Grabbing the single key I keep handy for when I go for runs, I hold open the front door. “Bree’s getting back with her ex. And that’s all I’m going to say.”
Their faces go slack. The looks they give me aren’t pity, which would have sent me over the edge, to be honest. They simply get it. Zayne appears to be the most affected, leaving me to wonder what he’s been through with a woman.
As each one files past, they bump fists with me. No words. Just solidarity.
And then we jog into the night, in silence.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
BREE
“I don’t think this will work.” I stare at my reflection in the dressing room mirror, taking in the full effect of the very short, form-fitting dress the girls talked me into trying on.
According to the tag hanging from my left armpit, it’s a micromini that covers less than some bathing suits I’ve owned. The hem barely reaches below my nether regions, so bending over would be a definite no-no for obvious reasons.
And don’t even get me started on the top part of the dress. One wrong move and I’ll end up charged with indecent exposure. I feel like a Barbie doll in this thing because the only way I can move without exposing myself is to remain straight as a board.
Since Wade and the rest of the team are traveling through Thanksgiving, the girls and I decided to do some shopping today, and then do our own version of Friendsgiving tomorrow that includes homemade pizzas, our favorite chips and dips, and boatloads of ice cream with not a single turkey or pumpkin pie in sight.
Needing a break, Mia’s parents opted for a cruise this year. Sophie’s ‘funcle’—favorite uncle—is out of town on anassignment, covering for the paper’s lead reporter who just had a baby. And Lily doesn’t have any other family, except for her former partner, who is at some undisclosed location, working as a bodyguard for a foreign dignitary. Sometimes I wonder if Lily misses that life, but she assures us she has her hands more than full with Payton.
And then there’s Harper, who isn’t on good terms with her father and has no desire to entrench herself in her family’s drama. When she found out I didn’t have to travel with the team this trip, she attached herself to my hip.
I’m not complaining, though—quite the contrary. I’m grateful for each one of these women—my girls, as I’ve come to think of them. Otherwise, I’d be completely alone tomorrow, feeling nostalgic about Nana’s juicy turkey and fixings.
Technically, I could have gone back to Texas. Wade’s Nana has invited me for Thanksgiving dinner every year since my parents divorced and sold our place. I didn’t go last year because Chase insisted we go to his parents, and no way would I go this year and put myself in close proximity to him.
The jerk already texted me earlier in the week to let me know—aka gloat—about the article Sophie’s writing about him. Wish I could be a fly on the wall to see his face when that piece drops. And then he had the nerve to invite me to join him and Amber for his family’s annual deep-fried turkey dinner. I’m sure he was fishing around, trying to find out if I was returning to Texas so he could drop in unannounced just to torture me.
So, here I am, wearing this ridiculous dress for some vague purpose that involves Wade and an event that Sophie has yet to explain.
“Seriously, this is a joke, right?” I try to imagine Wade’s reaction if he saw me in this. He’d rip off his shirt—better yet, his jersey—and pull it over my head.
Why does that thought make my pulse skyrocket, and my stomach flutter? Maybe because I noticed how Wade’s eyes scorched and then devoured me when he saw me in his jersey for the big mascot and arena name reveal. I’ve tried to forget the way he looked at me, but his expression haunts my dreams of late.
On my right, Sophie’s reflection blinks back at me.
Mia stands on my left. “You need weapons.”
From behind us, Harper bounces up, trying to get a better look. “Girl, youhaveto buy that one. You’ll have his eyes bugging out faster than a half-naked pirate gawking at a virgin.”
We all turn around to stare at her, me holding the top of the dress in place so that myothergirls don’t try to make an appearance.
Sophie clears her throat. “I think we just learned something new about you, Harper.”
Mia gives her a sassy appraisal. “Girl, we need to talk.”
Ready to bail, I grab the hem, ready to pull it off right in the middle of the open area of the dressing room.
All three jump to stop me while Lily’s reflection in the background leaps up from the chair where she was observing from and stands guard at the dressing room entrance. A woman with an armload of clothes approaches but scurries away when Lily barks at her to leave.
Sophie tugs me toward my dressing room, where a stack of sexy clothing I would never choose for myself waits for me to try on. “I get it. You’re nervous, but do you want to live the rest of your life wondering?”
Feeling a tad mischievous, I turn her words on her. “Wonderland could be fun. Ask Alice.”
She snorts. “Sometimes I think you missed your calling to be a writer.”
Mia shakes her head. “She makes good money in PR. Why would she pursue that?”
