Page 576 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“It doesn’t matter now. Too much has happened. We had our little fling, decided to move to California together, and then he left. No calls, no texts. He just disappeared. Got sucked back into his work. I don’t have room in my life for someone who cared so little about my feelings that he couldn’t be honest about what he really wanted.”

“I get that. Did you ever ask him why he went radio silent?”

“Not exactly.” I run my fingers over the wood grain on the top of the bar. I recount the conversation that we never got a chance to finish and let out a groan.

“Let me guess. Guy problems?”

Startled, I turn my head to the right, meeting the knowing gaze of a gorgeous redhead. Her eyes sparkle, and her lips are curled into a smirk.

The guy next to her rolls his eyes and snickers into his beer. “Smooth, Maisy. Real smooth.”

Maisy gives the guy’s arm a playful swat. “They’re American. I couldn’t resist.”

“You’re American, too,” I exclaim.

“Yep, from Maine.”

“I’m Chloe from California and my friend Lily here is from Vegas. Well, originally from New York, but Vegas these days,” I say, the champagne giving me a serious case of motormouth.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Maisy and this is my boyfriend Cain. You guys here on vacation?”

“Actually, Lily is getting married tomorrow,” I gush. “I’m the maid of honor.”

“Yes, and she’s also in love with the best man,” Lily interjects.

Maisy nods and nudges Cain. “Aha. I was right. It is about a guy.” She waves down the bartender. “Can I get another root beer please?”

I eye Maisy as she sips her drink. She’s got tattoos on every exposed part of her body that I can see and plenty of piercings. A total badass. I love this girl already.

“We had a thing a year ago,” I say. “But it ended kind of badly. I’ve been hung up on him since we broke up and seeing him this weekend…” My voice trails off for a second. “I guess we have some unfinished business to deal with.”

“That’s an understatement. Both of them are still completely into each other but they can’t get over themselves enough to admit it and move forward.” Lily grabs my shoulder. “Don’t you think you should get an answer from him? It’s obviously been bothering you for a long time. Put it to bed and move on,ifthat’s what you want to do.”

I look up and furrow my brow. “What do you mean, ‘if that’s what I want to do’?”

Lily smiles, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Because putting it to bed isn’t what you really want. Putting him to bed next to you is.”

I gasp. “Lil!”

She shrugs. “Tell me it’s not true and I’ll drop it.”

“Sounds like you’re getting a little defensive, Chloe,” Maisy says in a singsong voice. “Listen to Lily and take him to bed!”

“Maisy—"

Maisy turns toward Cain and holds up a hand. “I’ve got this, babe. There is definitely a love connection to be made and I’m here for it.”

Cain groans. “You can’t ever just sit at a bar and have a drink, can you?”

“Never,” she says sweetly, leaning in to give him a PG-13-rated kiss. It’s obvious he’s crazy about her. My heart flutters.

My lips part but no words come out for a long minute. I cover my face with my hands. “I…I can’t deny it. I’m still in love with him.” I peek through my fingers to see Lily’s smile turn into a shit-eating grin.

“Knew it.”

“No way did you?—”

“Of course I did. I’m your best friend. Yes, we have had a few bumps in the road and I know I wasn’t honest with you either. But I saw everything. I just needed you to finally admit it to yourself.”

---