Ms. Bitch: Finding happiness is the best revenge.

by Tricia O'Malley

  “You are?”

  “Oh, I’m so in,” Owen said, leveling her a heavy look that had Tess’s insides turning liquid.

  “Ohhhhh,” Tess breathed, blinking at him.

  “Yes, yes, yes! Let’s all go. That’s it, it’s decided. I declare it so,” Cate insisted and despite her misgivings, Tess found herself agreeing to a trip to New Orleans.

  As she snuggled into bed that night, the dogs curled at her side and the buzz of whiskey pulling her into sleep, Tess blinked when her phone lit up with a message from Owen.

  I see you’re on Tinder.

  Oh yeah? Did you swipe on me? Tess chuckled at her boldness.

  Guess you’ll have to swipe back to see.

  When no more texts arrived, Tess bit her lip as she considered what to do.

  “Screw it.” Tess swiped through the app until she found Owen’s grinning profile picture. Swiping on him before she could think, she giggled as the message popped up.

  It’s a match!

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I can’t believe Owen’s coming with us. This is going to be a blast,” Cate crowed, all but dancing through the security line in her eagerness to get the trip started.

  “It’s going to be fun,” Tess agreed, even though her stomach had been turning with nerves all morning.

  She and Owen had been lightly flirting via text messages for the last few weeks, and while Tess enjoyed the attention, a part of her knew exactly what this would be: a mild fling to scratch an itch. Or, if she was to be honest with herself, someone who would get her through one of those first after-divorce hurdles – another man touching her body. Owen was… well, he was Owen. She knew he had a strong commitment to never ever settling down. Coming from a broken home, he’d eschewed long-term relationships for the easier lifestyle of love ’em and leave ’em. Which she reiterated to Cate once again.

  “Which is perfect,” Cate insisted as they walked toward their gate. “You aren’t ready for a relationship anyway; you’ve said so yourself. Owen’s a nice guy, you know he won’t gossip about you or hurt your feelings, and you can have some fun. Is that possible? Can you just have fun with him without catching feelings?”

  “I think so. I mean, I’ll admit, I’m attracted to him. Or the idea of him at least. Or maybe, I might just be starving for some attention and he’s giving it to me right now. But, yeah. It doesn’t matter in the long run, since I’m moving to Colorado.”

  “Which I hate you for, but I’ll be out to visit you all the time.”

  They were going to go over the marriage settlement agreement when she got home. It all sounded so legal and final, and the man who had once been her husband now seemed a stranger. “I need out. Vicki still won’t speak to me, and if it wasn’t for Chad letting me text message with David, I wouldn’t have any contact with my nephew at all. The house will be gone, family dropping out of my life, friends picking sides – it’s just not the place for me anymore,” Tess admitted. They found a spot at the breakfast bar where they could see Owen approach, and promptly ordered sandwiches and mimosas.

  “It’ll be a fantastic fresh start for you. It’s crazy though, isn’t it – how things change when you go through tough stuff?” Cate asked, clinking her glass against Tess’s.

  “I guess I had just thought I’d lose my husband and the house. I wasn’t expecting to lose family and a few friends along with it,” Tess said, annoyed at the friends who had fallen to Gabe’s side, even though he’d been the one to lie and cheat. “But I’ve been through this before. People don’t handle trauma well. I remember when I lost my parents in college… it was like an entire group of friends that I thought were my girls suddenly disappeared. I was too… sad for them to be around. And I get it. We were young, everyone wanted to have fun, nobody wanted to deal with real life stuff. And real life Tess was messed up in the head over their deaths.”

  “What was Vicki like then?”

  “Even more controlling, if you can believe it. She swooped in and tried to take over all my finances, the choice of guys I dated – even my career choices. She’s mortified that I’m writing romance novels.”

  “But you love it so much. You’ve worked really hard for your career. I think she’d be proud of you,” Cate said, tucking a curl behind her ear.

