“We keep extra supplies on hand in case they’re needed.”
“Are you sure I can’t pay for these?”
“I’m sure, but you can grab some supplies and drop them off the next time you’re at the pet store. We can always use them here.”
“I’ll be sure to do that. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve scheduled her vaccine appointment in three weeks. Make sure you call if there are any changes.”
“I will.”
I secured Phoebe in the front seat and cranked the engine, sitting in the parking lot, unable to drive away. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my aviator’s and slammed them on my face, wishing I had kept Jenna in the exam room long enough to accept.
7 - JENNA
“And then, I freaking said he could move in with me. What the hell was I thinking? He looked at me like I was a three-headed dog named Fluffy. I ran out of there as fast as I could.”
I loudly slurped my sangria and groaned, looking at my three best friends and waiting for them to tell me what an epic mistake I’d made. They all had matching expressions on their faces like they weren’t buying into my sob story. Annaleigh looked at me and pursed her lips, shaking her head and causing her blonde hair to swish across her shoulders.
We were sitting in Olivia’s living room, devouring the last of her homemade cookies.
I laid my head back on her gray suede couch. It was so comfortable, and I sunk further into the cushions, waiting for someone to break the silence. Knowing my carb-crutch, Olivia passed me another, and I shoved the whole thing in my mouth without chewing. Her eyes got wide, but she smiled, putting the plate back on the table closest to me.
Owning her own bakery, she always had homemade cookies and pastries, and they were always delicious. Except for that time, she tried to do a spicy and sweet cookie, mixing jalapenos with peaches—Yummy, in theory—horrible execution.
“Seriously? You asked him to move in with you?” Olivia said as I shivered at the thought of that cookie and reached for another delicious white chocolate raspberry one. “I don’t care if he’s a cop, or a firefighter, or a priest. You don’t invite a stranger to live with you. How do you know if he was even telling the truth?”
“I know. I don’t know what happened. One minute we were talking about Phoebe, and the next, I was inviting him to move in.”
Addison made a harrumph and crossed her arms over her chest. She was still wearing a purple power suit from earlier today but had taken off her jacket, revealing a cream shell underneath. She ran a hand through her red hair and raised her eyebrows, staring at me.
“What?” I said, between a mouthful of cookies, but she harrumphed again and rolled her eyes. “I’m not a mind reader, you know, Addi.”
“Listen, Jenna. That’s bullshit, and you know it. I’m calling a Southern Charms intervention. We’re helping Annaleigh work through her stuff with Max. We helped Olivia when she and Edward started dating, and you all helped me when Tommy cheated on me and when I went through, um, my thing. It’s time the tables were turned.”
She stood up, stuck one hand out, and put the other on her hip, waiting.
Ugh.Whenever something big was going on in our lives, the four of us would work through it. We affectionally called our group,Southern Charmsand got together as often as possible.
“I one hundred percent agree with Liv, but I’ll second your decision, Addison.” Annaleigh put her hand on top of Addison’s and looked at Olivia.
“Motion passed,” Olivia said, adding her hand. I reluctantly did the same, and Olivia nodded. “Addison, you have the floor.”
“Thank you,” Addison said, removing her hand and standing up to her full five-foot-eight frame and glaring at me with fire in her eyes that matched her hair.
“First off, yes! Inviting him to stay with you was a completely crazy thing to do, and I sort of want to slap you upside your head and then take you to buy a stun-gun. As long as we’ve known you, you’ve been the practical one. The one who calls us on our bullshit with a random fact and no-nonsense attitude.”
“I don’t think I need a full-onSouthern Charmsintervention for a guy I’ve known for all of twenty seconds,” I said, reaching for another cookie. Annaleigh popped my hand and tilted her head to Addison, silently letting me know I needed to pay the hell attention. “Y’all know I ramble when I’m nervous. I cannot be held accountable for my actions when I ramble.”
“It’s not just for that nutzo invitation, and you know it,” Addison said, putting one hand on her hip and lifting the other like she was going to tic points off on her fingers. “You are always the first to support us, but you brush us off and handle it yourself when we try to return the favor. You were on what, five, ten dates with Jason and then randomly stopped seeing him? And you think because you’re a workaholic, no one will see you for the beautiful badass you are.”
Addison breathed and took a swig of sangria while Annaleigh had a smile on her face, and Olivia watched in awe.
“You think there’s no way Mark would want to stay with you, but I guarantee that if you had given him a chance to respond, he might have said yes. I think this might be exactly what you need because you, Jenna, are a freaking catch. You have the kindest heart of anyone I know, and you sure as shit are the smartest. Don’t second guess or be ashamed that you took what you wanted. You wanted Mark, so you asked him to move in. Granted, I know y’all just met, but who the hell cares? It was a crazy thing to do, but maybe crazy is what you need.”
“Here, here,” Olivia said, raising her glass. Everyone followed suit and looked at me, waiting. I took a minute to process her words, closed my eyes, and took calming breaths. She was right. Maybe running out of the room was taking the easy way out of admitting what I wanted.
“I, um, don’t know what to say.”
