“Barely.” Natasha hit Penelope’s number and put the phone to her ear. “Pen? Yeah, hi. Set up that meeting and email me the details. Thanks.”
When she put the phone down, Kevin and Lori gave her guilty looks. Their hands were in the watermelon, mint, and feta salad. They were eating it with their fingers.
“Sorry,” Lori mumbled around a mouthful of watermelon. “All this drama makes me hungry. You got any popcorn?”
Natasha growled and handed them forks. “Fuck it, just eat out of the bowl. How is it?”
“Delicious,” Kevin said through his own full mouth. Watermelon juice dripped down his chin.
“Great.” Natasha sat at the counter and covered her face with her hands. “I have to quit.”
A full glass of rosé appeared by her elbow.
“Will it really be that bad?” Lori asked, scooping forkfuls of orzo salad out of the bowl and into her mouth. “By the way, this could use a little more lemon, if you have it.”
“In the fridge.” Natasha sat back and lifted the wine glass. The first had gone straight to her head, but she no longer cared about her resolution to stop drinking so much.
Kevin answered for her. “It’ll be bad. Dimitri will lose his shit when he sees her dancing with Rocky, and I bet you anything Donna thinks sticking Rocky and Tash together will cause some fireworks, and maybe even give them cause to fire you next season anyway.”
Someone knocked on the door and Natasha groaned. “Now what?”
Lori gasped. “What if it’s Rocky?”
Natasha shook her head and slid off the high bar stool. “It’s Manny. He was going to come by earlier to scrape one of the bathroom door hinges that got painted over.”
“This is better than HBO.” Lori tasted the shrimp salad and her eyes rolled back in her head. “Oh god. This is to die for.”
“Let me try.” Kevin approached with his fork.
Natasha went to open the door, her thoughts buzzing. If she could film the final piece she’d been working on and get it edited before the meeting, she’d be in good shape. With her mind on her choreography reel, she pulled open the door and froze.
It wasn’t Manny.
Gina threw her arms in the air and yelled, “Surprise!”
45
A flood of emotions kept Natasha’s feet rooted to the floor.
Surprise, for sure. Gina was supposed to be in Alaska or New York, not Los Angeles.
Shock, since she’d expected Manny.
Shame, because everything in her life had fallen apart since Gina had left, and she didn’t want Gina to know how messed up everything had become.
Fear, that Gina would judge her.
But overwhelming them all wasjoy.
Her friend was back.
And then Natasha’s feet were moving, crossing the threshold over the apartment, and she and Gina were crushing each other in a tight bear hug.
It wasn’t until her breath hitched that Natasha let herself feel how much she’d missed her friend.
Gina’s familiar embrace, the scent of her shampoo, the way she squeezed before letting go, grounded Natasha in a way nothing else had in the past few months.
When they eased back, they were both wiping the corners of their eyes.
