Page 58 of Heal You (The Study You #3)

“I’m sure everything will be fine. He’s not at the office as often as I usually am.

He’s always been the traveller out of the two of us.

” Jan stepped away and helped herself to a glass of water.

“Anyway, we don’t need to talk about him.

I’d rather enjoy my night out with you, having fun, while he sits at home dealing with his new family.

He’s happy, and I’m happy.” Jan sipped her water then smirked.

“Though, I’m sure I’m the happier out of us both. ”

“Ooh, that was smooth.” Morgan grinned as she stepped up behind Jan and pressed herself to her. “I can’t wait to get to your place later. The whole weekend to ourselves.” Morgan dipped her head towards Jan’s ear as she said, “Whatever will we do?”

“I can think of a few things.” Jan turned and eyed Morgan. “But for now, you need to behave yourself.” Jan hooked her fingers over the waistband of Morgan’s jeans and tugged her closer. “It’ll be interesting to see if you can keep your hands to yourself until we get home later.”

Morgan wanted to see that as a challenge.

She wanted to hold back just to prove she could.

But the truth was…there wasn’t a chance she could control herself this evening.

Until she could devour Jan later tonight, she was going to take what she could get whenever it was on offer.

If that meant getting a little handsy in a booth—she’d booked a VIP area that none of them knew about—then so be it.

“You just worry about yourself, babe. I’m good.”

* * *

Settled in a booth at a new club in town, Jan looked around and grinned.

Gillian was sitting beside her, while Morgan and Finn stood at the bar discussing the football.

It wasn’t either of their thing, so Jan had insisted they retreat to their comfortable and surprisingly private area while they could.

She didn’t care for the offside rule or VAR discussion.

She turned to Gillian, smiling when she noticed her best friend staring at her. “What?”

“You look like a completely different woman lately.”

“I am.” Jan was glad people were noticing how happy she was. First one of the girls at the office, and now Gillian. “Don’t know why I didn’t climb back into bed with a woman sooner.”

Gillian barked a laugh at that. “I’m still trying to get my head around how you kept it quiet back in university.”

“You were too busy being all academic and applying yourself.” Though Jan hadn’t taken university lightly, she had been more of the loose cannon between them. “And Antonia was terrified of being caught. Her parents were high up in the church and she was convinced they’d condemn her to hell.”

Gillian snorted at that. “I’ve been to hell, it’s where all the cool kids hang out.”

Jan’s eyes strayed towards Morgan and Finn as they laughed together.

Just a month ago, they hadn’t been in the best place with one another, but Jan was glad Morgan didn’t hold grudges for too long.

This was a new start for Jan, and she wanted her closest friends with her on the journey. “It’s nice to see them happy again.”

“I know.” Gillian smiled when she followed Jan’s line of sight. “And us.”

“I did think about holding out a little longer, but I couldn’t do it.

” Jan lifted a shoulder and turned to Gillian fully.

“I never expect you to react the way you did, but we’re a long time dead and I want to make the most of everything I have now.

You and I are too old to fall out with one another. ”

“I was a shitty friend.”

“You can make it up to me by paying for the next spa weekend we go on.”

Gillian frowned as she brought her wine glass to her lips. “We…don’t go on spa weekends, love.”

“We do now. I’ve already found the next hotel I want to try and you’re coming too. If Finn is missing you, she can sit and be miserable with Morgan. It’s about time you and I had a weekend away together.”

“When?” Gillian groaned as she rolled her head on her shoulders. “I’ll probably go into shock the moment I have a facial. It’s been so long since I took time out for myself.”

“That’s precisely why I’m taking you.” Jan twisted her wine glass on the table, still focused on Gillian. “As for the when…it’ll be during the next half-term. So, a month away?”

“Oh, God. I can’t wait.” She eyed Finn across the club. “Though, I think you can be the one to break it to my wife.”

