Page 56 of Drunk on Love

Margot sat back down.

“Only if you promise not to make fun of me for all of this.”

“I promise,” Sydney said immediately.

“Okay,” Margot said. Sydney started to walk away.

“He’s not dating Avery,” she said as she stared down at the bar.

Sydney stopped and turned back to Margot.

“He told you that? Please don’t tell me you asked him.”

Margot’s eyes shot back up to Sydney’s.

“No. My God, no. Of course not. And no, he didn’t tell me. Avery did. When I had breakfast with her to talk about the party.”

Sydney counted on her fingers. Margot knew what was coming.

“You had breakfast with her on Thursday, yes? Last Thursday?”

Margot sighed.

“Yes.”

“Mmm,” Sydney said. “So how did it take you this long to tell me that Avery Jensen made a point to tell you that she wasn’t dating your little fling turned employee?”

Margot tugged her hair up into a bun.

“First, don’t call him mine. Second, she didn’t make a point to tell me, it wasn’t out of nowhere; it was in the context of me hiring his mom’s boyfriend to do landscaping. She told me they’ve been friends since high school. Third, I was going to say some bullshit about how I haven’t seen you since last Monday so that’s why I haven’t told you, but I know exactly what you’d sayto that, so I’m not even going to bother, and I’ll say the real reason, which is that I didn’t want you to think I cared that much.”

Sydney raised her eyebrows.

“But you do. Don’t you?”

Margot didn’t say anything for a while.

“Yeah,” she said finally. “I do.”

Sydney took a step away.

“Be right back.”

In a few minutes, she walked up, a paper bag in her hand.

“I was right—we did have more of that ice cream you liked in the back. Let’s go.”

Margot looked up at her.

“I love you so much.”

Sydney dropped an arm around her shoulder.

“Yeah. I know.”

Eleven

LUKE WOKE UP SUNDAYmorning and checked his phone. A text from Craig? That was a surprise. Craig had been his mentor at work; they’d always gotten along well, but Craig had seemed as shocked and disappointed as everyone else when Luke had quit. He’d been pretty sure he’d never hear from him again.

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