You Had Me at Merlot [ Chaennie ]

Chapter 3: I'm Attracted to Interesting People

"Gorgeous," Jennie murmured to herself, clutch held nervously at her side. Her high heels were already chafing the backs of her feet, but she could ignore all that for the beauty of the space in front of her. The private room on the rooftop level of the Driskill Hotel was clearly designed to impress and did. With its floor-to-ceiling windows and opulent crystal chandelier, Jennie felt like she'd been dropped into a fairy tale as she arrived at the cocktail party in celebration of her friend Simi's engagement. Sometime in the next year, Simi would become Mrs. Abel Tesfaye and join all the other married people in the happily ever after club. She had seen much less of Simi since Abel had appeared on the scene, but that was okay. Her friend was happy, and that was the main goal. Tonight, they'd raise a glass in honor of the newly engaged couple in a setting that had turned out to be much fancier than she'd expected. Jennie's eyes went wide as jumbo shrimp, lobster crostini, and brisket poppers were whisked around the room by astute servers along with trays of wine, every shade one could imagine. Oh, and what were those little cocktail glasses with sprigs of rosemary propped against the side of the glass? She'd have to investigate further. The foodie in her celebrated.

After taking in the scene, Jennie scanned the room for Clarissa, realizing quickly that she'd arrived first. That was okay. She chatted happily with the mutual friends she recognized, enjoying herself until the inevitable record scratch.

Jennie didn't actively cringe when she crossed paths with too many people, but her ex-girlfriend Talia Ryder made the top of the list. Unfortunately, they still ran into each other every so often, despite the size of the city. Symptom of sharing friends prior to the big, bad breakup. In their case, the relationship had ended over three years ago. Yet it was becoming clear that Talia was likely going to be a permanent fixture in Jennie's life simply due to social proximity.

As a plan of action, Jennie forced herself to forget about the ugly breakup, after which Talia had immediately taken up with their good friend Lara and bought a damn Goldendoodle, the same breed Talia knew Jennie had always adored. She'd gone on to flaunt the new relationship in Jennie's face until it had thankfully ended, too. Talia, with her overly highlighted blond hair and big green eyes, was an attention seeker who was often rewarded with throngs of it. She was likely on her fifth or sixth girlfriend since Jennie. But who could keep count? If anything, that circumstance should make Jennie feel better about the bullet she'd dodged. Nothing personal, right? Just another ex-girlfriend to Talia, a number. Except Jennie walked away from every Talia interaction feeling like a very small and undesirable insect. Talia's gift.

"Look! Jennie is here!" Talia said, scurrying over and leaning in for an air-kiss. "Sweetheart, this is Jennie, um"—a pause—"Kim. Yes. Where is my mind these days?" She added a flippant laugh.

"Hi." Jennie smiled at Talia and her sweetheart du jour, refusing to wince at the name stumble that was in all likelihood an intentional mistake made to belittle. They'd lived together for a year and a half, and now Talia couldn't come up with her last name? Par for the Talia course. "Nice to see you both."

When she'd received the invitation to the engagement party, she'd known there was a likely chance of a Talia sighting. She'd strategically selected her royal-blue fit-and-flare cocktail dress that showed off her shoulders, which Jennie was convinced were her one truly stellar feature outside of her smile, which she was proud of as well. "This is cute," Talia said, thumbing the fabric near her thigh.

"Thank you. Just something I picked up."

"Jennie's great with a sales rack," Talia told the sweetheart. Only the dress hadn't come from one. Jennie had saved up for it. Another jab landed by Talia.

Luckily, she had Clarissa arriving shortly for backup. Please hurry. She scanned the busy room for any sign of her best friend, who had a similar distaste for Talia Ryder. Clarissa would quickly rescue her or go to battle in her honor. No sign of her yet.

"How do you know Talia?" the stunning brunette sweetheart asked. She was about five inches taller and Jennie felt every damn one of them.

"Oh, we lived together a very long time ago."