Chapter 23 #3
We chat for a few minutes, mostly catching up on how things have been going for Jackson since it’s been over a month since we’ve seen her in person—except for our disastrously brief meeting in Aspen, which we don’t bring up even though we all know it happened.
Eventually, I feel like I’m being watched, and a glance over my shoulder confirms that Andrew’s looking at me.
I turn back toward my friends and they haven’t missed the way my attention strayed. “I feel like I should go talk to Andrew, thank him for sending us drinks and all that.”
“Who is he?” Jackson asks.
“Just a guy I bumped into on my way in. He was super nice, and obviously he’s cute. I should at least go over and thank him.”
“So Beau’s been gone for a week and you’re already flirting with other guys?” The tone isn’t as harsh as I’d expect from such a judgmental question.
“I mean, I need to move on, right?” I say as I push my barstool back and stand. I take a fortifying breath as I wait for Jackson’s response, but it doesn’t come—she just looks at me like she doesn’t know me at all. So I turn and head over to Andrew. He meets me halfway.
“Trust me, you don’t want to meet my friends,” he says with a half smile, and I’m relieved to talk to him one-on-one rather than in front of other guys.
“Why is that? Afraid I’ll like them better than you?” I tease.
“Afraid you’ll think less of me after being forced to talk to them.”
“I feel like you can learn a lot about a man by the company he keeps.”
“Which is why I don’t want to be held accountable for these guys. I work with them, they’re more like acquaintances than friends.” His blue eyes sparkle with amusement.
“I suppose we can’t control who we work with.” I smile. “So why are you out with them and not your real friends?”
“I just moved here two months ago, I’m still making real friends. But these guys are fun to grab a beer with after work.”
“It’s a Saturday,” I point out.
“And we just finished preparing for an important presentation we’re giving on Monday,” he clarifies.
Oh great, another workaholic. I feel like I just went down that route with Peter. Then again, he’s new to his job, of course he has to put in the extra time to prove himself.
He tells me a bit about the company he works for, and I’m familiar with them because they handle the advertising for one of the biggest sponsors for the National Ski Team.
I mention that, and we chat about work for a few minutes before the conversation starts to feel a bit stale.
Andrew’s cute and he’s nice, but after five minutes of conversation, he’s also somewhat boring.
I can tell he feels my waning interest because he says, “I don’t want to keep you from celebrating with your friends, but I’d love to see you again.”
I knew this was coming, but I still stumble over my excuse.
“I . . . I just got out of a relationship and I’m not ready to start anything else.
” His lips turn down and I get the distinct impression that he’s disappointed about the idea of not seeing me again, rather than upset at being turned down.
He’s a good guy, clearly. “Why don’t you give me your number, though, in case something changes?
” I don’t want to give him my number, so instead I open a new contact on my phone and hand it to him to put his info in.
“I’m glad I met you,” he says when he hands me back my phone. “I really do hope to hear from you in the future.”
“Thanks,” I tell him. “And thanks again for the drinks. That was very sweet.”
We head our separate directions, and when I get back to the table and update my friends on the conversation, Jackson mutters, “Praise God.”
I quirk my eyebrow at her, and she responds with, “You destroyed Beau. I’m just glad to see that you aren’t quite as ready to move on as he thinks you are.”
“What the hell do you mean, I destroyed Beau?” I balk. “He was always going to leave. And then when I came to see him in Aspen, he told me that it didn’t matter what he’d wanted us to be because he could never trust me again, anyway. Then he walked away from me and I haven’t heard from him since.”
“I wish you’d have just called me back any of the hundred times I called you and texted you over the past week.” Jackson sighs. “We could have figured this out.”
I glance at Petra, whose eyes are wide as she watches this unfold. Then I turn and face Jackson. “Figured what out?”
“Beau’s no more over you than you are over him. We can fix this.”
It feels like my heart skips a beat, then speeds up erratically to make up for it. A painful, hopeful longing fills my chest. “Are you—” I feel my eyebrows dip as I try to make sense of what she’s saying. “Are you serious?”
“Very. And we’ll figure this out together. But first you will celebrate your birthday surrounded by your best friends.” She reaches out and squeezes my hand.
“See, you just needed to let Jackson in,” Lauren says, in case I hadn’t come to that realization myself. “All will be right in the world of Sierra and Beau.”
“It’s the least I can do after you helped me win Nate back,” Jackson says.
“So can we celebrate by eating?” Petra asks. “I’m famished.”
“I’m glad to see some things never change,” Jackson says as we all pick up our menus. For the first time in a week, I find that I have an appetite.