Chapter 54

Winnie

“Hello, Winnie! Nice to see you!” Rebel

holds up her glass for me with a big cheer. She has switched places with Logan to sit on my left side when I walk up to the table.

Alice, however, isn’t sitting down. She

stands up from her seat and gets this

sparkly look on her face before coming to hug me. “Winnie!”

“Hi!” I hug her back. “How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?”

Before I can answer, Nathan speaks. “Here she comes, my biggest rival in love: Winnie. I swear there is a romance going on here…” he sighs but hides a smile.

“Happy to see you too, big guy,” I tell him and pat his shoulder. “Have you gotten

thinner?”

He snorts. “Shut up! I’m working out harder than ever!”

I grin. “It shows—I’m just teasing!”

People around the table snicker, including Logan. I feel welcomed sitting by the large

table the Plaza Hotel has assembled for us.

“Oh, and since you wondered, I’m feeling pretty okay,” I inform Alice and beam at her. “Mark won’t be joining us, though. He needed to take care of something urgent.”

“We saw,” Alice sits down beside me, grimacing. “But you’re fine, right? We kind of assumed it was a friendly date anyway.”

“Oh, it was,” my eyes flicker to Jake, whose cold expression turns less icy after hearing

me confirm I’m not into Mark.

Interesting…

“I

It hits me then that Jake was probably mad because I told him, “I don’t date nice guys, and then I went here with Mark. He must

have been so confused, thinking I was a

hypocrite.

on with the celebrations?” Kelly, who I’ve never met before, says in a rather bitchy tone. “I would like for us to

drinks.”

confused by the other woman’s attitude, before

claps her hands, and Alice looks at me questioningly. I shrug at her-I don’t know why Kelly dislikes me.

all negative energy and jealousy and focus on my

to have fun.

***

a bar. The hockey guys I don’t

not cuddling with

is drunk out of her mind. She is finally

got a

Nathan. He has

and her legs are dangling down from

for Rebel and Logan, they are doing shots. by the bar. And Kelly? She is drunk, clinging to Jake’s forearm and talking shit about

this idea that

currently busy ignoring her. He called a cab for

perfect for me.

Kelly is gone, I will confess my feelings. Mark said Jake and Kelly weren’t exclusive or serious, and I

it. So I wait. I order shots with Rebel and

fun,

Rebel smirks at me.

drinking, I told her of my plans, and now even

know he has options.”

thickly. “Okay, here

course for the corner of the bar. Jake is talking to some girl, and my heart pounds faster and faster. Can I do this? Yes. Yes, I can! Even though it’s scary…

now. It feels like my blood is boiling when he is in the same room or paying me attention. I’m

this unwelcome flip, and by some miracle, I steer

forward.

him.

mouth.

who are you?”

but Jake beats me to it by saying, “Winnie, my best friend!

There you are!”

into a hug and lifted up from the ground while the girl stares at us. I’m shocked. The girl is shocked. And once

and wrap my legs around him like

can’t help but laugh. “What did you do that for, you dork?!”

to you, so

chest speeds up. I’m speechless. I

I stare at him. Eyebrows lifted, and a

beating really

realizes that we are practically hugging. My hands are on Jake’s broad shoulders, eyes locked onto his face. I don’t know what to say or where to go, and

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