“Greg made you that happy once,” I pointed out. “Doesn’t he still?”
“Sure.” She reached out to pick a strand of my hair off my shoulder. “I think this weekend away will be good for us, though.”
“How come?”
“You know how it is in the city,” she said, looking to one side. “Work, cramped spaces, stressful commute. It’s a lot for a new relationship.”
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, of course. I’m getting what I didn’t realize I still wanted. All this time I never stopped thinking about Greg. So, yeah, I’m glad he finally came around.”
“Okay.” I nodded, trying to determine if that was the whole truth. “But it’s perfectly fine to change your mind about him, too. You know that, right?”
“I know.” She linked her elbow with mine, her blue eyes shining. “Let’s chow down.”
I grabbed my purse, and we went downstairs. Brian introduced us to his girlfriend, Kat, who had waist-length brown hair and squeaked like a mouse when I shook her hand.
To enjoy the temperate night, we walked the few blocks to the restaurant. The moment we entered, Greg yelled across the restaurant to Jordan, who was seated at the bar. I hadn’t given Greg a thorough lashing yet, mainly because I hadn’t had a chance. And I knew David would get to it himself.
As soon as Jordan’s eyes locked on me, he grinned and stood from his barstool. “Hey, you,” he said and wrapped me in a hug. “Long time.”
“Hi, Jordan.” He and I had dated on-and-off my first two years of college. After he’d dumped me for good, we’d remained distant friends because of Greg. Even though it’d been years, I still got a few butterflies seeing the first boy I’d loved. With dark blond hair and green eyes, he was solid and tall, but nowhere near David’s towering frame. He’d always been good-looking, but he’d known it.
I remembered Jordan as a bit more straight-edge, a bit of stability during a fresh start at school, but now, a tattoo peeked out from his sleeve. “That’s new.”
“Yeah. You like it?” He placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me over to the table where a hostess seated the others. “You look great, Livvy,” he whispered as he pulled out my chair and then sat down next to me.
Brian cleared his throat from one end of the table, giving Jordan a once-over. “I don’t think we’ve met,” he said.
“Jordan, meet Brian,” Greg said. “J’s an old friend of ours from college.”
“Aha.” Brian’s eyes darted between Jordan and me, and he scratched the back of his head. “Nobody told me we had a sixth.”
“Greg’s fault,” I said, shooting Greg a daggered look that he ignored.
We promptly ordered a few bottles of wine. As Brian lamented about the day’s poor surf conditions, Jordan leaned over to me. “Greg told me about Bill. Sorry to hear it,” he said, but he smirked.
“Areyou?” I asked.
Jordan grabbed a bottle of white wine from the center of the table and poured me a glass. “Not really. You got me.”
“Jordan,” I admonished.
“No, I’m just messing,” he said, raising his glass. “Divorce is rough, babe. Or so I’ve heard.”
“It is, but I have someone to help me through it.”
“Gretchen?” he asked with a playful waggle of his eyebrows.
“No,” I replied andclinkedhis glass with mine. “My amazing boyfriend. Did Greg mention him?”
“Yeah. I’m glad Greg invited me tonight,” he said, ignoring the topic.
I sipped my wine and looked into the glass. Chardonnay.Great. That made me miss David’s company all the more. “Why’s that?” I asked.
“Just because,” Jordan said. “Haven’t seen you since graduation. We get to catch up.”
I nodded but narrowed my eyes at him in warning.
