Reckless Abandon (November Blue, #2)(49)

I ignore them both.





Chapter Twenty-One



“That was a great set, guys. Awesome work tonight.” I chug water backstage at Finnegan’s, grateful that I’ve made it all the

way to Saturday night without having to talk to anyone about Ainsley and Bo. Judging by Rae’s appearance in the crowd tonight,

however, I know my grace period is over.

After a few minutes of anxiously winding my mic cord, I look up to find myself alone with Regan. Josh hasn’t said much to me since

the concert. I guess that’s to be expected; Monica seems to be his barometer for interactions with me lately.

“Nice work yourself, Ember.” Regan stares at me for an uncomfortable amount of time.

“Regan, I’m fine...really.”

“That was intense, Ember. After you left ...”

“Nope,” I stop him. “I have zero interest in the rest of that sentence. I don’t care what happened or didn’t happen. I saw

what I saw with Ainsley, he knows about Adrian, it’s all settled.” I nervously tie my hair into a disastrous bun.

Regan’s shoulders sink with his long sigh.

“I see Rae’s here. I should go talk to her,” I cut in before he can tell me whatever was going to follow that sigh.

“Yeah, enough ignoring us—I gave you two days, I can’t do any more.” Monica busts through the door, Rae in tow.

Regan kisses Rae on the lips before excusing himself to the bar, leaving me alone with the firing squad.

“I’m sorry for ignoring you guys yesterday,” I start.

“No, you’re not. But you’re lucky I only called once. This one forced me to leave you alone.” Monica gestures to Rae.

“I don’t want to talk about what happened at your house, OK, Rae? Bo and I both said things...look, I just don’t want to talk

about it. We’ve proven over the last several weeks that we can’t be friends.”

“Ember, stop,” Rae ceases my rant, “I just wanted to tell you that I get it. It’s all-or-nothing with you two, and nothing

seems to be winning right now.” Her face isn’t as sad as the words she just let out. My brow crinkles for a second.

“OK, well, thank you. I don’t want things to change between us, though ...” I walk toward her.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Rae smiles and gives me a hug.

“Anyway, let’s talk engagement party. It’s going to be here, the Friday of Fourth of July weekend. Rae, you’ve gotta come.

Also, Mon, I told Pace to come.”

“Pace Turner? How is that gorgeous *?” Monica laughs.

“He’s good. Dropped out of medical school and is making, quote, a ‘shitload’ of money, working for the company that owns The W.

He lives there too; one floor above Adrian, of course.”

“Of course,” Monica snorts.

With all of my fires currently contained, I’m able to enjoy the rest of the night with my girlfriends, thankful Rae’s still on

that list.



*

The next two weeks fly by with ease. Well, relative ease. I’ve been busy splitting my time between organizing Monica and Josh’s

engagement party and spending time with Adrian. Our arrangement has been seamless thus far. He spends Sunday and Monday nights with

me, we enjoy a decadent goodbye on Tuesday morning, and we see each other again Friday evenings.

My time at DROP has been uncomfortable at best. While Rae, Monica, and I have worked well together, few words pass between Bo and

me. And, when they do, it’s typically in the form of email. I’ll update him on grants I’m pursuing, and he’ll send me info on

ones he’d like me to investigate. That’s. It. Except for the part that nearly every other day Ainsley Worthington and her clacky

heels grace the halls of DROP when she brings Bo lunch. It’s not lost on me that he rarely goes out to lunch with her; but that

detail only makes me grin as far as naive Ainsley’s concerned.

I, however, play a different game. It’s no game at all, really—Adrian just never comes around here. There’s no need for him to.

If he did, it would be a clear sign that I’m trying to rub Bo’s face in something that I’m not. I’m happy with Adrian. Just a

few years older than we were when we first dated, things are much smoother. Each of us are more confident in who we are as people;

physically and emotionally.

Today is the dedication for DROP’s community center. I’m thrilled with how it’s turned out. Rae took me on a final tour

yesterday, and the place is beautiful. As we stand inside the office—me, Monica, Rae, Bo, Carrie, David, and other DROP employees

—it dawns on me that this is the last day for a long time that I’ll spend in Concord. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t paid

attention. I let out an audible sigh, and everyone except Bo turns briefly in my direction. He knows. Monica discreetly squeezes my

fingertips. She knows, too.

“Thank you all for coming today,” Bo speaks into the microphone, while the rest of us stand to either side of him. “The tireless

hours put in by the people standing here with me have brought this center to life. A special thank you goes out to Carrie,