“I could tell you were into Kelsey at that barbecue last summer at Jen and Ken’s house.”
Kelsey raises her eyebrow. “The one where Izzy was trying to get you to meet Carter…so you could date him?”
“Yup!” Lila says, the smile on her face only growing despite Kelsey’s tone.
“Well, I’m glad you two kids figured it out,” Izzy says as she leans forward to pat my shoulder from her seat behind me.
I chuckle nervously, glancing at Kelsey, who’s watching me intently. “Yeah. Me too.”
Kelsey’s gaze softens, and for a moment, I’m lost in her eyes, forgetting that I’m driving a car full of people.
The car hums along, the chatter in the back growing louder with each passing minute.
“So, Izzy,” Kelsey says, leaning back between the seats, her voice teasing but laced with curiosity. “What made you decide to show up last minute? I thought you were boycotting everything Jaxon Steele?”
Izzy shrugs nonchalantly, her gaze flickering toward the window as if considering her answer carefully. “I’m here for the girls’ trip, not the Jaxon Steele concert. I wasn’t going to let him ruin my chance to fly private to Australia for a vacation.”
Everyone falls quiet for a moment, no one daring to push further. I glance at Kelsey, whose brow furrows slightly, but she doesn’t ask anything more. Izzy’s response seems to have satisfied her for now, even if it gave me just enough information to be curious. What exactly happened between Jaxon and Izzy?
Lila leans in from the back row, her smile wide. “And a hell of a trip it will be, too. I’m so glad you decided to come.”
Izzy laughs. “Me too. I desperately needed to escape the bleakness of February in eastern Colorado.”
Kelsey smiles, but there’s still something in her expression that doesn’t quite settle. She meets my eyes again, and I can see the flicker of concern in hers.
As we pull into the hotel parking lot, Kelsey hops out of the car in what I can only guess is older-sister mode. She hands out room keys and goes over the itinerary for the day.
“Iz, I obviously didn’t get you a room, since you weirdly decided not to tell me you were coming…”
“Oh, shoot,” Izzy says, turning around and walking backward to face Kelsey. “I forgot to yellsurprisewhen I saw you.”
“Anyway, you can have my room, and I’ll bunk with Carter,” she says with a wink in my direction.
“Wow, how magnanimous of you,” Izzy says on a laugh.
“Thank you for acknowledging my sacrifice.”
“What about me?” I ask, teasing. “Is it not a sacrifice on my part to share my room?”
All four women stop, their faces identical masks of skepticism.
“No,” Bryn says, shaking her head. “You can send us a thank-you basket later.”
“And you want…chocolate in that?” I ask.
“Chocolate is a good start,” Bryn replies. “And then add in some sour gummy worms, a few romance novels, and”—she narrows hereyes at Izzy as if deciding what she needs—“a Jaxon Steele pincushion.”
I snort a laugh as the door to the elevator opens in front of us.
As we ride to our rooms, the women make plans to meet for an early lunch before Kelsey, Lila, and I leave for the concert venue.
As soon as Kelsey and I are back in our room, she pulls out her phone, her fingers frantically moving over the screen.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“Someone just called in sick for their shift tonight, so now I’m down a man. Their normal backup is on vacation, so I’ve got to find a replacement.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
