61. Chapter 60
J enna
Two hours later, Grace burst into Jenna's living room like a woman on a mission, brandishing a bottle of suspiciously cheap wine like it was a trophy. "Shoes on, sunshine. We're hitting the pub."
Jenna, who had been mid-wall flowering on the couch, squinted at the bottle. "That looks... radioactive."
"That's the glow of affordability," Grace shot back. "Now hurry up. If you behave, I'll let you try to out-drink me."
Jenna, curled up on the couch with a blanket and what might have been her third cup of tea, arched a sceptical brow. "You think I can't handle it?"
Grace snorted. "Oh, honey. I know you can't."
Jenna sighed dramatically but tossed off the blanket anyway. "Fine. But if I get drunk enough to karaoke, I expect you to physically restrain me."
"No promises," Grace said, already grabbing Jenna's coat.
At the pub, they snagged their usual booth in the corner-far enough from the bar to avoid enthusiastic rugby fans but close enough to the jukebox that they could override any tragic attempts to play Coldplay on repeat. This wasn't their first rodeo here to drink away their sorrows.
Two glasses of wine in, Jenna felt the tension in her shoulders loosen. Grace, of course, took this as a sign to dig for gossip .
"So," she said, swirling her drink, her eyes glinting. "How's the whole Troy Debacle ?"
Jenna groaned, setting her forehead against the table. "He's everywhere . I swear, he's like a cursed coin-no matter where I throw him, he always ends up back in my pocket."
Grace waggled her eyebrows. "Yet... you haven't actually told him to vanish."
Jenna lifted her head just enough to glare at her. "What's your point?"
Grace smirked, all too pleased with herself. "That maybe -just maybe -a tiny, petty part of you likes knowing he's still sniffing around."
Jenna's wine paused halfway to her lips. "That's ridiculous."
" Is it, though?" Grace drawled. "You don't want him, but you don't want him with anyone else either. Classic dog in the manger behaviour."
"That's absurd." Jenna scoffed, sipping her wine.
Grace rested her chin on her hand. "So, if he and Lila suddenly got engaged, you wouldn't care?"
Jenna choked. " Grace !"
Grace grinned triumphantly. "Exactly what I thought."
Jenna recovered, cheeks flushed. "I'd be mildly irritated."
Grace gave her a knowing look. " Mildly ."
Jenna pointed a stern finger. "Drop it, or I'll start talking about that time you tried to impress a bartender by pretending to be fluent in French."
Grace gasped. "That was one time and he had a French name ! What was I supposed to do- not pretend I studied abroad in Paris? "
"You studied abroad in Edinburgh ," Jenna deadpanned.
"A small, entirely insignificant detail," Grace said breezily.
Before Jenna could launch into a counterargument about why sleeping with one's estranged husband was not a viable therapy method, a tall woman approached their table, looking like she had half a mind to keep walking but was too polite to commit to it.
Grace lit up. "Well, well, well! Jenna, you remember Hayley... from The Incident ."
Jenna blinked. " What incident?"
"The Troy's Doorstep Incident," Grace clarified with an exaggerated wink, too drunk to engage filters.
Hayley, to her credit, looked like she wanted to spontaneously combust. "Oh God. That incident." She turned to Jenna, cheeks flaming. "I'm so sorry. I genuinely didn't know he was married. I would never -"
Jenna, whose brain had just short-circuited from Grace's spectacular lack of discretion, could only manage, "Oh...uh..."
Hayley winced. "I mean, not that I was into him like that. I just-I thought-he wasn't-" She took a breath. "I should stop talking."
"That would be for the best," Grace said cheerfully.
Hayley shot her a look before turning back to Jenna. "For what it's worth, I feel terrible."
Jenna, who had indeed been mortified once upon a time, but now mainly just tired, managed a small, gracious smile. "It's... fine."
Hayley looked relieved. "Okay. Thanks. I'll just... leave before I say anything else embarrassing."
And she sped away, mumbling something about seeing them around before scuttling away like she had escaped mortal peril .
The moment she was out of earshot, Grace whistled low. " Interesting that you didn't mention you and Troy are separated."
Jenna swirled her wine. "I don't want to broadcast it yet."
Grace shot her an incredulous look. "Jenna, we're Not in Brighton. You realize this, right? It's not like you're hiding state secrets. No one knows your life here."
Jenna sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. "I just... I don't know. I don't want him, but the idea of him being with someone else still makes me want to fling something expensive off a cliff. And I hate that."
Grace grinned. "Classic dog in the manger."
Jenna glared at her. "I will pour this wine in your lap."
Grace shrugged. "Totally worth it."
Jenna groaned, but despite herself, she laughed too. Because if she didn't, she might actually start thinking about it all. And that was a dangerous road to go down.
Grace raised her glass. "To questionable emotions and even worse decisions."
Jenna clinked hers against it. "To therapy ."
And with that, they drank.