Page 86 of Restore Me

I squeeze her hand back and smile. “Me too.”

It’s not a lie. Even though I’ve loved spending so much time with Dom, I’ve missed Mal. Not being able to spend time with her is probably one of the major drawbacks of my current relationship. Missing out on little moments like this—meeting up at our favorite sushi spot and laughing over drinks until our sides hurt—has left a Mal-shaped hole in my heart. But I would rather go a few weeks without seeing her regularly than lose her from my life forever, and that’s exactly what will happen if…

Stop worrying. Everything is going to be okay.

Pushing my guilt aside, I force myself to tune back into the conversation. Mal’s hands are flailing around in the air as she fills me in on the latest happenings since I’ve been working from home or La Grande Nuit for the past few weeks to avoid lying to her about how I’ve been spending my evenings. With Dom’s face buried between my thighs. With my lips wrapped around his dick. With his cum in my hair, on my breasts, and down my throat. Honestly, I didn’t know it was possible to have so many orgasms without actually having sex.

Focus, Sloane!

“Yeah, I think we’re going to have to let her go,” Mal says, picking up her glass and giving me an expectant look over the rim.

I clear my throat and take a sip of my drink to buy myself some time to think up a response and hide the fact that I was only half listening. The last name she mentioned was Jeanie, the new office assistant we had to hire when our regular girl went on maternity leave. Mal and I were both excited about Jeanie at first. Her references were stellar, and she had a great attitude.

But lately, she’s been dropping the ball: failing to put consultations on the office calendar, allowing clients to walk in and ambush team members with new requests instead of going through the proper channels, leaving the reception desk unattended while she takes sporadic breaks. Unless I missed something huge with one of our other team members, Jeanie is the only employee we have that’s walking on thin ice. But what did she do this week that’s got Mal all bent out of shape?

I sit my glass down on the table. “Okay, walk me through the situation again. I want to be sure I have all the details.”

Mal plops her drink down and leans forward. “This girl told her cousin she would make sure we designed her new kitchen for half of our rate. She came in my office talking about her employee discount should extend to her family members, and she had already sent the quote to her cousin and was in the middle of drafting one for her aunt when I told her we absolutely would not cut our rate in half for her family members. I swear to God, if you would have been there, you would have lost it.”

I have to remind myself not to act surprised because technically this is my second time hearing this information, but even if I was listening to Mal tell this story the first time around, my reaction would have been the same.

“Mal.” I wheeze, trying to hold back the obnoxious laughter bubbling in my chest. “Please tell me she didn’t really say employee discounts should apply to family.”

She tries to keep a straight face, but it only takes a second for the dam to break. In a matter of moments, we’re both doubled over the table howling with laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation. Neither of us is forming intelligible words as we try to talk through the fit of giggles and snorts. When we finally settle down, we both have tear-streaked faces and sore cheeks from laughing so hard.

“Oh my, God. I can’t believe I missed that. What in the world was she thinking?”

“Child, I can promise you she wasn’t thinking at all!” Mal snorts, sending us into another fit of giggles that’s just as severe as the first one.

And that’s how Dom finds us, bent over and gasping for air with stupid smiles on our faces that only get bigger when we notice him walking towards us. He folds himself into the interior of the booth beside Mal, and across from me, and his legs brush mine as he gets settled. He looks between us, and amusement shimmers in his eyes as they linger on me for a second longer than they should.

“Do I even want to know why you two are howling like a couple of hyenas?”

Mal bumps him with her shoulder. “Leave us alone! I was just telling her about this mess with our new assistant. She’s behind on all the happenings in the office since you and James have been keeping her locked away in that damn hotel. She has other people that need her attention, you know.”

Dom gives her a bored look. “Why are you saying it like I have any say in who Sloane gives her attention to?”

“I didn’t mean it like that, jerk! I was just saying this hotel project has been keeping her so busy, I barely see her anymore. Thank God it’ll be done in a few weeks.”

I feel the weight of his gaze on my face as I study my menu. Mal’s joy over the looming deadline lingers in the air between us. If she notices the awkward tension left in the wake of her statement, she doesn’t say a thing about it.

“Yeah,” Dom says casually. “Only a few more weeks to go. Then you’ll have your best friend back.”

Mal turns to face him, her lips tipped up in a happy smile. “Both of my best friends. I’ve missed you too, Nic.”

“How nice of you to tack me in on the end there. What are you getting, Sloane?”

I lay my menu down, finally meeting his gaze. “Probably a stir fry. I need some vegetables in my life.”

“She’s still getting a dragon roll though, don’t let her vegetable talk fool you.”

I roll my eyes at Mal, but when the waitress comes and takes our order, I do get a dragon roll. Conversation flows easily between the three of us. Dom and I fill Mal in on the day-to-day on the hotel renovation while she regales us with more gossip. This time it’s about Aunt Mary’s son, Julian, who is supposedly sneaking around with the pastor’s son.

“Personally, I think it’s sweet J has finally found someone,” Mal says, taking another bite of her fried rice. “I just think it sucks that Aunt Mary is going to try to disown him because of it.”

“Does she know?” Dom asks. He’s been quiet through most of the conversation, letting me and Mal talk while he frowns at his phone every now and again. I can’t help but wonder if Kristen is the one texting him but asking him in front of Mal isn’t an option.

Asking isn’t an option at all.

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