Liv chuckled. “Well, that’s something. What about Will? The guy you’re bringing to the wedding?”
“About that.” I sighed. “Will reunited with his ex-wife, so I had to call an audible and invite someone else.” Will and I had really just been friends. Most of our ‘dates’ were wine drenched outings where he talked about missing his ex. I wanted to help him reconnect with her because I could see how much he still loved her, but my advice had worked so well I’d lost my wedding date.
“Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Ryan.”
“Wait, isn’t he the football coach? I thought we didn’t like him.”
I shook my head. “No, that was Bryan, and we definitely don’t like him.” Bryan had coffee breath and was still reliving his glory days as a high school quarterback. Perhaps that would have been cute in my early twenties—endearing even. But at nearly forty, I would have preferred to have a pap smear than talk about sportsball of any kind. “Ryan is the guy who works for Gibson Guitar. I went to dinner with him last week.”
Her eyes widened. “The one that looks like Matthew McConaughey who took you to Kayne Prime?”
I flashed her a salacious grin. “That’s the one.”
Liv gave me an approving nod. “We love a man who skips the coffee date and takes you right to a steak dinner.”
“That we do,” I agreed. “And he’s hot. Like fry an egg on his chesthot.He was perfectly nice and super respectful, but there’s something missing. The chemistry just isn’t there for me.”
“Sometimes it takes a while for love to bloom into something amazing.”
I snorted. “Says the woman who fell in love at first sight with a fucking rockstar. Excuse me if I don’t believe you, Cinderella.”
“Yes, there was an instant attraction with Jax,” Liv said, “but love came with time.”
“Like two weeks,” I challenged.
She opened her mouth as though she were about to say something but closed it.
“Even after all these months, your eyes still turn all gooey like the center of a fucking cinnamon roll any time you talk about Jax.” I smiled at my best friend looking all glowy and happy. “I want to be a cinnamon roll again. Actually, maybe I just want a cinnamon roll. I’m starving.”
“You know you don’thaveto bring a date. I don’t want you to feel like you have to bring someone you’re not excited about,” Liv said gently.
I knew I didn’t have to, but the idea of going to Liv’s wedding alone and being offered a pity dance by one of the guys was more than my pride could bear. Ryan was cute enough, and hey, maybe Liv was right about love blooming and all that.Probably not, though.
“Mom, I’m getting a goat.” Grace saved me from my thoughts as she approached with a tiny brown and white goat in her grasp. “Isn’t he cute? His name is Ralphie.”
Liv’s eyes turned even mushier as she cooed and made over the disgusting animal.
“I’m pretty sure you can’t sneak that on the plane.” I gave her a pointed look, and Ralphie screeched in agreement.
Grace laughed. “Don’t you want to pet him, Mom?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Alright, everyone!” The perky yoga instructor right out of a Lululemon catalog clasped her hands together at the front of the class. “We’re going to get started now.” Grace placed Ralphie on the grass, but he stayed glued to her side as she unfurled her yoga mat beside me. I side-eyed the little shithead as the instructor continued on. “We’re going to start in Child’s Pose and focus on our breathing. We want to find our center today. And some cute goats, of course.”
The class giggled, and a couple of the goats screamed. I watched Lulu contort her body, her legs tucked beneath her as she extended her arms, and I did my best to emulate her. I watched while Ralphie chewed on the tip of Grace’s ponytail as she stretched her arms to the top of her mat.
Ralphie stopped mid-chew as though he were assessing me with his beady little eyes.
“Listen here, Ralphie. You better keep your bleepin’, bleatin’ ass over there,” I whispered loudly.
Liv swallowed a laugh beside me.
“Wonderful,” the instructor said. “Now, we’re going to transition into Tabletop, but we’re still concentrating on our breathing. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.”
“The last thing I want to do right now is breathe,” I muttered, following Lulu’s lead.
