie took a break to pour everyone another round, and Carly said, “Bridget, what a nightmare to lose your passport while you were traveling. I’m so glad you made it back safely.”
“Me too,” I mumbled, holding my glass up for Lucie to slosh more margarita in. “Tell me about your Thanksgivings.”
“It was exactly the nightmare you’d imagine with my future mother-in-law. But we were worried about you. Were you lonely?” Carly asked.
Not at all. Cole hardly left my side. “No. It was fine.”
“Or bored?” Justine asked.
“There was plenty to do.” By plenty, I meant Cole’s magnificent cock and equally impressive refractory period, not to mention his stamina. I bit my lip.
“No one offered to stay with you?” Savannah’s blue eyes, a lighter shade than Cole’s, were soft with sympathy.
It was an expression I’d never seen on his face.
Cole Campion was all hard edges and pushing his agenda.
He’d been persistent in getting me to let down my guard and slip into his bed, then relentless in pleasuring me.
When we returned to reality, he readily agreed when I’d said we’d never sleep together again and tell no one about our vacation sexfest. Like none of it mattered to him.
He’d said we’d be “better together,” but he only meant after we’d fucked the sexual tension away.
I hadn’t fucked anything away. I missed our closeness. Though I’d give up John’s desk of power before I’d ever admit it to him.
“Bridget?” Tessa said.
I blinked. “Sorry. I was thinking about…work.” I hated lying to my friends, and I hated Cole Campion for giving me something to lie to them about. Or did I hate myself for giving in to his sexy, “Can I kiss you, Bridget?” and then letting him do so much more than kiss me?
“No more thinking about work. It’s margarita night with the goddesses. Woo!” Lucie lifted her glass, unbalanced, and slipped to the floor. Then she roared with laughter.
“Okay, babe.” Danny was suddenly there, a rag tucked into the back pocket of his faded jeans. He hoisted her up, and she draped herself over him, still laughing. “Time to tuck you into bed.”
“Mmm, I like the sound of that,” Lucie said. “Wait, where’s Mia?”
He kissed her forehead, and something popped behind my breastbone. “Ma put her to bed an hour ago. She’s in the apartment with her. Say g’night to your friends.”
“Night, ladies.” With Danny’s help, she circled the table to hug everyone.
She smelled like tequila and a massive hangover tomorrow but also like contentment.
Danny steadied her, his hand under her elbow, his eyes scanning to ensure she wouldn’t trip over a purse strap or errant stiletto.
What was that tightness around my heart?
Longing. For the first time I could remember, I wanted that. His hand on her hip supporting her, his hard body reinforcing her softer one, even his indulgent smile that carried the promise that he’d hold her hair back if she needed to puke.
Foolishly, I’d let myself believe Cole could be that for me. Honestly, he’d been that for me for five days, but now we were something else. Not quite the adversaries we were before I’d ended up stranded in a foreign country, but not inseparable like we’d been in Costa Rica.
And I missed it.
I tossed back the last sip of my drink and stood. “I’m heading out.” When my friends booed, I said, “It’s a work night. You’re going to regret it if you also have to be carried out of here.”
Carly put a hand on my arm. “Andrew will be here in five. We’ll drive you home.”
“It’s not far,” I said. “I’ll get a rideshare.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Tessa said. “Oliver’s on his way. We’re heading south, and we can drop you off.”
Exactly what I needed: more examples of paired-up friends to intensify the loneliness I’d feel in my apartment.
“Yes, come with us,” Savannah said. “Then I won’t feel like a fifth wheel. Or is it a third wheel?”
Her soft smile was full of hope, like the new feelings I’d experienced tonight were her everyday reality. How painful it must be to sit across from Tessa and Oliver as they cuddled on the sofa, whispering their nerdy secrets, every damn night.
A hand curled around my biceps. “Come with me,” Justine said. “We single ladies need to stick together.”
Relief flooded me. We’d both been single forever. Spending time with Justine was exactly what I needed. “Let’s go.”
By the time we’d tipped the server and finished our round of goodbyes, our car idled outside. I leaned my head back, ready to relax on the short ride home.
“Bridget, what are you not telling us about Costa Rica?” Justine asked, her brown eyes blade-sharp.
“Nothing,” I squeaked.
She tilted her head. “I think you met a man. Or a woman. A Costa Rican, maybe.” She scanned me for a reaction.
“Justine, I—”
“It’s someone forbidden. I’m almost sure of it.”
I sucked in a sharp breath through my nose. I never, ever wanted to be on the wrong side of her cross-examination.
She nodded. “Now I’m positive. If it’s a woman, you know we’d welcome her into the gang, right? If she makes you happy. Times are different now. There’s no stigma in being bisexual like when we were in college. I’m sure your parents will be cool about it. Do you need an immigration lawyer?”
“Jesus! It was a weekend fling!” Oh, fuck. I clamped my teeth together.
A victorious smile tugged at her lips. “If it was only a weekend fling, you’d tell us about it. You have feelings for this person, and you hate it.”
“I do not.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Bridget. Always have been. Remember the first time you tried pot, and you were too high to go to class the next morning?”
I buried my face in my hands. “Don’t remind me. I missed a test.”
“You told your professor your cat died, and when he asked you its name, you totally panicked.”
“I screamed the first name that came to mind.”
“And he said, ‘Who names their cat Weed?’”
“That was the only B I got in college.” I sighed, remembering the humiliation of letting myself down, of allowing one moment of fun to spoil my perfect GPA.
“Clearly, you aren’t going to tell me what happened. And you don’t have to. But if I could offer a bit of advice?”
“Yes, please, give me all the answers.”
“You’ve always been the one to go for your dreams. And now you want what Carly and Lucie and Tessa have. So go after it.”
“I can’t have what I want,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t even want it.”
She scrunched up her face with the effort of holding back from asking me what I wanted. In the end, she said, “Let go. Want what you want. Life is short, and you might not get another chance.”
I shook my head. “Not if it gets in the way of my other goal.”
The car stopped in front of my building, and as I hugged my friend, she whispered in my ear, “Maybe your goal sucks if it’s holding you back from happiness.”
I kissed her cheek. “You’re wrong, but I still love you.”
I got out of the car and was halfway up the sidewalk when Justine rolled down the window to shout, “I’m right, and you know it!”
She was wrong. I wanted the CEO position more than anything, and Cole Campion, with his distractingly sexy smirk, stood in my way.