“’Course not. I hope you know you’re in the same exact place we left you.Hoursago.”
Willow raised an eyebrow and spared her sister a glance. “At least I’m not moping on the couch. Besides, I’m not sure what you thought I was gonna do. I’m not exactly in hostess mode.” She gestured toward her ensemble of frayed sleep shorts and a faded, paint-splattered tank top she’d had since high school.
“This is getting ridiculous, Will,” Mac said.
“What is?” Willow could avoid with the best of them.
Avery snorted, plopping on the couch as she grabbed her takeout container from the table. “How long do you think you can stay holed up in here? Avoidance will only get you so far.”
Avoidance seemed to be doing her just fine, thank you.
Mac went to the kitchen, bringing back silverware for them before taking a seat in one of the side chairs. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your little game of hide-away, because it ends tonight.”
Willow rolled her eyes as she put down her paintbrush and went to wash her hands. If there was one thing that could pull her away, it was mediocre Chinese food. “How do you figure?”
“As soon as you finish that Kung Pao Chicken your lovely, beautiful, devoted sister brought for you, we’re heading out to Ropers,” Mac said.
Before Willow could express her displeasure at the thought of going out, Avery held up a hand. “Don’t even try to argue. Mac’s right. You’ve had a shit week, and no one would blame you for inhaling seven cartons of ice cream.”
How dare she. It’d only been three.
“But it’s time to get out,” Mac said. “You deserve to have some fun. Have some drinks, dance a little. Enjoy yourself. And since Ropers is a half-hour away, it lessens the chances we’ll run into anyone from town, which keeps you out of the gossip mill.”
That was the problem with having a sister for a best friend—she’d been there their whole lives and knew Willow almost better than she knew herself. The fact was Willow hadn’t just been avoidingFinnin town, but also the busybodies of Havenbrook, every one of them having had a front row seat to her heartbreak ten years prior. She’d lived through one round of the pitying stares, the whispers people thought she couldn’t hear. She had no interest doing it again.
And she couldn’t deny she could use a night out with her best friends, especially after the week she’d had. There was no doubt in her mind she’d have a good time—she always did when the three of them hit the town.
“Fine,” Willow said as she sat next to Avery and dug into her container. “But drinks are on you both.”
Avery glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, her mouth turned up at the corners. “Don’t you worry about drinks. No work tomorrow and me as D.D. means we’re getting your ass drunk. And once you change out of all this—” she gestured to Willow’s ensemble with a lip curl “—we’ll be getting free drinks all night long.”
Willow’s nightly glass of wine hadn’t done shit to stop her mind from traveling back to places it was better off not going. Maybe getting good and buzzed was exactly what she needed.
An hour later, they walked into Ropers, the closest bar Havenbrook had—at least, for the time being. Willow and Mac had spent many a night there in their early twenties, rebelling from their daddy in the tamest way possible. It was already packed, which was to be expected on a Saturday night, too many bodies crowding the bar and the tall tables set up around the space. A live band played current favorites at the back of the room, the dance floor separating them from the rest of the tables. As much as Willow loved to dance, it would take a few drinks to get her inhibitions low enough to venture out there. But as Avery thrust a Long Island Iced Tea into her hands, she figured she’d be out there within the hour.
“Drink up while I scope the place,” Avery said, her gaze already roving over the available men in the bar. Her eyes lit up, and she tilted her chin toward Willow’s left. “Couple hotties have all eyes on you.”
Willow raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of her drink, trying not to cringe at the heavy alcohol. It’d been too damn long since she’d had anything but wine—maybe getting a good buzz going wouldn’t take long at all. “Or they have eyes onyou.” Her best friend was gorgeous on a normal day, but when she put effort into it like she had that evening? She had to beat off the guys with a stick.
“I’m not the one with my legs on display,” Avery said.
Willow glanced down at the short shorts she wore—shorter than her standard, but when Avery had thrust them at her, lending them to Willow from her wardrobe, she’d figured what the hell. She’d paired it with a thin, gauzy tank that dipped down low in the front and back, and wedge sandals that made her average-length legs look a mile long.
“No, but your boobs are saying hello to anyone with two working eyeballs.” Willow tipped her chin toward Avery’s ample cleavage on display.
Avery just shrugged. “Work with what you’ve got—that’s my motto. And we all know my boobs are my best asset.” She gave a little shake of her shoulders to punctuate her point, pulling laughs from Mac and Willow. “Yours, my lovely friend, is your legs. Mac’s is her ass, which is why I put her in those tight as hell jeans. Honestly, you both act like I’m an amateur.”
“After this long, neither of us doubts your powers,” Mac said, taking a swig from her bottle of beer.
“Well, good. You shouldn’t. Remember the last time we went out? We had those guys eating out of the palms of our hands.” Avery winked. “Stick with me, girls, and I’ll make sure the free drinks keep coming.”
“This wasn’t free.” Willow held up her glass, the contents nearly gone.
“It was more important to get you well on the way to Drunkville than it was to wait for a freebie.” Avery bumped her hip against Willow’s. “Speaking of, how’re your lips, girl? Tingly yet?”
Mac smiled around the mouth of her bottle, both of them knowing Willow’s first tell of being tipsy.
Willow held her fingers close together, squinting her eyes as said tingly lips lifted up at the corners. “Li’l bit.”
