Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Markie
“Why does it feel like I’ve not seen you in a month?” I ask, sliding into a booth across the table from Nettie with a lychee martini in hand.
Patsy’s, the only place open in Sugar Creek on a Friday night after seven o’clock, is hopping.
A group of people hangs out by the television broadcasting a baseball game, and another is huddled around the old jukebox that hasn’t worked in ten years.
A few tables and the dance floor are still empty, but that will all change in the next couple of hours.
“Because it has been a week. I can’t think of the last time we went a whole week without seeing each other.”
I frown. “Getting old and having responsibilities suck.”
Nettie takes a drink of her martini, her perfectly manicured nails showcased against the glass.
“What color is that?” I ask. “You never do blue.”
“I know. But I found this one in my stash and took it to the salon with me. It’s an old winter edition from Iyala Polishes.
I think it’s called Blue My Budget or something.
” She sets the glass down. “They used to have such cute names and packaging, but the brand has really taken a turn for the worse over the last couple of years.”
“I read somewhere that they got rid of their head color designer or something like that.”
She laughs. “How in the world do you know that?”
“Exposé Magazine online. I think.”
Nettie brushes her long, dark hair off her shoulder.
My best friend is downright beautiful. And despite receiving more compliments about her looks than any person I know, she doesn’t have a clue. Her skin looks like it’s never seen the sun, and her blue eyes sparkle, framed by her perfect brows and silky hair.
“Did you get the dress finished for Ginny?” I ask, sipping my drink.
I’ve never met a martini that I didn’t like, but the lychee ones are my favorite.
I had my first one in Nashville at a swanky bar with Gianna and was obsessed.
The only way I could get Patsy to carry the syrup was to buy the first bottle myself.
When it sold out in the first week, she realized that I was onto something.
“I did, and it turned out great. She was happy, my bank account was happy, and the only one unhappy was my mother because I used all her thread. But, hey, that’s what moms are for, right?”
I laugh.
She sighs. “So, I have a bit of drama that I’ve been wanting to tell you about.”
“Gimme.”
“Remember the girl Kristy that I work with?” she asks. “Well, she’s been dating this guy named Tyler and their relationship is rocky, to put it mildly. It’s gross. I’ve told her a hundred times to dump his ass, and she finally took my advice.”
I take another sip, certain this isn’t where this ends. “Continue.”
“She was telling me that it’s over, and I told her to block him on everything because he’s trash.
And I stand by that.” She lifts a brow. “She pulls him up on Social while I was standing beside her. I wasn’t looking, but I also wasn’t not looking, and Tyler?
Yeah. I went out with him last week. He told me that his name was Jeremiah. ”
“No way.” My jaw dusts the tabletop. “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. And, of course, they’re back together.”
I roll my eyes.
“And now I don’t know what to do,” Nettie says.
“Obviously, I called him and told him to fuck all the way off. But do I tell Kristy? Girl code says yes. I know that. But we aren’t really friends to start with, and I’ve been telling her to dump this dude for months.
I don’t want her to think I was doing it to, I don’t know, get a chance with him myself.
” She sighs, pausing to down half of her martini.
“No matter what I say, she’s going to stay with him.
Another girl told her basically a version of this story a few weeks ago, and she blamed it on the girl. ”
Yikes. “This is messy. I don’t think there’s a clear answer here.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to be the problem. I wasn’t going to see him again, even before I found out he’s a man of many aliases, and he’s definitely not worth the drama.”
“Maybe you can just wait. She doesn’t know you saw his picture, right?
So, just wait until he acts up again, and she’s ranting about him.
Then ask for a picture.” I shrug. “She’ll be mad at him, anyway, so it’ll feel less like you’re trying to ruin her happiness and more like you’re on her side.
” I cringe. “I don’t know. Is that manipulative? ”
“Hell if I know.” She runs her fingertip along the rim of her glass. “Enough about me. Tell me about you.” Her grin is debaucherous. “How did practice go with rugby boy?”
I laugh at the name she coined for Jory, a name that I’ve accidentally admitted to my vernacular and let slip once in front of him.
The thought of him entering my mind is accompanied by a very, very specific ball of fire in my core. It apparently has taken up residence there, ready to reheat as soon as his name or a memory sparks to life. It’s unfortunate—and inconvenient.
“That good, huh?” she asks, giggling.
