Page 64 of Back in the Saddle

But that day was a poutine day, for certain.

The girls all had drinks, but they ordered food when I did, and the server took off.

I launched in.

“Eric told me we’d talk last night, but I heard nothing from him. I thought he was playing games, and that’s bullshit. So I texted him.”

“He didn’t text back?” Harlow asked, looking and sounding deflated.

“No. My text barely took off before he phoned me.”

Harlow’s face lit up with a bright smile.

“We then got into the heavy, as seems our usual,” I went on. “We talked about Eric’s ex-wife?—”

“Eric’s been married?” Luna asked, and she was looking and sounding shocked.

I nodded. “Big time chef. And crazy bitch. She didn’t want to lose him. But she also didn’t want a healthy marriage. She wanted him hanging in the wings while she worked on her professional dreams every waking hour of the day, not even connecting with him by replying to his texts. And she expected they’d hire a nanny when she popped out his kids. Eric wasn’t down with that, so he ended it before they had any kids.”

“Sheisa crazy bitch,” Luna agreed. “I mean, I get being into your career, but is the woman blind?”

Eric was a lot more than just gorgeous.

Awholelot.

Which was part of my current shitty mood.

“Then we got to talking about Jeff,” I continued.

They all leaned in to hear me share more about my beloved brother who I’d never shared much about.

I couldn’t freak out about that. I had to get the Eric shit out of the way so I could focus on finding said beloved brother.

“And I got overwhelmed by it. I didn’t want to share that with him, so I hung up on him.”

“Oh, Jessie,” Harlow murmured.

“Nope,” I said. “That’s not the bad part. The bad part is, I went into my zone so I could deal and get to the other side of it. And while I was doing it, Eric showed at my place.”

“Oh, Jessie,” Harlow chirped on an audible happy-clap.

“He picked me up, got in bed with me and held me, and we got even deeper about Jeff and life. And I started crying when he told me Jack did right by Rose in sacrificing himself for the chance she’d survive.”

“Holy shit,” Raye whispered.

“Yeah, that was when I started crying,” I stated.

“I didn’t think you were a crier,” Luna noted.

“I’m not. But, bitch, when I told him he didn’t have to come all the way over to my pad to be with me in my shitty zone, he said Jack did right by Rose in sacrificing himself. What was I supposed to do with that?”

“I’m not a crier either, and that’d make me cry,” Luna replied.

“It doesn’t make me cry. Jack totally could have gotten on the door with her,” Harlow said huffily. “I mean, they barely eventried.”

I ignored Harlow. She was totally a happily-ever-after-at-all-costs girl.

“Right,” I agreed with Luna. “So, he’s open, has no trouble sharing, doesn’t regret his divorce because he loved his wife, and said he’d regret not giving it a shot with a woman he loved. He listens. He’s great with silence. And I fell asleep in his arms in my bed.”

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