“Not that you asked, and I’m sure this is going to sound super weird coming from a stranger, but I’m team bikini.”
We all turned toward the rose-gold-haired woman waiting on the other side of the counter. Obviously, she’d heard enough of this debate to weigh in and that was fine. Naked Provisions was all about community. Even below decks.
“Hi,” she said with a quick wave. “I’m Shay. I don’t think we’ve met. I live on the other end of the cove at—”
“Oh, right,” I said, cutting her off like I hadn’t been house-trained. “Little Star Farm. I’m Sunny, that’s Meara, Beth, and Muffy. I remember seeing you at that town council meeting.”
She bobbed her head as if she was a little embarrassed by this. “My husband had a whole lot of big feelings that night.”
Meara collected the undies and tucked them back into the box, each pair folded carefully but with a lot of contempt.
“He put an end to that conversation real quick so you won’t find me complaining,” I said with a laugh. “So, you agree that thongs make no sense.”
Meara chuckled. “Okay, okay, you’ve convinced me to look at other options. Maybe,” she added.
Muffy headed back to the kitchen, saying, “I need to tend to my lentils and reevaluate my life choices.”
“Thongs have their place on the panty spectrum,” Shay said diplomatically. “I wouldn’t choose one for a day of hazy, hot, and humid, but that’s just me.”
“Thank you,” Beth said. “Now, what can we get you, doll? You’ve been waiting an age and I won’t have you wasting away.”
“I’ll have a large cold brew and one of these chocolate cookies,” she said, pointing at the bakery case.
“You get two cookies for not running away from us and our sweaty underwear conversation,” I said. “I’d like to say we’re not usually like this—”
“You’d be lying,” Muffy called.
“—but we’re always like this,” Beth finished.
Smiling, Shay motioned toward the handful of empty tables along the wall. “Is it cool if I sit here for a little while and pretend to work on lesson plans but actually read a book on my phone? I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“Sit your buns down,” Beth said as she dug a scoop of ice from the freezer.
I set the cookies on a plate and pushed them toward her. “What are you reading?”
Her smile was wide but shy. “It’s a love story about dragon riders at a war college,” she said with a self-deprecating laugh, pink rising in her cheeks. “I’m completely obsessed. It’s so good. I just know I won’t be able to do anything else until I find out how it ends. At which point I’ll probably read it all over again to find everything I missed the first time.”
“You should come to our book club.” I pointed to the pile of cards announcing the Read Naked meeting dates. “We’re all about the love stories.”
Shay picked up a card and skimmed the details, nodding. “This sounds great. We have a book club at the elementary school, but it’s always books about teaching reading or social-emotional learning—which is important, obviously, but I’d much prefer this kind of book club.”
“We’d love to have you,” I said.
“Here you go, babe,” Beth said, sliding the cold brew across the counter.
“Thanks,” Shay said. To me, she added, “Not to continue being obscenely weird or anything but whoever sent you all those undies fromthatboutique?” Her brows lifted. “Not a single concern for price tags and excellent taste. Exceptional.”
I nodded. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Well, of course. He chose you,” she said.
“He picked a fight and neither of us wants to be the first to back down,” I said, rolling my eyes at myself.
“I’m married because neither of us was willing to back down,” she said with a laugh.
“How’s that working out?”
She smiled at me with heart eyes. “No complaints.”
