Page 117 of I Love My Mistake

Chapter Fifty-Five

At The Dove Parlour Lounge

Iwave at Jessica and Chris as they walk in. Mark and I each have a glass of whiskey in front of us, only mine is empty already.

Jessica exclaims as she strolls up, “I love this place! Why have I never been here?” waving one of her hands around the room, her other hand held by Chris. They’re both dressed to the nines as well, and her heels click-click-click on the dark hardwood floor. The walls she’s motioning to are covered in a deep red wallpaper, patterned and almost fabric. The wall sconces throw a golden glow on the sleek leather loveseats and chairs. Mark stands and shakes Chris’s hand, the air between them so much lighter this time. Jess sits across from me as Chris asks what we all want to drink.

I look at Mark, batting my eyelashes. “Can I have another Jameson now?”

Jessica’s jaw drops. “You’re drinking Jameson?”

“I’m nervous.”

“And you’re asking for permission.”

I grin, roll my eyes... “Well, Mark’s made a very good point.”

Mark leans forward and says conspiratorially, “She’s pretending she’s not nervous. If I let her, she’d drink the whole bottle.”

Jess laughs, leaning back in her chair and looking up at her boyfriend. “Vodka, rocks, please, baby.”

“Two limes,” he adds knowingly, bending to kiss her lips.

She smiles into the kiss and I look to Mark to see if seeing this bothers him. From the look on his face, he couldn’t give two shits. Relief spreads through my blood, cooling it. This is still a little weird for me. I’m glad they’re cool with it, but up until last night, I thought I was going to lose one or both of them. Not easy for me to bounce back from things like that.

Chris looks at us. “How about it?”

A text comes in from Amber saying they’re pulling up in about two minutes. I read it as Mark leans back in his chair, his arm around my waist. “Two Jamesons. Thanks, Chris.”

“Two ice cubes each,” I add, holding up two fingers like a peace sign. Which is kind of appropriate.

He walks off with an easy-going stride, checking his phone as people so often do. Jessica watches him and turns around. Her face says exactly what she’s thinking and it is naughty. I snicker and she says, innocently, “What?”

My eyes go wide, remembering I haven’t talked to Amber about what’s happened. “Does Amber know you called Mark?”

Jessica crosses her legs and shrugs. “No, but she’s about to find out. She hasn’t returned my calls. I’m a little pissed at her. Don’t look at me like that! She’s being very unforgiving.”

“I’ve got an idea,” I say, looking from Mark to Jessica with a wicked grin.

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