“We should do boozy milkshakes!” Suki says.
“I want a boozy milkshake.” Hallie forgets the cake decorating.
“Just a regular milkshake for you, Hals,” Suki said.
Talia gets up from the couch. “I happen to make the world’s most incredible spiked chocolate milkshakes. If you don’t have all the stuff, I’ll go grab what we need.”
She’s wearing dark-gray leggings today, with a lightweight black sweater. Her hair is loose around her shoulders. When she walks into the kitchen, I follow.
“How’d the shopping go?” I ask as she makes a list of ingredients.
“I survived,” she quips.
“You more than survived.” Mara walks into the room and puts an arm around her. “You have two gorgeous dresses for Lucifer’s wedding. All you need now is a date.”
Talia’s cheeks turn pink as she flicks a glance at me and says, “I don’t mind going by myself.”
“You’re going to a wedding?” I ask.
“Kyle and Audra’s.”
I just look at her for a second, because I can’t believe what I just heard. She’s going to the wedding of the man who cheated on her? Probably because it’s also her sister’s wedding, but she’s well within her rights to flip those two assholes the double bird and skip it. With all these people around, though, I don’t say that.
“It’s over the all-star break,” Suki says. “So she just needs to find a man who’s free over the break and wants to hang out in Hawaii for three days.”
Talia gives Suki a look that wordlessly says, Shut up.
“I’ll go with you,” I offer.
“Perfect!” Suki claps her hands together, looking up from Talia’s grocery list. “I have everything we need except whipped cream.”
“We know why you’re out of whipped cream, pervs,” Bash quips from the other room.
Talia’s face is a darker shade of pink now, but I don’t know why.
“You don’t have to do that, Lucien,” she says. “Really, I’ll be fine.”
“Are you kidding? I’d love to go with you. I can’t stand Kyle. We can sneak Nair into his shampoo. It’ll be fun.”
She looks flustered. “I don’t even know for sure if I’m going.”
“Well, if you decide to, I'm in.”
“I’ll go get some whipped cream.” She won’t meet my eyes, and I don’t know why she’s acting so strange.
“I’ll come with you.”
I haven’t even taken my coat off yet, and this will give me a chance to talk to her about why she doesn’t want me to come with her to the wedding.
Once we’re in my car, before I’ve even started it, I look over at her.
“It felt like you were uncomfortable back there. Is there someone else you want to ask to go to the wedding with you?”
She shrugs. “No. I’m just uncomfortable over the whole thing. If I don’t go, everyone will think I’m at home crying over it. If I go alone, I’m pathetic. If I go with you, they’ll wonder how a chunk like me got a date like you and assume it’s a pity date. I can’t win.”
I gape at her in disbelief. “If you don’t want to go, don’t. You don’t owe them shit, Talia. And don’t put yourself down like that. I don’t like it when people say shit about my friends.”
A smile tugs on her lips. “Are we friends?”
