I glance up, and Low flies over and wraps an arm around me, and I do theintroductions.
“You’ll have to meet my wife, Baya,” Bryson offers. “I know she’dloveyou.”
“I will for sure.” Lowsaluteshim.
Bryson takes off to meet up with the rest of his party, and we head back to where Raven and Lex sit atthebar.
“You’re looking good, big bro.” Raven gives my legs a slight kick. “I talked to Chip. He said things were better between you two. Is it true? Or is he just feeding me a line to keep me out ofhishair?”
“He was feeding you a line.” I try to hold back the smile, but Low gives me a hard pinch in the ribs so I go with it. “Of the truth. I think Chip and I finally squared everything away. Or at least I’m hoping we did. Time will tell. But I thinkwe’regood.”
“Wow.” Raven gives a wistful shake of the head to her best friend. “I guess you were good medicine after all.” Her eyes widen, and she gets that mischievous look on her face I’ve seen one too many times before. Raven hops up and steps in close, her breath slightly tinged with alcohol. “I have a tiny confession to make.” She giggles to Low. “That day you called and said your life fell to shit? Well, I could have easily allowed you to stay at my penthouse, but I just knew you needed someone, and my ice cube of a roommate was the last person who could give you comfort. So, I thought about it.” She turns my way. “And I knewyouneeded some comfort, and I wish to God I could have been there for you more, so I thought why not send you the next best thing? My very best friend, Harlow Hartley.” She bites down hard over her bottom lip, her eyes filling with tears. “I knew fireworks would go off fast. And deep down, I was rooting forjustthat.”
“What?” Both Low and I shout over the music at the very same time. There’s no way Raven just said what we think she did. Not after riding us hard—warning us to not even glance in the other’sdirection.
“You heard me.” She presses her fists to her hips. “I simply implemented a little reverse psychology—you can’t have this—don’t touch that, and before I knew it, the two of you were glued at the hip.” She frowns over to Low. “And when you sent me those bogus texts about Evie, you really threw me. Lucky for me, I had an ace up my sleeve, someone willing to snap pictures of Evie when you weren’t looking. I knew you were bullshitting me from the start when you sent me those picturesofLex.”
Low gasps. “Who rattedusout?”
Raven looks to me and gives a little shrug. “Mer. Don’t get mad. We’re still friendly. And I want to be. She happens to be the mother of my favorite little niece. I plan on playing nice for a verylongtime.”
“Mer.” I look to Low andfrown.
Low shakes her head at Raven. “I don’t know whattosay.”
Raven takes a step back toward the bar. “Just say thank you!” She laughs as she falls back into her seat nexttoLex.
I press a kiss to Low’s lips and nod toward the band. “How about you and I hit the dance floor?” Usually I’d be the last person to be anywhere near a dance floor, but I think I’ve got this next dance down to ascience.
“Really? Is this some sort of grand reopening miracle? Because I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you boot scoot your way out of the dancing vicinity for the last fewmonths.”
I belt out a laugh. “Let’s just say you have the power to make me do things I wouldn’t normally do—and that’s a good thing.” I take her by the hand and lead her all the way down to the heart of the dance floor just as a song is finishing up. I flag the lead singer down with a wave, and he winksmyway.
He leans into the microphone as the girls around us sigh. “We got a request tonight for something a little old school. Hope youenjoyit.”
That familiar tune rips through the speakers, and Low jumps up and down as if she just won thelottery.
“‘Key Largo’!” she screams so loud a few other girls join in just for the hell of it. “Who do you think requested that?” She gives a quick look to the bar, then back at me. “Did youplanthis?”
“I may have had something to dowithit.”
“You!” She latches her arms around me as we begin to sway to the music. “This is why I love you. You’re full ofsurprises.”
I frown playfully at the idea. “Why am I suddenly hungry forbrownies?”
“Because I’ve trained you well. That’s not the only Pavlovian method I’ve got up my psychological sleeve. Your sister wasn’t the only one paying attention in our psychclass.”
“Dulynoted.”
“And speaking of all that higher education I went through the trouble of getting—is there any chance I could put it to good use around hereagain?”
“I’ve already put a desk in the officeforyou.”
She gasps. “Really? I’m pretty sure I’ll have zero use for it—but hey, that’s pretty cool! You’re just full of surprises tonight,aren’tyou?”
“You could say that.” I reach back into my pocket and pull out thebigsurprise I’ve been holding close to the vest the entire day. “Somethingforyou.”
“What’s this?” She takes the paper and unfolds it. “What?” she squeals before wrapping her arms around me tight, and I rock her as we hug it out right here on the dance floor. “Two tickets to Key Largo? Are you kidding me? I’ve never been! This is going to be amazing.” She wipes the tears from her eyes. “When do weleave?”
