Janie (The Casanova Club #15) - Ali Parker Page 0,1

It groaned in greeting, welcoming me back, and I swiveled it around to tuck my legs under the glass-top desk. I rested my elbows on the desk, tucked in close to my keyboard, and pressed my chin into my palms as I stared at the last image I’d clicked through before I got up to close the blinds.

The image was an edited black and white shot of Piper and Wyatt from their wedding. I was in the picture too. To the right of the frame, I could see myself laughing, my head thrown back, my eyes closed, Piper’s bouquet in one hand and the little clutch I’d worn with my lipstick, makeup wipes, emergency stain remover, safety pins, and other “in case the bride needs it” items. Even though the source of my laughter hadn’t been caught on camera, I knew exactly who was responsible for making me laugh like that—unabashed, worry free, uncaring of the camera snapping shots every two minutes.

Max Fisher.

As soon as his name rolled through my head, I clicked away from the picture to a new one of Piper’s parents on the dance floor. This picture was safer. It didn’t make me feel anything except a swell of happiness for them.

After all their struggles with the restaurant, things had finally settled for them. They were no longer drowning in debt, thanks to Wyatt and his steadfast commitment to getting them back on their feet and reminding them at every turn that they were family now and that was what family did for each other. It took a little while for Piper’s father to come around to the idea of letting a much younger man step in and save their family business but now he and Wyatt were thick as thieves. Six weeks after the wedding her parents had sold the old restaurant in New York. Two weeks after that they sold their house. And two weeks after that they hopped on a plane and moved to Texas. Piper told me all about how overwhelming the ranch house was while her family crashed with them until they could move into their new place in the city, eight blocks away from the new restaurant Wyatt had purchased for them. I still hadn’t been there yet and seen it with my own two eyes, but Piper had sent me pictures, and the place looked truly beautiful. I could only imagine how much lighter and joyful her parents were, especially now that they would be close by when their first grandbaby was born.

Everything was as it should be for my dear best friend.

But not for me.

I sighed heavily. I resented the self-pity and the gloomy clouds that had set up residence in my heart and mind this last year. After Piper and Wyatt got married, I knew things would change. There was no possible way my life could stay the same as it had been, and back then, as I watched Piper get married, I didn’t want it to be the same because that would mean Piper didn’t get her happily ever after.

But what about my happily ever after?

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at myself. There was more to worry about than just a happy ending. The promotion I’d always dreamed of had fallen into my lap at the Casanova Club when Jackson Lee put me up in my own private office and made me the Coordinator of Events and Bachelors. It turned out that was a loose title because I also operated as the office manager. It was a lot more responsibility than my previous post as Jackson’s assistant had been and the money reflected that. I was making more than I ever dreamed was possible.

And yet happiness eluded me.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” I told myself as I exited out of the photos I’d perused through over the last half hour and signed back into the office administration program. “You’re exactly where you’ve been trying to get to for the last five years.”

I needed to get a little perspective.

Yes, my best friend had moved to another state. And yes, I was much more alone here in New York City than I’d ever been. And yes, things were going to change even more once Piper and Wyatt had their baby.

But I could handle it.

Right?

My phone buzzed and skidded a couple of inches across my desk. I reached for it, turned it face-side up, and smiled at the picture that filled the screen as the call came in from Piper