Luck of the Irish (Holiday Heartbeats #3)

Chapter 1 (Nhu & Jack)

N: Hey, Mari. I guess you saw the results.

Congrats, hon!

M: Thanks. But it feels

like a hollow victory now.

I'm so sorry, Nhu.

N: Yeah, well. What's done is done.

Don't go making a big deal

out of it. This is just what I deserve.

M: Don't you DARE lie to yourself!

That guy is a fool, and if you'd

told me what he'd done sooner,

I really would have found a way

to mess up his pretty-boy face.

Nhu sighed, rubbing her temples to deflect a migraine from forming. She really didn't need to have this conversation right now. Her breakup with Jack was too fresh, and no matter how messed up it felt to admit it, Nhu still had feelings for him. He'd been trying to call and text her ever since she found the courage to break things off with him two weeks ago; she was proud of herself for not giving in and responding to them. She even found the courage to block his phone number. Still, she missed him. How could Nhu expect her best friend to understand how conflicted her feelings were at a time like this? Her heart heavy, Nhu returned to the conversation.

N: Believe me, Mari, Jack is messed up enough.

He feels like crap and he's actually sorry.

As strange as it sounds, he's really just

afraid of disappointing his father.

M: Ok, so that doesn't make it right

that he convinced you to be his

side piece for nearly two whole years.

N: Ouch.

M: Well, it's true. No real man would

hide his relationship with the woman

he claims to care for and respect.

It's hard for me to understand

why you're even standing up for him.

N: Well, all men can't be Dante.

And if I recall, he wasn't always

such stellar material right out the gate.

A minute or two passed before Nhu realized that Mari wasn't going to dignify her unnecessary attack with a response. Their friendship was solid, and it was partly due to Marisol's ability to deescalate tense moments that had the potential to snowball into drawn-out conflicts. They were a perfect match because when Nhu was in a mood, she had a tendency to instigate petty verbal confrontations to distract her from the real issues at hand.

Deep down, she knew that failing the exam wasn't Mari's fault, but it was hard for her not to be jealous of her best friend. Mari had snagged a promise for employment at her dream job even before she received her bar exam results. Her boyfriend Dante Cole had been her secret crush for years, and he practically worshipped the ground that both Mari and her mother walked on. And here Nhu sat, all by her lonesome, with no job prospects, no boyfriend who would publicly claim her, and a bowl of quickly cooling soup. Yep, life was just peachy.