ANYA
There are some things that only an impromptu Girl’s Night can fix. Clearly I’m not doing such a great job untangling the great Law mystery on my own. So Ariana and I are hanging out at one of my favorite bars.
It started out as my favorite because it was close to the office and cheap. Now it’s my favorite because Jessi bartends here and makes me killer drinks whenever I’ve had a crappy day.
Jessi leans over the bar to shake Ariana’s hand. “It’s great to finally meet you. Anya has told me a lot about you.”
Ari glances over at me. “She’s told me about you, too.”
Jessi laughs. “You don’t have to dance around it. Yes, I’m the girl who felt up your friend’s husband back in the day. It’s weird, I know.”
I grimace, forgetting that I’d told Ari that story. Granted, it was a long time ago and way before Mya and Milo got together. But still, I didn’t mean to put Jessi on the spot.
Awkward.
“Sorry. I forget sometimes how small our world really is.”
Jessi starts making my usual drink. “It’s all water under the bridge now. That was before Mark figured out that he can’t live without me.”
Her fiancé must feel his ears burning because he looks down the bar to where we’re sitting. He winks at Jessi. He’s a big hulking guy that towers over her petite frame.
“How did you convince Mark to take a chance? He used to be so grumpy.”
Jessi shrugs, a private smile on her lips betraying how happy she is with said grumpy guy.
“You can’t make a man realize what’s good for him. You can show him what he’s missing by living your life. Either he’ll get on board or he’ll miss out.”
Ariana takes another slurp from her drink. “I like her.”
“Me too.” I look over my shoulder and then almost fall off my barstool. “Oh my god. Casey!”
She flings her arms around me in a crushing hug. I’m so overwhelmed that for a moment my head spins. We worked together side by side for a while before we started hanging out as friends. I’m so used to having her around that I didn’t realize how much it threw me off my game once she left.
“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?”
“I still am on my honeymoon.” She smiles prettily.
Ari wolf whistles. “She used to be so sweet and innocent. What happened?”
Casey sticks out her tongue. “I’m still sweet. But Andre likes me a little dirty, too.”
With that declaration, Jessi slides her usual drink across the bar. “This is on the house. For the newlywed.”
Casey takes it gratefully. “Thanks, Jessi. Anyway, we decided to come back because my mom had an accident at work. She’s totally fine but I wanted to check on her for myself. We decided to continue our trip a little later closer to Christmas. Andre wants to show me how Italy does the holidays.”
“That’s so romantic. Plus, it means we get to have you here for a little longer.”
Ariana makes a rude noise.
Casey elbows her. “You missed me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Casey laughs and rests her head on Ari’s shoulder. “I love you too, crazy lady.”
Jessi leans over the bar. “This is perfect timing. We need a third opinion since Anya won’t listen to us.”
Betrayed, I put both my middle fingers up. Jessi loves that, grinning widely as she goes to serve another customer a few seats away. “Tell her the whole story,” she yells over her shoulder.