Logan managed to suppress his irritation and smiled faintly at Emily. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t know much about being fashionable about anything.” He guided us inside into his living room. “It’s good to see you again, Emily. Everyone at the firm is impressed with the plans you and Sylvia have made for redoing the offices.”
Emily beamed at him, seeming to have momentarily forgotten the diatribe she had unleashed about Logan when it had just been the two of us. “Thanks. It’s been a challenge, but a fun one.”
I blocked out their conversation and looked past Logan. His apartment was impressive and much larger than his previous one. One wall of the living room was made completely out of glass and offered a stunning view of the skyline of Chicago. The apartment was decorated simply yet elegantly with a modern flair without being cold. There were a good number of people mingling about, and I was instantly glad that I had worn a dress since some of the guests were dressed a lot more formally than I had expected. In fact, Logan was probably the most casually dressed as most of the other men were wearing jackets. I recognized a few people from Logan’s firm as well as some of his acquaintances that I had met before.
My gaze zeroed in on Kristina, who was busy talking to two other women. She was impeccably dressed in a flowing blue dress that cinched at her waist, showing off its narrowness. Her dark brown hair was loose and flowing, and when she tipped her head back to laugh, it rippled down in shiny waves. In that instant, I hated her. I hated her for being with Logan, for having a future with him. My hatred for her was only outweighed by my hatred for myself. I should have been the one by Logan’s side, and I had no one to blame but myself.
“Madison.”
I jerked my head towards Logan when he said my name. I hadn’t realized that he and Emily had stopped talking and were both now looking at me expectantly.
“Um, yes?” I said, unsure if I was supposed to be answering a question.
“Logan asked what you wanted to drink,” Emily said, giving me a meaningful look, which I translated into an order to stop looking so bewildered.
“Oh,” I replied stupidly. I gave them a weak smile, trying to pretend like I hadn’t been lost in my thoughts. I needed to stop being so preoccupied with my jealousy towards Kristina. “I’ll take a glass of white wine. Whatever you have.”
“Are you okay?” Emily whispered when Logan left to get our drinks. “Logan said your name like five times before you answered.”
“I’m fine,” I muttered. “I was just lost in my thoughts.”
“What were you looking—”
Before Emily could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Kristina. I was startled by her sudden appearance since she had been across the room just moments before.
“Madison! I’m so glad you could make it.” She leaned forward to greet me, and I could smell the faint floral notes of her perfume. She turned towards Emily with an expectant smile. “You must be Emily.”
Instead of confirming Kristina’s assumption, Emily just looked at her with an odd expression on her face.
“Yes, this is Emily,” I finally said when she just continued to stare at Kristina with a stupefied expression on her face. “Emily, this is Kristina, Logan’s girlfriend.”
I was glad that I was able to get the word girlfriend out without choking on it. Emily seemed to snap out of her reverie and greeted her with a wan smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kristina.”
“The party is filled with Logan’s co-workers. It’s nice to finally have some people here who won’t drone on about legal briefs and addendums.”
Before either of us could respond, Logan was back with our drinks. He handed both of us a glass of wine before glancing down at Kristina. “Do you need another drink?”
She shook her head as she raised her glass that was almost empty. “I’ll probably be nursing this for the rest of the night. You know me and drinking.”
It was painful to watch Logan slip an arm around her waist as he faced us. “Kristina’s a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. More than two drinks, and she’s dancing on the tables.”
She laughed at his comment. “Just because you can drink twice your bodyweight without even slurring your words doesn’t mean the rest of us mere mortals can keep up with your pace.”
I stared at them as they bantered, feeling sick and telling myself it had been a huge mistake to come. I couldn’t witness their easy affection for the rest of the night without either bursting into tears or screaming in frustration and jealousy.
I turned towards Emily so I wouldn’t have to look at them anymore, only to be confused by the odd look she had on her face. She couldn’t seem to stop staring at Kristina. I tried to elbow her discreetly before either of them noticed. Emily turned to me and blinked.
There were a few beats of awkward silence as none of us said anything. I broke it with the first thing I could think of.
“What do you do, Kristina?” I asked politely.
“Back in L.A. I worked at an advertising agency. Now I’m unemployed and looking for a job.”
“Kristina’s being modest,” Logan said with an affectionate grin. “She was in charge of multi-million dollar campaigns back in L.A., and she has several agencies clamoring for her to work for them in Chicago. She just has to choose which one.”
Kristina rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “I wouldn’t go that far. Logan tends to exaggerate a bit when it comes to my skills.”