Her Best Men

“You could?” I asked.

“Well,” Mom said. “You haven’t mentioned a girl to me since that horrible ex of yours. I knew this one must be special if you were telling me about her.”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “She is pretty special.”

“Then—” Mom began, but I stopped her quickly.

“I have to get going,” I said. “Work is just nonstop right now, Mom.”

“Okay,” Mom said. “I understand.”

“I’ll see you for Christmas,” I said. “Love you.”

“I love you too, honey.”

I could tell my mom didn’t want to get off the phone. She was constantly worried about me. She thought I worked too much and too hard. She insisted that I didn’t have enough of a life. It probably made her so happy to find out I was seeing someone. And now, I’d disappointed her yet again.

With a groan, I left the conference room. Marcy was still sitting at her desk. She looked at me nervously when I approached.

“Cancel the Richardson contract,” I said simply. “Send them the confirmation and then go home.”

“Go home?” Marcy asked.

“It’s the holidays, Marcy,” I said. “You deserve a break.”

“Thank you,” Marcy said. “But, I don’t mind.”

“I insist.”

Marcy smiled and nodded. She immediately went to work on the Richardson paperwork. I left the office without another word.

My drive back home was slow and exhausting. In just a few days, my entire world had crumbled around me. Julie hated me. Josh wasn’t speaking to me. And my company was teetering on the brink of ruin. I felt like there was nothing I could do to make things right.

I got home and went straight to bed, tucking myself under the covers and blocking out the world. I slept most of the day, happy to have an excuse to turn off my brain. Still, when I woke up that night, Julie’s face was the first thing I thought of. No matter what I did, I couldn’t stop missing her.

CHAPTER 25

JULIE

Saturday morning came too early. Andrea was passed out on my couch, but I hadn’t yet made it off the living room floor. My head ached from all the wine we drank and, yet, the hangover still didn’t hurt as badly as the memory of what happened with Michael. I could still see him leaving the night before, disappearing out my front door without a backward glance.

Andrea tried to convince me to call him. By the time we opened the second bottle of wine, she was convinced that my love for Michael was real. She pushed me to forgive him, saying that it would only make me happier if I did. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to make the phone call. As much as I still cared about him, I wasn’t ready to face him yet. I didn’t know if I would ever be ready.

“Good morning,” Andrea mumbled when she saw that I was awake. “I need water.”

“On it.” I slowly got to my feet and grabbed two water bottles out of my fridge. I tossed one to Andrea. She groaned as she opened it and took a long sip.

“I hate hangovers,” Andrea said.

“This isn’t so bad,” I said with a shrug. “I’ve had worse.”

My mind returned to thoughts of Michael. I remembered waking up beside him after his company Christmas party. My head was resting on his chest and, even though it was pounding from the alcohol, I had never felt more comfortable. Just being with Michael used to be enough, but now, I wasn’t sure.

“How are you feeling about everything?” Andrea asked. She sat up slowly with another groan.

I shrugged. “I’m fine, I guess.”

“Have you thought any more about calling him?” she asked.