Page 40 of On One Condition

Like mother, like daughter in their eyes.

The music is low and the chatter is loud, so I just smile and wave cattily to Judy to let her know I see her shooting daggers my way.

“She’s such a bitch,” Nita says as she slides onto the barstool across from me.

“She is. Her problem, not mine.”

“You want to know what else is a problem?” Nita asks, but the mischief in her eyes tells me something is going on.

“What?”

“You sitting here, checking the door every few seconds to see if a certain someone is going to walk through it.”

“You’re so full of shit.”

“You didn’t deny it,” she says with a knowing smile.

She’s right. I didn’t, because I have been checking the door every time it opens, both wanting and not wanting Ledger to walk through it.

Our almost-kiss from the other day is etched in my mind, replaying on a loop.

“It’s not a crime to want to see him.”

“Clearly,” I say.

“And it’s okay to wonder if the chemistry is still there, which . . . for the record, it is.”

“Thank you for the observation.” I take another sip of my wine and stare at Judy until she looks away again. “I have chemistry with a lot of people. Besides, isn’t it normal to still have it with someone you’ve been attracted to in the past?”

“Not so sure on that one. Nice try, though. In my personal experience, I’d rather stab my exes with a fork in their eyes when I’m done with them, not stand in a game closet and lie when you tell him you don’t want to be kissed.”

“It was not a lie.”

“Whatever you say,” she says, clearly not believing me.

And she shouldn’t. Because no matter how many times I tell myself I don’t want him, I’m still pulled right back into that connection with Ledger we had years ago when I see him.

“Look, it’s completely okay to forgive him for whatever his father did that night. We don’t blame kids for their parents’ actions, right?” She lifts her eyebrows, unknowingly tapping into the thoughts I was just having.

All I can do is shake my head. “Touché.”

“And if you believe the flip side of the coin and that Ledger did, in fact, cheat on you, play you, what have you, you can always chalk it up to the past and forgive him.” She smiles wide and waves to someone over my shoulder before turning her attention back on me. “You guys were young. Naïve. I don’t know. People change with experience. They mature and become more considerate.”

“Are you sure we live in the same town because a lot of these people here haven’t gotten any better—in any respect—with age.”

“True.” She laughs and holds her hands up in acknowledgment. “I stand corrected.”

“At least you admit it,” I say.

“I do, so long as you understand that it’s completely okay to want to take Ledger up on his offer to catch up. To talk. The two of you can be Cedar Falls outcasts together.”

“Funny.”

“I try to be.” She flashes me a dazzling smile.

“Why are we having this conversation again?” I groan. “Haven’t we talked about this ad nauseum?”

“Then stop mind-fucking it and fuck him instead.”