“Just kidding,” I murmured near his ear.
He spun around as I continued walking. “Hey, now, what about that drink?”
I twisted around on my toes, letting my heels use the momentum of the slick wood floor to propel me like a ballerina. “I thought I’d give you the chance to save me again.”
His mouth split in a surprised smile and he tipped his head back and laughed. “One time, Baptiste. Just this one time you’ve outsmarted me. Don’t expect it to happen again.”
“We’ll see,” I called before hurrying back to the table. If I had to be stuck with Vann all night because the other couples were lovesick puppies, at least we’d started getting along. There were some definite friendship vibes sparking back and forth between us.
Maybe even more than friendship.
Or I don’t know, maybe it was just irritation mixed with a few drinks.
Regardless, the whole mysterious broody thing was equal parts sexy and frustrating.
True, I liked to believe I could do most things on my own without a man stopping by to change my tire or replace my lightbulbs. But there was something about the way he delivered his help that turned me to warm happy goo instead of fire and brimstone.
The way he looked at me didn’t hurt either. Vann was shockingly open and honest. He said what he thought. And not everything he said was nice. But somehow, his blunt honesty was growing on me.
Ten
Three hours later,we’d made it to dessert stopnumero uno. I was happy I’d worn my stretchiest pair of leggings—thank you Costco!— and flowyest tunic because I needed them.
Tonight, had been like Thanksgiving, plus the entire holiday season, plus the day after Valentine’s day when all the candy goes on super sale—combined. These friends of mine couldeat.
And drink, to be honest.
I was already planning a double session of yoga classes in the morning, or I was going to look like the Kool-Aid Man for Vera’s wedding in two days.
Realizing the weekend had only started and that I had to get through a decadent bridal brunch, the rehearsal dinner, plus the actual wedding reception, I couldn’t help but groan.
“What’s wrong?” Kaya asked from across the table, where she sat nestled against Wyatt, his tattooed arm wrapped securely around her.
“I’m going to gain three hundred pounds this weekend.”
Molly raised her eyebrows. “I was thinking the same thing. I’m going to have to recommit to those damn spin classes or I’m never going to fit into my wedding dress.”
“Spin class?” That sounded interesting. I had been thinking about joining the same gym as Molly and Vera for months, after my gym had gone bankrupt and closed their doors. I’d been dedicated to my favorite yoga studio since, but I knew I needed to mix in some cardio. My limbs were all stretch and flexibility, but there was more to life than being able to stand on your head for twenty minutes.
I loved the idea of having friends at my gym. Not that I could get Vera and Molly to work out with me often. But maybe after the baby I would be able to coax Vera into some low-stress Zumba or biking or something.
A cycle class was an entirely different side of Molly that I didn’t even know existed.
She rolled her eyes. “Vera tricked me into going a while back. I quit after she got pregnant because… because basically it was the worst. But now that I’ve eaten my weight in salsa and fried food tonight, I have no choice.”
“It’s not that bad,” Vann countered, pointing a stern finger at her. “You just like to complain.”
She leaned forward, dropping her voice to a secretive tone. “Every time I get off that cursed bike,” she explained, “I think it should buy me dinner. It gets way too familiar for a forty-five-minute class.”
I couldn’t help but snicker at her expense. She bugged her eyes out, letting me know she was serious.
“It is a tough class,” Vera agreed. “But dang, it worked. I’d still be dragging Molly’s lazy bones there every morning if pregnancy wasn’t currently kicking my ass.”
“Don’t say that,” Molly groaned. “I don’t even need to go. I’m perfectly fine adding all five thousand calories from tonight to my body. I got a man.” Ezra smiled at her adoringly, squeezing her hand in his. Until she finished by saying, “I can officially let myself go.”
“Wait, what?” Ezra asked, causing us all to laugh harder.
When the laughter died down, Vann leaned closer to me, so his shoulder bumped against mine. “You don’t eat like this all the time?”
