Erin shot me a look, her gaze sharp and eyebrows lifted, that saidthis is a big deal. I knew from Nick that she'd had a fractured relationship with her siblings, and spent many years living overseas where she worked in field-based climate change research. He'd never shared the specifics, and my friendship with her was in its infancy, so I couldn't offer aresponse.
"Trust me," she continued. "I would be the first one to tell you if this was going to end badly. Itwon't."
There was something direct and unaffected about the way Erin spoke that made me believe her. "In other words,thattext—"
"That text will get five minutes of intense discussion before something more interesting pops up," Erin said. "These girls get squirrely when the tequila starts flowing." She turned down a side street and gestured for me to follow. "Usually. Sometimes they talk about one ridiculous thing for two full hours, and that's why I keep a book and some science journals inmybag."
The spa was light and bright with white walls and sparkling chandeliers, and unlike the mani-pedi spots my mother favored back home, there was no cloud of chemicals hanging in the air. Itsmelledlike…
"It's citrus," Erin said, grinning at me over her shoulder. "Nice,right?"
"Yeah," I said, surprised that I didn't hate everything. That was my approach to most things. "Listen, lady. I'm counting on you here. Don't let me go down in a 'So you guys take dirty pics?' fire. I'm not embarrassed but I'm not the kind of person who has detailed discussions of my sex life with people I just met. Or anyone for thatmatter.Okay?"
"Trust me," she repeated. "That isn't even the weirdest thing that will come up tonight. I heard they once debated the best lubes overlunch."
Erin explained to the receptionist that we were meeting up with a group, then snatched a bottle of polish from the display and marched into the spa. I grabbed the first red to catch my eye, andfollowedher.
"Shut up, they're here," someone whisper-yelled as we rounded a low wall. Seated there were four women with their leggings and trousers rolled up to their knees, and a pile of shoes and purses abandonedbetweenthem.
"It sounds like they hit the margaritas without us," Erin said under herbreath.
After everything that had gone down with Steve, I was familiar with the feel of walking into rooms where people had been talking about me. This had none of the hostility of those moments, but it was stillpeculiar.
"Hi," I said. "I'm Alex." I offered a quick wrist-and-hand wave and a pointed grin toward Andy, the one with the miles of dark, curly, enviable hair and the shiny engagement ring. I could ice skate on thatdiamond.
The peculiarity only intensified when they stared at me, not saying a damn word, for the longest minute in recordedhistory.
Oh, my god. These people have seen me naked. Or part of me. And a whole lot ofRiley.
Then the blondespoke.
"One time, my husband forgot to give me the courtesy tap until it was too late," she said. "I mean, I'm a married woman. I only swallow on special occasions or when I'm too drunk to know better." She glanced to the pregnant redhead at her side, but she was busy shaking her head and rubbing her temples to notice. "By the time I understood what was happening and backed off, the situation had gotten away from me. I got a face full of spunk that night, and I had to walk around with an irritated eye for three days." She held out her hand in my direction. "I'm Lauren, by the way. I'm marriedtoMatt."
I shuffled to her side and accepted her hand. Why not? I was certain she'd washed her hands since that episode and she was clearly trying to put meatease.
"This is Shannon," Lauren said, gesturing to theredhead.
"I can't believe you told the whole eye splooge story before introducing yourself," Shannon—she looked just like Erin—said. "Honestly, Lo. You go around with your twee little dresses and creamsicle toes, and you pretend you're such anicegirl but you're a dirty,dirtybird."
Lauren replied with an angelic smile. "I believe you've mentioned thisbefore."
Shannon turned a pointed glare toward Lauren's empty glass. "You're cut off. I wouldn't want you getting another splooge-related injurytonight."
Then she opened her arms in my direction and motioned for me to hug her. I went in for it, careful to steer clear of her belly. I knew better than to ask about the number of babies she was incubating in there or whether she was going to make it through the evening without giving birth, but I thought it. I also thought about smacking Riley with one of my tiny hands for not mentioning that I might be called upon to supervise a delivery tonight because she was extremelypregnant.
"I'm so happy you could come out with us tonight, but you shouldn't pay any attention to these girls," Shannon said into my ear. "They get mouthy when they'redrunk."
"I'm only trying to illustrate that the text Riley sent wasn't that bad," Lauren argued. "We've all been there, or somewhere nearthere."
Erin tugged her socks off and pushed her glasses up her nose. "If y'all don't stop being weird, we'releaving."
"Isn't it adorable how she sounds more and more like Nick?" Lauren asked. "I love thaty'all."
"I'm Tiel and I'm married to Sam. Riley lives at the firehouse with us," the woman on the far end said. "And you should know that Riley has seen all of us in some state of undress at one point or another." She roundly gestured at the group with her yellow margarita glass. "And he's walked in on us having sex so many times, we've lostcount."
"Every single one of us," Andy said. "He's got a giftforit."
"Will broke Riley's nose when he walked in on us," Shannon said. "It hasn't happened since. Justsaying."
