Chapter 12
Twelve
Louise
“What’s the matter with you today?”
I glance up from my breakfast, where I’ve been shuffling my French toast around on my plate for the last several minutes. “Huh? Oh, just hungover. And I started my period. I’m just cranky.”
Grandma Jude harrumphs from her seat across the booth from me, gazing at me over the rim of her colorful coffee cup. We’re at our favorite breakfast diner, a little hole in the wall place that serves the best cinnamon French toast in northern Michigan, if you ask me.
My roiling stomach doesn’t agree this morning, but honestly, I can’t tell if it’s from the amount of tequila I indulged in last night or that fucking bomb Zach had dropped in the middle of my kitchen and then walked out like nothing happened.
Eat your dinner, Louise, I mimic unkindly in my own head, stabbing my fork into a bite.
Oh, by the way, I’m still married.We’ve just been flirting outrageously with our fuck-me-eyeballs for the last week, and I just drank out of the same bottle of tequila as you, so it was like we kissed, no big deal. That’s fine, right?
I’d been half tempted to toss the plate of food into the trash can after he’d walked out just for spite, but it smelled really good…and I was starving. Every bite was delicious. It pissed me off how good it tasted.
I did finish off that bottle of tequila to drown my hurt feelings and stung pride.
My head was pounding, and my stomach was less than happy with me this morning when I woke up. And that was when I discovered I’d started my period during the night.
Yayyyy.
My bad day from yesterday makes so much more sense in the light of day. I feel somewhat validated that I wasn’t just being an emotional hot mess for no reason.
“When are you going to invite me over to that new place of yours, hmm?”
I look up at Grandma Jude and smile, but I hope my panic doesn’t show as I say, “Soon, I promise. I’m just getting settled in is all.”
There’s no way I need Grandma Jude meeting Zach or his girls. Not right now.
Possibly ever.
More reason to start looking for a new place.
“Tess asked about Scrabble this week,” Jude says then, sliding her empty plate of biscuits and sausage gravy to the end of the table. She picks up her coffee cup and cradles it between both of her hands, peering at me over the rim. “It’s your turn to host.”
Fuck.
“Right,” I sigh, scrunching my face up and stabbing a bite of French toast with the tines of my fork. “I will make sure I’m all unpacked and ready for Scrabble night.”
“I’ll bring the vodka.”
“You always bring the vodka,” I deadpan, staring at her over the next bite of my food.
“Because you girls don’t get the good stuff,” Jude tuts, rolling her eyes and taking a drink of her coffee. “Quality spirits make a difference. Bet that tequila you drank last night wasn’t the good stuff. Probably why you’re so hungover today.”
“Grandma, I’m a broke twenty-four-year-old. I can’t afford the good stuff.”
“We just need to find you a handsome sugar daddy,” she says thoughtfully, looking around the diner like she’s going to pick one out right now from a nearby booth.
“Grandma Jude!” I exclaim, my face heating. I sink lower into my side of the booth. “Absolutely not!”
“Well, he doesn’t have to be handsome, but it does help, Louise.”
“Ohmygod,” I groan, burying my face in my hands and shaking my head. “I can’t take you anywhere.”