  “I don’t know if she’s proud of me. I think she feels like she needs to force me into the life that she thinks my parents would have approved of. Then she’s done her job somehow? Paid a debt to them? Either way, she barely acknowledges my career even when I’ve told her repeatedly how happy I am and that I’m so lucky to have found something that I love doing. For me… just for me.”

  “I think people fear what they don’t understand,” Cate said. “And Vicki, well, she’s not a creative. She understands the corporate world, not the creative. Making a living as an artist is likely her own worst nightmare.”

  “I suppose I can see that. But who’s to judge what is successful? If I’m happy, I can pay my bills, and I manage my career all on my own – isn’t that a good measure of success? Why does it have to be done her way? I bet if I’d gone to law school, like she wanted me to, she’d be raving about me.”

  “I suspect that would have made her happy.”

  “And my parents would have been proud of me.” Tess shrugged.

  “I’m proud of you. I think you’re incredibly badass for teaching yourself to write books, to go out on a limb and start your own business – it takes courage. And to put yourself in the court of public opinion is not easy, my friend.”

  “No. No, it is not,” Tess admitted. “But I feel like I’ve grown a tougher skin. Kind of. It depends. I have days, that’s for sure.”

  “We all do.” Cate scanned Tess’s face with worry in her eyes. “Will you be okay on this trip? Like, I know I kind of sprung it as a surprise, but you wouldn’t go if it hurt too much, right?”

  “Like I said, thick skin.” Tess smiled and squeezed Cate’s arm. “I even booked us at my favorite hotel, because it’s a great place to stay and easy to get around the city. It’ll be fine. We’re going to have a kickass weekend, I’ll erase Gabe from the city I love, and it’ll be a few more steps forward.”

  “Speaking of steps forward, how about some leaps and bounds for down there,” Cate said, motioning to Tess’s pants before waving to where Owen was sauntering toward them.

  “Right, yes, about that,” Tess said, suddenly nervous.

  “Oh, shush. It’s not like you’ve never been with a man before, jeez.” Cate laughed at her.

  “True,” Tess said, smiling at Owen.

  “And when in doubt, a few cocktails should loosen you up.”

  “On it,” Tess breathed, shaking her glass at Cate and laughing.

  The tell-tale sounds of New Orleans greeted them as their taxi rolled into the French Quarter. On one corner a ragtime band danced and played the washboard, on another, a woman offered up delicious grenade drinks.

  “Don’t drink the grenades,” Tess cautioned, seeing Owen’s attention caught.

  “Bad?”

  “Horrible alcohol and loads of sugar. Not worth the hangover.”

  “Duly noted,” Owen said, brushing his thigh against hers and smiling. All day, he’d been touching her, grazing her hand on the plane, leaning over her to look out of the window. Though her nerves had escalated, she’d been playing it cool. As the city she loved enveloped them in her warmth, Tess tried to push memories of what had been into the past.

  “Is this the hotel? It looks awesome,” Owen said as the taxi rolled to a stop in front of a lovely gray hotel with arched doors, beautiful wooden balconies, and green shutters framing the paned windows. Gas lanterns framed the doors, and a bellman approached their taxi.

  “It is awesome,” Tess said. “It’s a great location because it’s not on Bourbon Street, but central enough that we can walk everywhere we want to go. We can even walk to the concert tomorrow night.”

  “Perfect,” Owen said, and they got out and
greeted the bellman, waving away his assistance as they all just had carry-on bags. Walking into the grand lobby, Tess chuckled at a woman draped across a man’s lap, already clearly a few drinks too deep in her day. They stepped to the front desk, and Tess gave her name. She’d booked through their website, finally agreeing with Cate to book two separate rooms instead of a suite where they all could stay. While she and Owen hadn’t exactly had a conversation about the room situation, it was implied they would be staying together.

  “Mrs. Campbell, so lovely to have you both join us again. We took the liberty of upgrading you as you’ve stayed with us several times before. Your room is on the fifth floor, and Ms. Linden’s is on the seventh. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you during your stay.” The pretty woman behind the counter beamed at her and Tess smiled numbly back, realizing they’d assumed Owen was her husband. Nerves kicked low in her stomach as she berated herself for booking here. There were so many other hotels they could have stayed at.

