Still the One by Harper Bliss

Author:Harper Bliss [Bliss, Harper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Jamie

Let’s talk then.

The message arrived at half past three in the morning. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up and switched on my phone.

It’s now four in the afternoon, and Mac is about to arrive at my home. I’m on edge because while we were texting back and forth to arrange our meeting, Mac also wrote that it wasn’t going to be pretty. I don’t know how to prepare for that—and I’m already so defenseless when it comes to her.

I pace back and forth through the living room, fluffing up pillows, straightening frames on the wall, noticing all kinds of imperfections that I’ve never paid any attention to before.

Mac’s place was flawless—and she used to be so messy. I was the one who insisted on a clean kitchen, especially after one of her disastrous cooking spells. Once in a blue moon, she’d get it in her head to prepare us a meal, her chaotic efforts creating pandemonium in our tiny kitchen.

A shadow crosses the window, but it’s just a passerby. There’s noise upstairs. My landlady, Miss Carol, is probably puttering around in her kitchen. Unlike Mac, Miss Carol is an excellent cook, and she usually makes a humungous portion of something delicious on a Sunday afternoon, always sharing some of it with me.

Even though I can’t really see who’s in the street, I know Mac has arrived. I can feel it—it’s as if I still have a sixth sense when it comes to her. An instant later, the bell rings. I hurry to the door and brace myself.

There are no pleasantries, let alone a kiss hello. Mac waltzes into the living room like a human tornado. It’s only when she’s reached the dining table, a natural stopping point, that she takes a second to glance around. She doesn’t comment on my interior design choices. It’s not why she came.

“Drink?” I ask.

In response, Mac just sighs. “Fuck,” she says, after a few seconds pass in silence.

“I’m afraid I don’t have that,” I joke, because this tension needs to be broken as soon as possible. It hangs too heavy in the air. But it clings to Mac like a second skin and I’m afraid that as long as she’s here, things are going to be very fraught.

“I’ll take something strong.” She shrugs off her coat and tosses it onto the back of a chair.

“Manhattan?” I quirk up an eyebrow. She used to love my Manhattans.

“Sure.”

“Still no cherry?” Oh, fuck. I only realize when I say it.

“No,” Mac says drily.

“Sorry. That was not an inappropriate joke, I promise.”

“It’s actually kind of funny.” The first hint of relaxation breaks on her face, but it’s just a hint, and we have a long way to go.

“I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable.”

The kitchen is at the back of the apartment but not in a separate room, so I can keep an eye on Mac. She walks around, looking around the place. She stops at the wall behind the dining table to look at the pictures hanging on there.

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