Page 98 of Bastard Bartender

EVETTE

“Okay, just stop it now. This is getting too real,” Marie says as she plops on my bed.

I pull a shirt off a hanger, fold it, and place it in my suitcase. “I know, but this is just the first visit. I’m not moving right away. We have to go sign the paperwork, and then I’ll need to find a place to live. We’ll still have time to hang out before I move for good.”

“No! Don’t say it like that. I’m still hoping you’ll get there, and Madison Square Garden will turn out to be a shithole that no one goes to, so you’ll change your mind and stay here.”

I laugh, knowing the Garden is one of the top venues in the United States, so what she’s hoping for has zero chance of happening. Plus, Manhattan is the greatest city in the world. There’s a reason most movies and books take place there. It has everything you could ever want.

Well, except one thing …

I shake my head and try for the millionth time to not think of Nic.

It’s been a hell of a two-week period. I’ve never had so many things change in my life so fast.

After I left Nic in the hospital, I called Tom immediately and gave him my answer. Yes, I love Vegas, and I’m going to miss Marie terribly, but my career is important to me. I need to do this. I can’t give up my life for a guy who won’t even try to save his own life for me. If I didn’t mean enough to him for him to at least understand why I didn’t want him putting his life in danger, then I need to move on.

Working at Madison Square Garden is something I’ve only imagined in my wildest dreams. That’s not even climbing the corporate ladder; that’s smashing through that glass ceiling like it’s a piñata, and getting to live in a place like Manhattan is all the candy that falls along with it. In a few years, if I do a good job and I want to resettle, then I’ll have my pick of any venue to work at.

I look at Marie though, and my heart aches still. I’ve grown to love this town more than I ever thought I would, and Marie has a lot to do with that.

“I’m going to miss you something fierce. You know that, right?”

She pouts. “You can still stay. We never finished your experiment. I quite enjoyed being your wingwoman. We had some fun times. What am I going to do without you?”

“Maybe settle down with Sammy and spend more nights wrapped in his arms?” I tease with a shrug.

She throws a pillow at me. “He’s in on this, isn’t he? Does he secretly know someone in New York who helped you get this job, so I’d stay in with him every night?” She narrows her eyes, and I just laugh.

I toss the pillow back at her. “You’ll be fine. You lived without me before I moved here.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t as much fun. I was getting a kick out of our alphabet game. It gave me a purpose for our nights out.”

I close my eyes and chuckle to myself when I think about the dates I had with our little game. I met some nice guys and some not-so-nice guys.

Then, I met Nic.

I let out a deep breath and move back to my closet to grab more clothes. “I’m gonna need layers in the city. The girl from Southern California who moved to the desert is not quite prepared to dress for the four seasons.”

She seems to sense my diversion in the conversation because she tilts her head and softens her gaze. “Have you talked to him at all?”

She doesn’t need to clarify who she’s talking about, and just the thought of someone else saying his name feels like I’ve been stabbed in the chest all over again.

I shake my head and fold my cardigan. It’s green. I used to love the color green.

She stands and comes over to me, putting her hands on my arms from behind me. “Are you going to be okay?”

I turn to face her, fighting tears. I’ve cried enough about him, and I don’t need any more tears to fall.

Yet they do anyway.

She wraps her arm around me, and I accept her hug wholeheartedly. I need all the support I can get right now with this move … with Nic … hell, with my life.

As she pulls back, she gives me a caring grin and heads toward my bathroom to get me a tissue. I take the moment to wipe my cheeks and shake the sad for myself vibes away and put on my I’m moving to a hot new city vibe.

As she hands the tissue to me, she asks, “How much longer until your flight?”

I glance at the clock. “I’m taking the red-eye.”