  “It’s a great hotel,” Cate said, having been there for Tess and Gabe’s wedding weekend. “Don’t worry about it. That rooftop pool is killer. We can float there and laugh about everything when we’re hungover tomorrow.”

  “Okay, you’re right. It’s fine,” Tess said, taking a shuddering breath in and then smiling brightly at Owen. “All good?”

  “Let’s get this party rolling,” Owen said, smiling at her, seeming to communicate with his eyes that everything really was going to be just fine.

  “I’m going to go to my room and unpack, change, and all that. I’ll meet you guys in your room in an hour? We’ll go explore?” Cate asked, and then mouthed at Tess behind Owen’s back, ‘Is that enough time?’

  Tess rolled her eyes.

  “Yes, perfect. Let’s hit the streets and explore.” No way was she having a quickie with Owen. She needed more time. And liquid courage. Thank goodness, New Orleans was a drinking town.

  The elevator deposited them on their floor and with a cheeky wink from Cate, they walked down the corridor. A corridor that looked decidedly familiar. Tess gulped back a lump in her throat as Owen counted down the rooms, heading unerringly toward where Tess had a sinking suspicion they’d been upgraded to.

  “Hey, look, it’s the Tennessee Williams suite,” Owen said. Of course, the hotel had to ferret out her name among the thousands of people that booked regularly with them from their online booking engine and deposit them in the same room. She was sure they’d thought they were doing something sweet at the time, and while she could applaud their customer service, her stomach wanted to unload itself all over a beaming Owen. He took one look at her face and paused.

  “Uh-oh. Is this bad? Tell me,” Owen demanded.

  Another couple was strolling toward them, and the last thing Tess needed to do was fall apart in the hallway, so she silently motioned for Owen to open the door. He did so, ushering her into the room.

  A corner suite with two bathrooms, a grand living room, and a huge wrap-around balcony, the Tennessee Williams suite was what New Orleans dreams were made of. With windows that ran from ceiling to floor in the living area, and a balcony that showcased the best of street buskers below, it invited the essence of the city directly into the room. Now, as she stood here with Owen, she wondered how stupid she had been to decide to come here.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m your friend, first and foremost. Talk to me,” Owen said, guiding her inside the room and sitting her down on a green velvet sofa. From there, she could see directly into the bedroom where a king-sized bed was piled high with pillows and a bottle of champagne chilled on the sideboard.

  “We came here for our five-year anniversary. About six months ago,” Tess said, twisting her hands in her lap. “As in, here. This room. Gabe upgraded us without me knowing it.”

  “Ohhhhhh.” Owen drew the word out in one long syllable and then looked the room over with a keen eye. “And the hotel automatically upgraded you to it again.”

  “Yup,” Tess said, looking down at the floor and wondering what kind of batshit crazy this man would think she was.

  “Well, then,” Owen cleared his throat, “looks like we’ll have to have all sorts of fun in this room. Replace some bad memories with good.”

  “Wha…” Tess gasped as Owen pulled her off the couch and all but tossed her on the bed, pouncing on her so that he straddled her. On the king-sized bed. The one she’d lain in with her husband. Never in a million years would she have predicted she’d be here again, this soon, with another man.

  She doubted anyone could have.

  Too nervous to think, Tess sank into Owen’s kiss, letting his touch soothe her nerves, reveling in the feel of another man’s body on her own. It was weird, after being with someone else for so long, to taste another man’s lips, to feel the weight of his body, inhale the scent of his aftershave. Despite her misgivings, Tess began to feel the tension leave her as a more pressing need arose.

  Pulling back, Owen grinned at her.

  “This room is beyond fantastic, and we’re going to have a blast this weekend. I know it’s ridiculously weird for you right now, but we’ll do our best to help you. And I’m going to do my best to make this your most delicious stay in the hotel yet.”

  At that, Tess laughed so hard that tears ran down her face. She silently thanked whatever angels were looking down on her that she had some pretty amazing people in her life.

