“Good to see you,” Eli says as we exchange a manly bro hug on my way in.
“You too. How’s the little one?”
“She’s great. Cici will bring Abby out in a minute. She’s just feeding her. Let’s grab a drink and sit on the patio.” He opens the fridge and removes two beers, handing me one before we head outside.
“I didn’t think you were a glutton for punishment, but here you are,” Eli says cryptically once we’re settled.
“What is that supposed to mean?” My brows rise in question.
“My wife and I tell each other everything. Cici and Poppy tell each other everything.” He looks at me pointedly. “Which means I know what happened that night. You can imagine the shit she’s gonna give you, right?”
“Fuck.” It hadn’t occurred to me she heard the details of our last night together, which makes this more awkward than I anticipated.
Quickly moving on to other topics, we catch up on life as we wait for Cici to join us.
It’s not long until she opens the slider and steps out. “This is a surprise. Two visits in two weeks. You must love babies, huh?” She smirks mockingly as she holds Abby up.
“Well, she is why I have to visit you now, since you guys don’t go out anymore.”
“We’ll start having Cici’s parents watch her at some point,” Eli says.
“But I’m not ready for that yet, am I?” Cici says in baby talk as she nuzzles her nose against Abby’s face and kisses her. Then she settles her into the contraption next to her.
“Soon, everyone will have kids, and I’ll be making the rounds to all of you. Mia and Jackson probably aren’t too far behind after spending time with you guys and Lily.”
“She’s so young, but maybe.” Cici shrugs. “I’m sure Jackson would be up for starting a family. What about you? Are you ever gonna date someone for longer than one night?” she asks before quickly adding, “Oh, wait, you spent two with Poppy. Is that a record?”
I knew this was coming, so I shouldn’t be surprised. And honestly, it works to my advantage since I’m not the one who brought her up, so now I can roll with it.
“You’re hilarious,” I say sarcastically, when an idea suddenly hits me. “Speaking of Poppy, can I get her phone number? She left something at my place that I need to return.”
“You can just give it to me, and I’ll take care of it.”
The problem is, she didn’t leave anything. Damn, Cici, for making it complicated.
“I’ll handle it, since it’s my responsibility. Warren can mail it—that’s whatassistants are for.”
“Among other things, I’ve heard,” she says pointedly, causing Eli to snicker.
Yep, I walked into that one.
“Right. So what’s her number so I can reach out?” I try again, pulling my phone out this time, hoping she’ll spill it already.
She does, thank God, and I’m instantly anxious to wrap this up so I can go text her.I’m so fucked.
After Cici rattles it off, she catches me off guard. “By the way, you must have had quite the impact on her. She’s suddenly pretty serious aboutfindingsomeone serious. Listen to this. She signed up for this dating app without pictures. I still can’t believe something like that even exists.”
Eli disagrees. “I don’t know. It made sense when she explained it to me. It’s more about the relationship rather than a quick fuck.” He shrugs.
“Screw that. I’m siding with Cici. No pictures? No, thank you. That’s fricking insane. But enlighten me on what I had to do with it.” I raise my brows at Cici.
I can’t imagine our interaction inspiring a longing for commitment when that was the last thing I was offering.
“Sex. She wants to find a husband so she can do it all the time.” She laughs as I internally cringe at the thought of Poppy with another man, shocked at the rage it fills me with.
“Nice, dude. You should start a service for women. Your ad can be: One night with me is all the inspiration it takes to walk down the aisle.” Eli’s busting up.
I need to get out of here. That new tidbit of information has me spiraling out of control. How the fuck can she already be dying to sleep with someone else so soon after we were together? It obviously meant nothing to her, since she’s looking for another bed to jump into. Fuck, what is wrong with me? I’m acting like a pussy.
