CHAPTER265
I sigh for the hundredth time as I sit across from Leila and Sarah in a small booth of a trendy little cocktail bar. I
feel like crap. I don’t want to be here, but the force that is Leila not only whipped me into a dress and heels, and a
face of make-up, but also cajoled Sarah out with us too. Sarah is in complete awe of this sassy, little whirlwind and I can tell, Sarah really loves her, like everyone else who ever meets her.
“Sex on the beach?” Leila blinks at me innocently. I blink back, gulping, instantly incredibly awkward.
“What?” My head immediately zooming to the week Jake took me to the Caribbean and I flush with both the memory and the heartache.
Why the hell would Leila be asking me this right now?
“It’s a drink, Emma.” Sarah cuts in cupping her hand over mine. She’s still being the gentle and sweet maternal one; still anticipating my moods, mothering me. Meanwhile, Leila is being a rather bossy and domineering little pest.
“Get that look off your face, by the time we leave I’m going to have you smiling and pissed. Broken hearts are cured with lots of delicious alcohol and you know … the quickest way to get over a man, is to get under a new one.” She winks naughtily, grinning, as my stomach hits my ankles and a cloak of dread passes through me.
This was so not a good idea. Leila is completely nuts.
Leila shoves Sarah’s hand back from the top of mine with a rather sassy eyebrow raise.
“Stop molly coddling her. She’s made of much tougher stuff and this new all teary Emma is not a good look. I swear if you don’t suck it up a little for one night I may have to get my whip out.” Leila’s words hit me, almost like a slap, and I try to ignore the whip thing, wondering how serious she really is.
She’s goddamn right! I am not someone who sits and cries their way through life’s upsets. I’m stronger than this.
I also think that secretly, Leila is really a sadist.
I lift my chin and paste a defiant smile on my face. Meeting Leila’s approving wink instantly, her nod of pride at the show of my old self.
“Yes, sex on the beach all round!” I chirp up, trying to sound brighter, my heart trying desperately to push down the resistance and tears. Sarah regards at me a little warily before shrugging and leaning back into her chair with a resigned look on her face.
“Why not? Been ages since I had to get through a shift with a hangover.” She shrugs."