  “You’re awesome, Owen. Thanks for not freaking out on me, I know this is pretty weird.”

  “I love weird. Let’s make it weirder. I’m going to do all sorts of naughty things to you this weekend, Miss Tess. But we don’t have enough time before Cate comes down for happy hour. So let’s get the party started and as they say here… Laissez les bons temps rouler.”

  Tess raised an eyebrow at him.

  “You’ve been practicing that.”

  “For weeks.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The weekend blurred into one of those perfect extended moments of fun, and Tess never wanted it to end. They laughed their way through the French Quarter, dancing on the street, poking their heads into various odd stores and bars, and even taking a late-night dip into one of the many dance clubs that dotted Bourbon Street. As they stumbled their way home the first night, laughing the whole way, Tess barely realized they were walking in front of where she’d gotten married to Gabe until she saw Cate casting a few weird looks at her.

  “Oh.” Tess stopped and gazed into the courtyard where she and Gabe had promised to love each other forever.

  Seeming to understand, Owen wrapped his arm around her waist, and Cate hugged her from the other side. They stood in silence for a moment while Tess just looked, breathing it in, and said a silent goodbye to her past. It was going to be okay, she realized. Maybe there was some good to coming back here, to visiting the ghost of herself from five years before. Even then, she’d been nervous about the marriage. Looking into the courtyard now, she forgave herself for not trusting her gut sooner. So she’d picked the wrong man for her. Hell, at least she’d tried.

  “I don’t care what Vicki says,” Tess said suddenly, startling her friends. “This wasn’t a failure. I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, and I’ve learned a hell of a lot. More to go, for sure, but I’m going to look at this as a lesson I needed to learn. Maybe the hard way, maybe not the way Vicki wanted me to learn it, but it’s my life to live and my lesson to learn.”

  “That’s my girl,” Cate said, and they danced their way down the street, leaving her wedding venue exactly where it needed to be.

  Behind her.

  Back in the hotel, when Owen tumbled into bed with her, Tess didn’t even blink. She had enough whiskey coursing through her to feel bold and, channeling the inner badass bitch that her new purple hair called out in her, she’d pounced on him, delighting in exploring a new man and the beginnings of a new life. True to his word, Owen made sure she had all sorts of fun in the bed, on the couch, and in the shower. Certa
in she’d have bruises in the morning, she’d collapsed into the best sleep she’d had in months, only awakening when she heard the insistent buzzing of her phone the next morning.

  “What time is it?” Owen grumbled from the bed next to her.

  “Dunno.” Tess squinted one eye at the phone. “Almost one.”

  “Shit. We need food and the pool. It’s too hot to walk around hungover,” Owen said, heading toward the bathroom while Tess blinked the sleep from her eyes and tried to ignore the headache that pulsed between her eyes. Stretching, she felt the tenderness between her legs, and smiled to herself, pleased that she’d finally moved past the first big first after Gabe. It gave her power, she realized, to make these choices again.

  You’re in New Orleans with fucking Owen?

  Are you fucking kidding me? OWEN.

  You stupid bitch.

  I can’t believe you’d fuck Owen in our town.

  I knew you’d slut it up, but I can’t believe you’d be such a dumb bitch to do it with Owen.

  That guy is such a dick. A total pansy.

  You’d fuck him? After me?

  Tess blinked at the tirade of anger that washed through her phone, message after message detailing, repeatedly, what a dumb bitch she was.

  “What?” Owen was standing naked in front of her.

  “How does Gabe know we’re here?” Tess asked, glancing up from where she was still scrolling through all his messages.

  “I posted the photo of the three of us at the bar last night.” Owen shrugged. “Is it a big deal?”

  The photo had just been the three of them leaning in together, raising their glasses to the camera.

  “Not to me, it’s not.” Tess looked down at where her phone buzzed again. “But someone has his panties in a twist.”

  “Fuck him,” Owen said, and tossed her phone across the bed, diving onto her and tickling her, causing Tess to start laughing.

  “You’re absolutely right, Owen. Fuck him.”