“Fine by me.” Jan shrugged and then turned, feeling Morgan’s presence close by. Just as she’d suspected, Morgan was passing through the rope with the help of security. “Hi. Nice of you to join us.”

“Finn thinks she can get tickets to the game in a few weeks. She was asking if I fancied it. You wouldn’t mind if I go, would you, babe?”

Jan settled a hand on Morgan’s thigh the moment she was seated beside her. “Of course not. You love the football, and this is an important game, if I remember right.”

Morgan cocked her head. “You were actually listening to me that day when I was rambling on? I thought you were just smiling and nodding to make me feel better.”

“I always listen when you’re talking.” Jan squeezed Morgan’s thigh as she leaned in and kissed her just below the ear. “Anything you say is incredibly important to me.”

As Jan drew back, Morgan took a hold of her chin gently and brought her back in for another kiss. She smiled against Jan’s lips, the muscle beneath Jan’s palm tensing as she inched a little higher. “You are so getting anything you want later.”

“Mmhmm. I thought as much.” Jan cleared the arousal from her voice and turned back to Gillian. Only now Finn was sitting beside her, and they were both staring at Jan and Morgan. “What?”

“Did you want us to just leave?” Finn grinned as she cocked her head towards the exit. “You both seem a bit busy, ladies.”

Jan rolled her eyes playfully. “You have no right to say anything like that to me when you’ve had the audacity to answer one of my calls during sex!”

“What? I… We… Nah, we’d never do that.” Finn shook her head, the look on her face saying she was certain about that.

“Oh, really? Explain the night I called when I’d just left Phil then?”

Finn lowered her eyes and nudged Gillian. “You can take that one, babe. I’m not getting involved.”

Gillian sighed. “We’re sorry about that. You never used to call me in the evening unless that dickhead was away, so when you did, I panicked. I told Finn to answer the phone in case something terrible had happened.” Gillian swallowed. “And it had, but we didn’t know it.”

Jan softened. “Actually, it turns out it wasn’t terrible at all. I think we can all agree on that, can’t we?” Jan rested back against Morgan, holding onto the hand she’d just draped over her shoulder. “Does this look terrible to either of you?”

“Well, no, but at the time…when you eventually told me what he’d done, it felt terrible.”

Morgan leaned forward a little. “For the record, I did suggest that telling you and Finn about Phil was something Jan should consider. So she had plenty of people around her.” Morgan paused and held up a hand.

“But then Jan flourished and came into her own right in front of my eyes, and I knew I didn’t need to push her to do anything at all.

When the time was right for her, she’d know. ”

“And I appreciated that so much,” Jan said, turning her head and kissing Morgan. When she focused back on their friends, Jan smiled. “I knew what I needed…when I needed it.”

“When you said that I wanted you to deal with your divorce the way I did…” Gillian shook her head. “That wasn’t what I wanted at all. Never, Jan.”

“I was angry with you. I couldn’t understand why you seemed so upset that I wasn’t broken and falling apart.

But I also realise that Morgan and I were quite a shock.

It was for me, to a point. Not enough for me to care about slowing down, but enough for me to briefly question if I even had a heart because I felt nothing for Phil the moment I knew he’d been seeing someone else.

” Jan sipped her wine and smiled. “But he knew what would happen if he ever strayed. I’d always been honest about that.

When you left Dave, I reminded him of my stance on it all. ”

“I admire you for being able to turn around and walk away with such ease, I really do.” Gillian dipped her head towards Finn. “I think it’s time you went to the bar for a bottle of champagne, baby. I think we all have so much to celebrate, but Jan and Morgan more so.”

Jan’s heart thrummed at just how perfectly tonight was going.

Gillian and Finn had been on board for several weeks now but tonight felt like the beginning of something truly beautiful.

Something Jan had never known she’d needed so much.

“You’d better make it two bottles, Finn. You know what we can all be like.”

Finn rose to her feet and smiled. “Two bottles of the finest. Got it.”