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“Never below you,” Harriet chimes in.
“Always beside you,” I finish, having done this toast with them more times than I can count.
“Always beside you,” Marius says, eyes locking with mine.
“Always beside you,” Harriet repeats, the three of us clinking our glasses together before tilting back our shots.
It takes everything in me to get the tequila down. I don’t normally do shots like this, preferring to drink wine or champagne. Perhaps the occasional beer when at a football match. But like Marius said… If there’s any time shots are called for, it’s when you’re nursing a broken heart.
And I’ve been suffering from a broken heart for close to a decade now.
“If I end the night next to the bloody toilet, I’m blaming you, Mari.” Harriet scowls as she slams her glass on the counter, wiping her mouth.
“And not the bottle of champagne you consumed as we were setting up? I thought by now you’d know the importance of the one-to-one rule.” He swipes a bottle of water off the counter. “One water for every drink.”
“I started out with orange juice in my champagne. Does that count?”
“No.”
“Bugger.” She pulls her lips together, as if giving consideration to Marius’ recommendation. Then she shrugs, lifting a glass of champagne to her lips. “It’s the last day of the year. May as well go out with a bang.”
“Cheers to that.” I lift my glass.
“Happy New Year!”
We all turn as Penny walks in with her husband, Cody, both of them carrying even more bottles of champagne. Although since she got married, she prefers to go by Nellie, considering her last name is now Lane.
And being the mature adults we are, Marius, Harriet, and I immediately erupt in a chorus of “Penny Lane”, Maggie and Jasper joining in as they enter the living room moments later.
“Still not tired of that, are we?” Penny snips out, eyes twinkling in amusement as she makes her way through the room, giving each of us a hug.
“Never, darling,” Marius retorts with a wink.
* * *
“I had a feeling I’d find you up here.”
At the sound of Marius’ voice, I snap my gaze toward the rooftop door, watching as he trudges a path through the snow that’s accumulated over the past few weeks, a bottle of champagne in each hand.
“I just needed a minute.” I force a smile, then shift my eyes forward once more. The city surrounding me pulses with excitement as the clock ticks closer to midnight on New Year’s Eve.
I’d hoped spending the last few hours with my oldest friends would help me keep my mind off Creed. It was impossible, though, considering everyone Harriet invited to her annual New Year’s Eve celebration was at the villa with us that week Creed and I began our secret tryst. Everyone apart from Anderson, that is. But I didn’t expect him to be here. Not now that he’s back with Nora.
These days, he spends as much time as he can in the States with her.
Which is good for me, since that means Creed also spends a great deal of time in the States.
I’m not sure my heart could handle seeing him on a regular basis. Not after New York.
“Want to talk about it?” Marius hands me a bottle of champagne that I happily take from him and bring to my lips. My grandmother would lose her head if she learned I was currently drinking champagne straight from a bottle. At least it’s expensive champagne. That should count for something.
“Not much to talk about.” I lean against the railing on Harriet’s rooftop terrace. “Tristan and I both wanted two different things. With my decision to stay—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, Ezzy.” He narrows his gaze on me. “I’m talking about Creed.”
I part my lips, about to argue there’s nothing going on with Creed. But Marius already senses something’s going on. I may as well come clean.
Turning from the ledge, I walk to one of the patio chairs, the snow crunching under my shoes. Marius follows and we both sit, our breath foggy in the chilly air. I bring the bottle back to my lips and take a long sip, then face him, giving him a sad smile.
