Second Chance Mess (Bad News Billionaires #1) - Lucia Jordan Page 0,11

sorry I am. Please come out to dinner with me just once so that I can explain everything.

“I think you should go,” Kate said.

“Are you crazy? You’re the one who thought he was a player who couldn’t be trusted.

“Well, my mind has changed.”

“Let me guess,” I interjected. “The gifts and flowers swayed you.”

“Well, they didn’t hurt,” Kate laughed. “In all seriousness, though, it does look like he’s really trying to sort things out with you. And didn’t you want some sort of closure either way?”

Kate was right. I really did want to know the whole story about what happened that night in the limo.

“I agree with Kate,” Nick said. As if I would expect anything else. “You’re obviously still crazy about the guy and miserable without him. What would you have to lose by going on one date with him to hear what he has to say?”

I hesitated. It seemed like the tables had turned, and now the two of them were all for me getting back involved with Tim. I pulled the phone up to my face and stared at the open text chat.

Okay, I’ll meet you for dinner later this week to talk.

When I hit send, I felt a sudden rush of mixed emotion.

7

*** (Brooke Continued)

“What are you going to wear?” Kate asked when she came into my room the night of my dinner date with Tim.

“Jeans and a T-shirt,” I replied without any emotion whatsoever.

Kate rolled her eyes at me. “Seriously? Jeans and a T-shirt?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Umm, because it’s a date, not a community service project,” she scoffed. “Honestly, I don’t understand you two. It’s like the minute one of you wants to make amends, the other one decides to be difficult and vice versa. I wish you would both make up your damn mind.”

Kate shifted her voice into a more gentle tone as she came to stand in front of my closet with me. I had been staring into the void of clothes for at least twenty minutes before she got there. I hadn’t set out to wear jeans and a T-shirt, but after looking at all of my clothes at least a dozen times over and not really knowing what to expect tonight, I ended up just standing there unable to choose anything. I was afraid that if I let myself think that tonight would be some sort of grand apology and a spectacular showing of how much Tim adored me, that I would be not only overdressed but also crushingly disappointed.

On the other hand, I didn’t want to show up looking like I had just gotten off a cleaning shift at work only to self-sabotage the relationship yet again. I could tell that Kate caught on to my mental dilemma because she eased up on trying to push a party dress and instead coaxed me into a sexier casual outfit.

“Okay, how about skinny jeans, black ankle boots, and a deep V-neck T-shirt that is drapey and thin?

I nodded in agreement. It sounded pretty enough to keep me from feeling bad for myself, but also not too overzealous to keep me from looking like a fool when this whole evening didn’t go as hoped.

After I got dressed, Kate flounced my hair onto my shoulders a couple of times and then put another layer of mascara on my lashes as if I were a teenager who hadn’t quite figured out how to use the mascara wand myself yet.

“Anyone I know would either kill for these lashes or be salaciously tempted by them,” she said as she stepped back and smiled at her mini-makeover work.

“You look really pretty,” she smiled.

“I agree,” Nick said from the doorway to my room.

“Do you ever not agree with Kate?” I teased.

“Only when she tells me that we’re done making love, and I think we should go at least another dozen times or so,” he joked as he came in and swooped Kate up, tossing her legs over his arm and letting her lean her head back as he spun her around until they were both giddy and dizzy.

Nick was a nice guy, and they made a good couple. Annoying at times, yes, but still a cute couple.

“Where are you going to dinner?” he asked as he set Kate onto her feet and then held her steady until she wasn’t dizzy from all the spinning anymore.

“Some rooftop bar in the city,” I answered. “I think it’s called Plethora.”

What a strange name for a bar. It sounded like one of the vocabulary words