Page 50 of The Sacrifice
“Yes, I did.” She winks and gives me the sweetest smile that makes my heart skip a beat.
Andrew lifts his beer to his lips. “You two are good together. I’m feeling a little jealous. I want an adult relationship where the woman gushes over me and can’t keep her hands to herself.”
Mia’s eyes light up. “How about Riley?”
“No.” He throws his hands in the air and luckily keeps the beer clutched in his hand, so it doesn’t crash onto the floor. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Andrew and Riley, sitting in a tree–”
“Fuck off.” He flips Mia off.
I’ve won the lottery. My best friend doesn’t hate me. I have a kickass girlfriend and an adorable baby. Life can’t get any better than this.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Several Days Later
Mia
After we walk to the end of the bar, Jackson rubs my back. “Are you sure you’re okay being here?”
The place is loud but not obnoxious. That probably depends on the time and day of the week. It’s our first date night, with Jade watching Hadley. We won’t be out long as neither of us is ready to be away from her for any length of time.
This is my first time at Callahan’s Bar. I wasn’t into the college party scene and then I moved out East. The building is a large rectangle with a bar along one side, a stage and dancefloor on one end and the rest is seating for the bar and restaurant.
“Yes, it’s fine.” I eye him up and down. “Unless you plan to take a woman to the bathroom and screw her.”
“Only if she’s you.” He kisses my temple and wraps his arms around me, causing goosebumps to scatter along my flesh.
Yeah, Ms. Mature and Responsible would do Jackson in the bathroom. “That could be arranged with the proper motivation.”
When his friends asked to meet me, he was leery about coming here in case I got upset about where Hadley was conceived. I can’t lie. I do feel a twinge of jealousy. But it’s not some tragic love story where he’s still pining for her.
He was dumb, screwed a waitress, and never saw her again until she dropped off the baby. Besides, he’s not that person anymore, and I wasn’t yearning for him from afar. The past is the past.
Jackson smiles and nods at someone behind me as I turn to see who he’s greeting. Well, whoever it is, he’s definitely a football player. He’s big and handsome as sin.
“Tony, this is my girlfriend, Mia Bennett. Mia, this is Tony Timmerman.” Hearing him call me his girlfriend warms me from the inside, like a molten lava cake baking in an oven–warm and gooey.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Tony grabs my hand. His handshake is firm and quick. “This is my wife, Jenna.”
After we finish our introductions, we slip into a booth. They make a stunning couple with their down-to-earth American good looks and comfort with each other.
Tony rests his arm on the back of the seat, playing with a strand of Jenna’s hair. “So, you’ve known Jackson since he was a kid?”
“Yes. We met through my brother, Andrew. He was at our house almost as much as I was.”
Jackson smirks. “And she thought I was a loser.”
I give him a shitass look. “You were.”
“Burn,” Tony chuckles as the waitress stops and takes our order. “Jenna and I knew each other growing up, too. I was her brother’s best friend. I was obsessed with her but too much of a pussy to say anything. We lost a lot of time apart over it.”
“Babe.” Jenna grabs his free hand off the table. “You almost ruined our future, and we would’ve never had kids together.”
“I know,” he sighs heavily and stares at their clasped hands. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“No. I don’t think I can.” Her eyes dance with merriment as she bites her lips together.