Jack shut down his computer and stood up, grabbing his suit jacket off the back of his chair and throwing it over his arm as he exited his office.
“Anything about what?” He eyed me over his shoulder.
I kept quiet and followed him to the elevators, trying to remember if not telling anyone about our night together was one of her rules. I didn’t think so, but I hadn’t been one hundred percent focused on the words coming out of her mouth at that point.
If Eve had told Liv, then she hadn’t let Jack in on it yet. I was sure he would give me a fair amount of shit about my one-night stand if he’d known about it.
“Are you back to fighting again? I swear to God it’s like you two are my and Olivia’s children and we have to tell you to go to your separate corners until you can work out your differences.”
“No. We’re not fighting,” I said, regretting asking him in the first place. I should have just kept my mouth shut.
“Then what is it?” he asked, climbing into the elevator.
I hit the button for the lobby and shrugged, deciding if Eve hadn’t told Olivia yet, then I should keep my mouth shut.
“Forget I said anything.” The elevator lurched and Jack narrowed his eyes at me. I avoided his gaze, trying not to look guilty.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
His eyes shot daggers in my direction.
“I swear! Everything is fine. I’m happy Eve will be there.” I stepped out of the elevator and toward the exit as quickly as possible, eager to get to the bar so I could see Eve.
“You’re acting strange.”
“Perfectly normal.” I cleared my throat.
The best defense was a good offense, which meant it was the perfect time for a change of subject.
“Can we talk about how you called Liv your wife, a minute ago?”
His serious face cracked into the smile that only showed up when he talked about her.
“I take that stupid grin on your face to mean married life is going well.”
“Splendid. Now that all the planning and party madness is over, we can relax and enjoy it. We leave for England next week.”
“That’s right. Excited to show her the motherland?”
“I haven’t been back in a few years. I think I’m just as excited to see everything again as I am to show it to her.”
“Is it weird that I don’t give a damn about going back to California? I’d rather go somewhere I’ve never been. New York feels more like home to me than my parent’s house ever did.”
I hadn’t grown up close with my parents, who were both so invested in their careers that they rarely took the time to remember they had a son. My nanny had more of a hand in raising me than my parents did. Once I’d graduated from UCLA, I’d moved across the country, giving my parents the perfect excuse to never visit. I knew they wouldn’t have come to see me in California either, but at least now that I lived thousands of miles away, I could pretend that was the reason they didn’t come.
Jack slapped me on the shoulder as we walked toward the Dead Rabbit, our favorite place to grab a drink after work. “No, mate. It’s not weird. It feels like home to me now, too.”
I stuffed my hands into my pockets as we walked, jingling the keys to my apartment. The sidewalks were swarming with people, going every which direction. Grateful for the distraction of the crowd, I attempted to get out of the funk this conversation with Jack was putting me in.
Jack pulled open the green-trimmed doors, and I followed him into the packed bar. I caught sight of Olivia’s wild curls to our left.
“Over there,” I half-shouted, leading the way to the table the girls had grabbed.
My heart pounded as we pushed through the crowd. My stomach dropped, disappointment winding through it when I saw Olivia was the only one at the table.
“I thought you said Eve was coming.” I slouched into the booth, turning to frown at Jack, who just shrugged and leaned down to kiss his wife before sliding into the seat next to her.
