Page 44

Chapter 44

Jessie

It was a night of celebration. And misery.

Kitty and I were a bottle of wine deep and screeching out breakup songs at the top of our lungs by her pool.

Yes, we were having an impromptu wine night in honor of Mikey hanging up on me. And me getting a promotion, I guess.

“This is how I got through Guy and I breaking up that one time.”

“That one time?” I asked.

“Okay, we were actually broken up for like, years,” she said with a little hiccup.

I stuck out my bottom lip. “That must have been awful. Did he screw you over?”

She looked wistful. “No. I broke up with him. Long distance was too hard between the NHL and college. We were living in two different worlds. I was shredded, though. I was really successful those years, but I wasn’t fully me without him.”

Tears pricked my eyes. “I don’t want it to be over. We were really good together. I was upset about the Sydney thing, but I really don’t blame him for whatever he did five years ago. This came out of nowhere.”

“Oh, honey. It probably isn’t. Mike just has a hot temper and no one’s ever held him accountable for his bullshit. And if you don’t want to deal with that in the long haul, I totally get it. But I think he really loves you. You can’t change him, but if you can be patient with him, I bet he can learn to communicate better. Especially for someone he loves.”

I wished Kitty would stop saying love about me and Mikey. I felt really close to him. I was happy with him. I was thinking about testing the waters and telling him I was falling for him when he got back from this road trip, but I knew how scared he got about commitment. I had to be careful how I told him.

And well, it didn’t matter because he ended things in a three-minute phone call.

I was trying not to cry. I was so sick of crying. Irina. Cole. Sydney. Nightmares. I just wanted to be free of all of it.

Kitty had called me honey, just like he did. I always thought that name was cheesy until he said it. Then it felt so natural. I was his honey. He’d wanted one for so long, and I came along.

Oh, God. Did he want me, or did he want just any honey? Was I just a placeholder?

“Oh, babe.” Kitty leaned across her pool lounger to mine, giving me a hug. “It’ll be okay. You got a new job today!”

“I know, I know. Head costume designer. It finally happened.” I put my glass up and Kitty clinked it. “But he’s not happy for me.”

“Fuck him. This is about you. Tonight, we celebrate you.”

Her phone chimed. She flicked a glance at it, then flipped it over.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Nothing. Let’s go raid the pantry and make some messed up dinner.”

We put together a feast of popcorn, pasta, and a random steak Kitty had, then put on a movie. All the while, Kitty’s phone kept dinging.

“The game?” I finally asked.

“The game. They’re winning for what it’s worth.”

“You can watch them,” I said. “It’s been a long day. I think I’m gonna hit the hay.”

Kitty winced at me. “You sure?”

I nodded. “Got another long day of work tomorrow. Gotta put out an ad to hire my replacement.”

With a hug, Kitty sent me off to their guest bedroom.