Nora bumped me with her hip, tossing me a wink before drifting in Eve’s direction.
Booze Cruise
Eve
Ihadtohandit to Ben. His idea of splitting up in the morning to do our own thing while they did theirs had been ideal. We’d been able to celebrate with the mothers of the bride and groom at the spabefore the friends-only debauchery on the booze cruise.
Nora sidled up next to me at the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. I studied her out of the corner of my eye.
Her dark and lustrous locks were pinned up, showing off the long curve of her neck. The woman could be a supermodel. She was every man’s dream girl. Long and lean with a thin waist and just a hint of curves, whereas my curves fell into theamplecategory.
I couldn’t run without my boobs aching, couldn’t golf or play tennis or softball without them getting in the way. My ass needed its own zip code. I wasn’t self-conscious of all my curves. They’d been part of me long enough that I had learned how to love them despite my annoyance at the way clothes fit and the impossibility of going without a bra.
“Hey, Eve,” Nora said, raising her gin and tonic in salute. “This yacht is something else.”
I tried not to hold anything against Nora, but things had been strained between us ever since me and Ben’s infamous first date. Brian and David had welcomed Nora into our little group with open arms, so I wasstuck trying to beat back the vines of jealousy that grew like weeds.
I stuffed my feelings of envy down and smiled at Nora.
“Thanks.” I took another pull from my straw, the tartness of vodka and cranberry juice sharp on my tongue.
She arched a perfect brow, smile still in place. “You know Ben and I aren’t a thing, right?”
“Wow, you just dive right into it, don’t you?”
She chuckled lightly. “I’ve been told I lack subtlety.”
I stabbed the ice in my glass with the straw, attempting to let go of the agitation I was feeling.
Nora must have sensed I needed more than her assurance because she trudged on. “I know you got the wrong impression of me and Ben at the Winter Wonderland Festival. I put him in a bad spot that night. He was trying to help me.But we have only ever been friends. We’re more like family at this point.”
I eyed her dubiously as I sippedmy drink.
“I wanted to tell you what happened that night, but...” Nora massaged her forehead with her hand. “God, this is embarrassing. It makes me sound so desperate.”
I raised a brow, daring her to continue.
“I’ve had a crush on our boss, Ian, forever. He’s totally out of my league. The only time he notices I exist is if I’m on another man’s arm. So, one night when I had one too many drinks, I confessed the whole thing to Ben, and we came up with this stupid plan to make Ian jealous. We would flirt at the office, dance at the parties, and that night at the Winter Wonderland Festival, I even took it as far as moving his hand to my...” she cleared her throat as someone else came up to the bar for a drink.
My eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“I’m pathetic. I know.”
Her cheeks were red, but her eyes still met mine, unguarded and sincere.“He’s a good friend to me. But that’s all it ever was.”
I nodded, my tension slowly dissipating like air leaking from a balloon.
I wouldn’t have believed the story if it came from Ben, but Nora had no reason to lie to me. And I finally felt some closure about that night, like it might be possible to put it all behind us and start fresh.
“Thanks for telling me. And for whatever it’s worth, I don’t think you’re pathetic.”
She gnawed at her lip, her head tilting to the side. “I think Ben really likes you. You should give him another chance.”
I choked on my drink. “Did he send you over here to convince me to go out with him?”
She cringed. “I promise it wasn’t his idea. I just thought it might help to hear the story from me. And I figured it couldn’t hurt to clear the air between us, you know?”
I nodded, staring into my empty glass.
