Page 99 of Make Me Sin (Bad Habit 2)
Even her scathing tone can’t put a damper on my glorious mood. I sigh and sit back in my office chair, propping my feet on my desk. “I missed you.”
“Lie,” she shoots back without hesitation. “Who do you think is on the other end of the line, babe? I know you like I know the back of my hand. Other than those thirty-second check-in phone calls, you didn’t think about me once.”
I smile because she’s right. “Well, now I miss you. When can we get together? How’s Kat?”
She snorts. “Other than being worried sick about you and driving me crazy about the wedding, she’s her usual foul-mouthed, wonderful self. She and Nico are planning a party at their house next Monday for Memorial Day; I assume you and the Russian spy are coming?”
I see the dangling fishhook a mile away, and avoid it. All of A.J.’s secrets are safe with me, and always will be. “I don’t know. I haven’t even talked to Kat yet. Maybe?”
“No maybes. You’re coming.” Her firm, no-refusals tone softens. “How are you doing, really? Have you heard anything about dickface Eric?”
At the mention of his name, my stomach tightens. Feeling vulnerable, I lower my feet and sit up straight at the desk, hugging my free arm around my waist. “We got the restraining order, so that’s good. And apparently Eric’s out of the hospital, though he’s not back to work; he’s been suspended without pay.”
Grace mutters a few choice epithets about Eric’s manhood. “They should have fired that worthless prick on the spot.”
“They have to do an internal investigation first, though it looks like it’s just a formality. I think he’ll be fired soon. I guess there were quite a few skeletons in his closet his bosses could no longer overlook.”
“Well, good riddance. Honestly if I ever see his face again, I think I’ll break it.”
I love her for refraining from saying “I told you so.”
“So do you want me to spend the night with you for the next few days, until you get settled back in? Or you’re always welcome to crash at my place if you don’t feel comfortable at your apartment since Mr. Law and Order left you with such nice memories there.”
“No, I’m good. I’m staying with A.J. for the foreseeable future.”
The silence on the other end of the line is deafening.
“I love him, Gracie,” I say, much softer. “Wherever he is, that’s where I need to be.”
I wonder if Grace has bought a cat, because from the other end of the phone issues a sound like a cat trying to cough up a stubborn hairball.
“Okay, best friend, I’m ending the call now.”
“Wait!”
Her panicked shout makes me pause. I can’t remember the last time I heard Grace panicked. “What?”
“I just have one more question for you.”
“Which is?”
It’s her turn to pause. “Are you sure?”
There’s not even a second of hesitation when I answer. “Yes. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
I hear a deep, resigned sigh. “How the hell did I, badass bitch that I am, get stuck with two such ridiculously romantic girlfriends?”
I have to smile; that sigh means she’s got my back, even if she thinks I’m insane. She’ll never again say another negative or unsupportive word about my relationship with A.J.
“Are we in rhetorical question territory here? Or are you seriously expecting an answer to that?”
“Rhetorical, rhetorical,” she mutters. “And now I’m ending the call so I can pour myself a large glass of water.”
“Water? That’s not like you.”
“Of course I like water. Especially when it’s frozen into little cubes and completely surrounded by vodka. Good-bye.”
She hangs up on me, leaving me grinning at the phone.
