My Favorite Mistake (A Love Like That #4) - R.L. Kenderson Page 0,13
out there.
“Aww, Griffin’s holding Madeline’s hand,” Christina said when she looked down at our hands.
I rolled my eyes and tried to drop his hand.
He seemed determined to hold on because his grip tightened.
“When are you two going to date already?” April asked.
Oh jeez, April, not tonight.
“I just downed half a beer. Griffin wants to make sure I don’t trip and fall down,” I joked.
“Shall we go then?” Christina asked.
“Let’s go.”
We walked out of the building, and I gave my best friend a look once we were outside.
He smiled at me, so I felt like maybe my mishap wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
But Griffin still held my hand the whole way down to his bar.
Eight
Madeline
When we got to My Favorite Place, Griffin immediately went behind the bar, which I supposed was inevitable. And despite the lecture I had given him earlier in the night about not working, I was kind of relieved he had split from the group.
Casey came out from behind the bar when she saw us and held out her arm. “Right this way, birthday lady.”
I raised my eyebrows.
She dropped her hand. “Just come with me.”
I laughed, and the five of us followed her. In the corner was a round booth that fit several people. It was the only one in the bar, and on top of the table, it had a sign that read Reserved.
“Griffin dropped us a text and told us to make sure the booth was yours,” Casey explained.
“Aw, that was sweet of him,” Christina said and slid behind one side of the table.
Everyone else followed until I was last. I took a seat at one of the ends.
“What can I get everyone?” Casey asked. “I’ll make up your drinks and have one of the servers bring them over.”
The group put in their orders, and then Casey turned to me.
I leaned close to her. “I’ll just have a water,” I whispered.
She put her hand to her ear. “I’m sorry. I can’t hear you.”
I quickly glanced at my friends. I didn’t want them to hear me, and thankfully, they weren’t all staring at me, waiting for me to answer. “Water,” I said a little louder.
“Water?” Casey shouted.
I sighed as all four sets of eyes turned to me. “Yes.”
“And what else?”
“That’s it.”
“Okay. It’s your birthday.” Casey turned and headed for the bar.
April tilted her head. “I thought you were staying at Griffin’s tonight?”
“That’s what I planned,” I said, playing with my purse zipper. It wasn’t a lie. It was what I originally was going to do.
“Then, why are you drinking water?”
“And you gave me half your beer at the last place,” Troy chimed in.
I lifted my hands in surrender. “I simply need to hydrate a little. I’m thirty now. I don’t recover from hangovers like I did when I was twenty.”
JJ frowned in confusion. “Don’t you mean twenty-one?”
“Yeah, that too.”
“Well, don’t drink water for too long, or you’re going to lose your buzz,” Christina said.
That’s the goal.
I gave her a thumbs-up.
“How’s the wedding planning going?” I asked to change the subject. “As a bridesmaid, I keep waiting for you to call me up to do stuff.”
“Ooh, yeah, fill us in,” April added.
“My sister…” Christina looked up at the ceiling and back to her. “I love her. I really do. And most days, I’m thankful she offered to plan the wedding.” She put her hands out and cupped them until they created a circle. “But sometimes, I want to strangle her.” She started shaking her hands as she clenched her jaw.
I bit my lip as I tried not to laugh. “That bad, huh?”
Christina sagged as she dropped her arms. “I said no chocolate cake because Troy’s mom is allergic. That’s it. No chocolate. We could have any other kind, but it’s like chocolate was the only option once I said it was a no go.”
“Sorry, babe,” I said.
She sighed. “It’s fine. Sometimes, I just have to put my foot down.”
At that moment, Casey brought our drinks over and handed them out. I picked up my water and swallowed a couple of big sips.
After Casey left, Christina started telling April a few other things about her wedding that I had already heard about. While April wasn’t in the wedding, she had been invited and seemed very interested in what Christina had to say. Maybe she was going to plan her own wedding soon.
I was sitting, relaxed, enjoying the moment, when two drinks were plopped down in front of me.