Page 21 of Adoration: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 2)

Aware of her watchful eyes on me, I smiled tightly. “I’m fine.”

She took me into a hug. “Sometimes I wish you’d scream, curse, and get it all out.”

“Didn’t I curse enough via text?” I asked, trying to resort to humor.

“No, you held back. He didn’t deserve you,” she murmured against my head. “He was never the one for you, Livy.” I pulled away from her to see her face. “What he did on that day was shitty and I could kill him with my own hands. And then, he went on to make someone else a partner in that publishing house when you brought the business back. It was all crappy. But it wouldn’t have worked out for you. You didn’t want to be in Edinburgh and he didn’t want to leave Edinburgh. You came to terms that you two would live separately even after marriage. That is not a good beginning for newlyweds.”

Maybe she had a point. But, why did it hurt as much as it did, and why was it such a hard pill to swallow?

“You need someone who consumes every fiber of your being and wants you every day for the rest of his life. And you should want the same.”

She sounded so much like Mom. I nodded, hoping that would end this conversation. This week was full of ghosts from the pasts and I didn’t like it.

“Anyhow,” I changed the subject. “Let’s go get Layla and forget about all that crap.”

We picked up Layla, arrived at the Plaza, and walked in without having to wait in the line. Layla sometimes had the best connections although getting into a nightclub wasn’t necessarily one I would call useful.

As we entered the room, upbeat music played but the dance floor was completely empty. There were tables placed around the dance floor, surrounding it. Most of the tables were taken and what appeared to be plenty of rich, snobby people all over the place. I inwardly smiled thinking if Layla ended up getting wild, this place wouldn't stand a chance.

We grabbed one of the few remaining tables, and I announced, before I even had a chance to sit down, “I’ll grab the first round. Lena will get all the rest,” I winked at her as I walked towards the bar.

The barman eyed me and I felt like he was trying to decide whether I belonged here or not.

I ordered us a bottle of champagne and beer for Lena and myself knowing we’d only have a sip of champagne. It was just to celebrate, and for Layla to finish the bottle.

“Celebrating something?” the bartender asked, his eyes slowly roaming over my body.

“Yes,” I replied curtly and handed him my card. I was not in the mood for flirting. As soon as I paid him, he promised he’d bring over our drinks.

I got back to our table, and true to his word, the bartender brought our bottle of champagne cooling in a silver bucket, our glasses for the champagne and two beers. Lena’s eyes landed on the beer, and I winked at her. Layla enjoyed the fancy drinks. Lena and I were more laid back.

Alone, Layla eased the cork out with a loud pop drawing quite a bit of eyes on us. She loved being the center of attention.

“Whoa,” she exclaimed and filled all our glasses. “What are we toasting to?” she asked.

“Livy’s publishing company,” Lena spoke quickly, her eyes on me.

“Hot, rich men,” Layla exclaimed at the same time with an impish grin.

All three of us burst into laughter. “To Lena’s company, and Layla’s hot, rich men,” I said.

Lena’s eyes lit up and she added, with a confident smile, “To Livy’s publishing company.” We all clinked our glasses, a wide smile on her and Layla’s face.

As bubbles went down our throats, all three of us giggled just like we used to during our college years when life seemed so much simpler. Lena and I switched to beer after downing our glasses while Layla continued working on the champagne.

The night went on surprisingly well. Reminiscing about our college years, and the times before Mom’s death and before we got involved with men. After my mom’s death, I decided on a whim that I wanted to move to the United Kingdom. I have been trying to find out more about her and where she came from. She told me she was born in the United Kingdom, and although it wasn’t much to go off of, it was where I’d moved. Lena followed, agreeing we were doing it together. It was convenient for Layla since she was from the UK. She knew Callen and got me a job practically before I got off of the plane. Lena found the love of her life and it worked out wonderful for her.

Drinks kept coming and we kept drowning them.

“Nobody can take this away,” Layla screeched drunkenly. Lena and I weren’t far behind. “I love you, girls.”

Dua Lipa’s “Break My Heart” came on and all three of us looked at each other, nodding with slightly tipsy smiles.

We jumped at the same time and raced to the empty dance floor so we had the whole floor to ourselves, laughing and dancing just like the old times. We were kicking it on the dance floor, ignoring everyone’s eyes.

Laughing, we continued to down rounds of drinks and kept ourselves on the dance floor more than at the table. Nobody joined us on the dance floor, but we didn’t care at all. Alcohol made us braver and bolder, past pains dulled by the buzz.

A new song switched on, and we looked at each other with widened, disbelieving eyes.

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