A Love Letter to Whiskey

Jamie begins to pull away after this discussion, and he never comes to Pittsburgh, but he and B spend time together during her one visit back to Florida. During a stressful week at the end of her internship, Jamie tells her that he needs to talk. B promises that they can but then leaves her phone at her desk to have lunch with River, who encourages her to take a break. B knows that River is attracted to her but appreciates that he doesn’t treat her any differently as a professional. When they get back to the office, there is a small surprise party that reveals that B has been hired as an associate literary agent.

On her way home, she picks up a nice bottle of whiskey to celebrate. When she calls Jamie later that night, he sounds desperate and tells her that he wants her to come back to Florida; he has been looking for publishing jobs for her in Miami. When she tells him that she is staying in Pittsburgh, he tries to strategize about how they could have a long-distance relationship. However, B feels that the timing isn’t right. She knows that she is at least partially in the wrong and acting on pride, but after their phone call, she realizes that Jamie never even congratulated her on her new job. They don’t speak again for months.

B’s career becomes the most important thing in her life, and she ends up spending most of her time with River, who is no longer her boss. He often invites her out for drinks with their coworkers, but she always refuses, still stuck on Jamie. While at home with a bottle of wine, B calls Jenna, who asks if B needs to hear the truth about her relationship with Jamie. B agrees, and Jenna tells B that she has been self-sabotaging and needs to reevaluate her priorities, especially given that Jamie wants to put effort into their relationship. B realizes that her best friend is telling the truth and that she needs to get over whatever is keeping her from Jamie, which Jenna believes is B’s complicated relationship with love due to her parents’ relationship. B agrees to come back to Florida to figure out where her relationship with Jamie is going.

As B arrives in Florida, she feels like she is finally getting her life on track. She goes to a bar to wait for Jamie, where a woman named Claire flirts with her. After B politely turns her down, Claire tells her about her best friend, Angel, who is on the other side of the bar with the man she has been dating for four months: Jamie. B rushes out of the bar but stumbles, and she hears Jamie call her name. He follows her to the parking lot, where she fights with him about Angel, as she knows the timing of this new relationship coincides with Jamie asking B to be in a relationship. B accuses him of cheating, and Jamie calls her selfish, saying that he is finally happy. B tells him that she hates him as she leaves. Nevertheless, she knows that Jamie is right, and she fears that she is as cruel as her father. She catches a flight back to Pittsburgh that night.

B lets herself dwell on Jamie and her life choices for three days, during which she concludes three things: She is where she wants to be in her career, she is like her father, and she never knew the full truth of what she and Jamie meant to each other. Three months later, Jamie finally calls B and apologizes for how he spoke to her in Florida, asking to be friends. 

B’s life improves over the next year, as she has more life-work balance, and her friendship with Jamie remains strong. After a year at Rye Publishing, she gets a promotion. Shortly after, Jamie calls to tell her that he is getting married. B gets drunk at a bar later that night, where she runs into River.

B tells River about Jamie’s engagement and how he asked her to be his “best lady” at the ceremony. River consoles her, and she ends up kissing him and taking him to her apartment. As they have sex, B can’t help but compare everything about River to Jamie. 

Seven months later, B and River have a casual relationship that she uses to help her avoid thoughts of Jamie. However, as B prepares to throw Jamie’s bachelor party in Florida, she finally faces her thoughts about the wedding. She recognizes that Jamie’s love for another woman hurts her and that she is going to miss him once he is married, but ultimately, she is happy for him.

When B meets Jamie at the airport in Florida, she knows that he could easily break her heart if they became romantic again. B feels uncomfortable in Jamie’s Jeep, seeing traces of Angel everywhere. Later, when B walks into the country club where the rehearsal dinner is being held, everyone stares at her. Jamie’s family is warm to her, but Angel, who meets B when Jamie arrives, seems bothered by how close they are. As B watches the ceremony rehearsal, she feels sick and knows that she can’t settle for friendship with Jamie, especially once she gets a gift from Jamie that recalls one of their inside jokes.

Jamie invites B out that night for a drink, but she lies and says that she has things to do. Instead, she goes down to the bar in her hotel to drink whiskey alone. B is surprised when Jamie shows up, having predicted that she would get bored and go have a drink. Jamie knows that B is not okay with the wedding; she doesn’t deny it, but she says that she will stand by him and not leave. Jamie admits that while he does love Angel, he also still loves B and doesn’t think that will ever change. The conversation lightens in tone, and Jamie invites B to go surfing before the bachelor party tomorrow. He reveals that he bought her old surfboard when her mother sold it, and B is ecstatic.