Ann frowned. “You know, Maya, you don’t have to be so dramatic about everything.”
“Yeah, right,” Riley added. “Drama’s her middle name.”
“Fine. ‘Ruined’ might be harsh. But the way he dumped you for that bitch Selena was just wrong, any way you look at it.” She held up her glass.
Ann clinked it with her own. “Well, that’s true. But my cousin told me that Selena’s on her third marriage, so karma’s on a roll.”
“I love karma.” Maya smiled. “Still, you need to get prepared to face that jerk. And let’s be honest. He might not have ruined you, but you sure don’t trust guys the way you used to. Not enough to date for more than a few weeks before you dump them. That all goes back to Jack.”
“Not true.”
Riley joined them with a plate of cookies. “I have to agree with Maya on this one. Not all guys are selfish idiots with the compassion of radishes.”
“Radishes?” Maya cocked her head.
“I’m in cooking mode. Gimme a break. Look, Ann, your parents are happy. And your dad is obviously a guy.”
“No, really?”Ann deadpanned, but Riley talked over her.
“He can’t be a total loser or your mom would have dumped him years ago, right?”
Maya agreed. “I love your dad. My dad’s awesome, and Riley’s was great too. I mean, he didn’t kill her at birth and throw her back to the wolves, even though she was a scrawny, ugly thing. A lot like she is today.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m so thankful he didn’t murder his own child because I’m so hideous.” She’d lost him to cancer at a young age, but by all accounts Darius Hewitt had been an amazing man. “Thepoint, Ann, is that you’ve let what Jack did mess you up when it comes to dating.”
“Oh, and you’re any better? How’s your love life?”
Maya snickered. “Try nonexistent. Say what you want about me, but when I want sex, I get it.”
“Sure you do, Miss Ass,” Riley mocked.
“Jealous?”
“Please. This baby got back.” Riley smiled and bit off the head of a sugar cookie man.
“You guys are terrible for my ego, you know that? After a week of dealing with hyperactive children, I’m told that I’m scared of men and made super-aware that I’m the only one of us that has no ass.” Ann drank more wine.
“Ann, get real. You’re petite and hot. All the guys are after you.” Maya helped herself to a cookie and bit the man’s legs off. “I love these.”
“You’re welcome.” Riley turned back to Ann. “She’s right. You could date, you just choose not to.”
“I’m selective. That’s not a bad trait.” She pointedly glanced at Maya—the polar opposite of selective—who ignored her.
“So what’s the plan?” Riley asked. “How are you going to handle Jack?”
“I’ll handle him just fine. Don’t worry about me. But you? I saw Anson yesterday.” A blunt effort to change the subject, and it worked.
Riley’s eyes burned. “That hack? I thought he lived in Portland.”
“Apparently he’s back. Dexter’s in town too.” Dexter Black, Anson’s cousin.
Maya choked on her cookie, then downed some more wine to clear her throat. “What’s going on? Did hell freeze over?”
Ann smiled at the happy coincidence, no longer the only one under the gun. “It seems that fate has given us back our worst enemies. Time for some do-overs, ladies. I tell you what. I’ll deal with Jack, and I won’t be pleasant. Aren’t you guys always telling me that I’m too nice?”
They nodded.
“Not this time. How about some payback on the golden boy for treating me like crap? If he has the audacity to even try talking to me, I’ll make him wish he’d never come back.”
