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That’ll happen tomorrow when my buzz wears off.
“Alright,” Zac says. “We’re going downtown after this. Bar crawl.” He turns to me, leaning in close. “You up for it?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Brandon clench his jaw, but I avert my gaze. “I can’t stay out too long. I have to get up early for wedding stuff.”
He wrinkles his nose. “Bridesmaids have to do all the worst shit. All I have to do is put a suit on and I’m done. Alright—” he turns to the group “—we’ll be going to a few bars that remind us of Livvy and Cole. In fact, we’ll only go to the bars Cole wouldn’t let Livvy drink at that first night she went downtown.”
I snort at the memory. “That was the night before they finally hooked up.”
Livvy shushes me. “My aunt is right there.”
I wince. Maybe I’m a little tipsier than I thought I was. “Sorry.”
Across the room, Brandon’s eyes are still locked on us, a shadow cast over his handsome features.
Let him look. If he wanted things to change between us, he would have told me by now. He wouldn’t be sorry for “pestering” me with texts.
“Bathroom break?” Livvy smiles at me from across the table.
I shoot her a questioning look. She just came back from the bathroom. She must want to talk to me about something. I push my chair back and follow her through the crowded restaurant.
Inside the bathroom, it’s quiet and cool. Livvy pulls me into the big stall and locks the door.
“What’s up?” I ask.
She giggles, leaning against the wall. “Brandon looks like he’s about to throw hands at Zac.”
I snort, rolling my eyes. “He does seem to be in a pretty bad mood.”
Livvy’s giggles subside. “I mean it. He’s been watching you two all night. Glaring.” She shakes her head. “He’s acting like a jealous ex-boyfriend.”
I shrug. “He’s a jealous ex-fling.”
Livvy grabs my shoulders—a sign that she is, in fact, quite tipsy. My Liv is touchy and affectionate, but she’s not usually this forceful. “You deserve someone who’s all in. Not someone who wants to keep you from every other guy even though he won’t commit to you himself. Someone who’s letting his daddy issues stop him from giving you his whole heart.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “He’s your pastor. It’s a bummer that this is how you see him now because of everything I’ve told you.”
She scowls. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. You didn’t force him to sleep with you on a pastor retreat. You didn’t force him to bend you over his desk right in front of your sister in his church office.”
An almost hysterical giggle bubbles out of me. Ah, the absurdity of it all.
I never thought I would live a life like this.
Livvy’s big brown eyes are full of concern. “Maybe you should talk to him.”
“No.” I hate myself for the prickle of tears behind my eyes. Fuck champagne. “I’m not going to initiate anything. He already told me we don’t need to meet up and talk. That he’s sorry for pestering me.”
She scowls. “He said that?”
I nod jerkily.
She sighs, wrapping me in a hug. “He’s going to regret it. No one could pass up on you and not regret it.”
I giggle a little hysterically. “I love you.”
When Livvy and I walk out of the bathroom, Zac is standing at the bar right outside, a shot glass in each hand. The lights from the chandeliers reflect off the liquid, making it shimmer.
“Just in time!” Zac grins. “I want you guys to sneak these while the grownups aren’t looking. My treat in honor of the bride.”
