“You should go out with him again. Then you could have your own gorgeous Navy SEAL,” Ashley said, not helping in the least.
“Aren’t you married?” I asked, trying to shift focus.
“Yup.” She popped the ‘p’. “But I’m not dead, and Matt is gorgeous with a hint of bad boy. I bet he’s—”
“A player.” I cut her off. He wasn’t a commit to one woman kind of guy.
“I was going to say-”
“For the love of all things holy, please don’t,” I begged.
Everyone knew I’d slept with Matt; I didn’t need Ashley keeping the subject alive.
“So, Blake, have you and AJ set a date?” Mom saved me by changing the subject.
“Not yet,” Blake answered softly.
“Blake, you know you can ask him, right?” Meg asked.
“I do, but I don’t want to rush him.”
“You think he’s not ready?” Beth asked.
“I don’t know.” Blake shrugged. “I figured he’ll tell me when he’s ready.”
“I bet he’d be thrilled if you asked him to set the date,” Cate added.
As a former FBI profiler, her assessment carried a lot of weight.
Blake sat up straighter. “Do you think so?”
Blake was the youngest among us, and at times like this, it showed. She was rich, like stinking filthy rich, but didn’t care about the money. She used her law degree working for The Wyatt Foundation, the charity organization my parents founded after Beth’s husband died in the line of duty. She’d personally funded the first two scholarships last year.
“I do,” Cate said.
“So do I,” Meg added. AJ was Jack’s best friend and stood up as his best man when Jack married Meg.
Glad the conversation was no longer focused on me, I relaxed and enjoyed my wine and the company.
Before long, the conversation turned to Natalie. Then Emily’s pregnancy. She’d declined the invite tonight, saying she was too pregnant to venture out of the house.
“Let’s call Emily. See if she’s up for a video chat so she won’t feel excluded,” Ashley suggested, her thumbs flying over the screen of her phone.
“Hey guys,” Emily said as soon as the video connected.
As a group, we returned the greeting.
“We miss you,” my mom said.
“I miss you guys too. Did you already talk about the fire at the clinic?”
Great. The focus was back on me.
“We did. There’s nothing to tell,” I answered.
“Jamie wasn’t thrilled he had to call Matt to watch out for you,” Emily said.
I’d left that part out, but now that Emily had brought it up, I couldn’t avoid it.