In my head, I’ve been trying to justify my reaction to him. I’ve been working hard to figure out a way to contain the butterflies in my stomach when he’s around. The only way I think that can happen is if he doesn’t look at me, breathe on me, laugh around me—and definitely not touch me.
I can still feel his hand on my face from this afternoon.
“Let’s just start with the fact that I hate him,” I say, giggling, too.
“Sure looks like it.”
I lean forward and sigh. “He has no business being so …”
I’m not sure whether to start with the fact that he’s maddeningly gorgeous, or charming, or decent.
Or how I’ve tried to find a flaw in him and have come up empty-handed.
Or how I forget how much I hate men when he’s in the room and how the protective shield I feel like I carry through life feels less necessary around him.
It’s dangerous, to be sure. And I’m positive that the more time I spend with him, the sooner I’ll find his fatal flaw. I don’t want to find it. But I don’t want to think he’s perfect, either.
It would be so much better if I hadn’t ever met the man. Life was better when I hated them all.
“How long has it been since you had sex?” Nettie asks, grinning.
“Almost five months.”
“Then it’s no wonder you’re all hormonal about this guy.”
Yeah. She’s right. “Thanks, Net.”
“Of course. That’s why you keep me around.
For my irrefutable insight into your relationships.
” She takes me in, giving me a moment to respond.
But when I don’t, she correctly reads that I don’t want to talk about this anymore.
“So, on to the wedding. Have you and Mira figured out the rehearsal stuff yet?”
“No. We’re meeting with Cathy at Mira’s tomorrow after church. Audrey promised to have a head count and that she’d confirm whether they’re getting married in the church or in the barn on their property.”
Her eyes light up. “Oh, that would be fun. Can you imagine the barn with string lights and flowers? It would be beautiful.”
“I know. I’m hoping they go that route. I get why you’d want to get married in a church, but a barn on the property where they’re building their home together would just be special.”
“Agreed.”
I finish my martini and then hold up my glass. “I’m going to grab another one.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you to get back, then I’ll go pee. I don’t want us to lose our table.”
“Want me to get you another drink?”
She winces. “No. This is my second one, and I want to pace myself. Thanks, though.”
I nod her way as I climb out of the booth.
The bar has gotten busier since I arrived.
A few people are on the dance floor, dancing to the music playing overhead, and the line to order drinks has doubled.
I make small talk with Lora, a woman who moved here about a year ago and works at the bank.
She had her eyes on Hartley until my sister came back to town.
Finally, it’s my turn. I hold up my glass and Patsy gives me a thumbs-up from the other end of the bar. The other two bartenders keep busy passing out beers and shots for what appears to be a bachelor party beside me.
“Thanks,” I say, taking the fresh martini from Patsy. As I turn to go back to my seat, a hand cups my elbow from behind. I look over my shoulder, expecting it to be Nettie changing her mind about getting a third beverage. But that’s not who I find.
A shiver snakes along my spine as the hair on the back of my neck stands on edge.
“Why are you touching me?” I nearly spit, yanking my arm out of Jasper’s clutches.
“I want to talk to you.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
“Well, I do.”
His forward movement instinctively makes me step back until my back is flat against the clammy brick wall. My drink sloshes around the glass, hitting the floor.
Jasper’s eyes are glassy, and from experience, I know that he’s at least five beers deep. His breath reeks of alcohol as he leans in. I recoil, pulling away to put as much distance between us as I can.
“You need to move,” I say, glaring at him. “Now.”
“Not until I talk to you first.” His eyes have a hard time focusing. “Why do you have to be such a bitch, huh?”
My jaw pulses. “It just comes out when someone cheats on me.”
“Oh, not that again.”
“Jasper, I mean it. Fuck off.”
“You’ve made everyone hate me,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “Hartley won’t let me near the ranch. Gray won’t talk to me. I’ve lost almost all my friends because you went around cryin’ to them about me. That’s not fair, Mark.”
I roll my eyes. “I’ve never said a word about you to Hartley or Gray, although I’m sure they know what happened. However they’ve chosen to react to that is their business. Now,” I say, sidestepping him, “never speak to me again.”
He grabs my elbow again. This time, his fingers bite into my skin. “You’re still hung up on me, aren’t you?”
When I look over my shoulder at him, he’s grinning. He’s grinning like someone who’s far too pleased with himself. Like someone who just got away with something.