I furrow my brow. “What, you didn’t have a good Christmas?”
Grace groans and scowls. “God, no. Jensen and I got so sick with food poisoning that I thought I was going to die. I don’t know if I can ever look at an oyster again.”
My stomach clenches at the thought. “Ugh… that sounds awful. I mean, I really can’t say my Christmas was good. I reconciled with my family in Ireland, yes, and that was pretty amazing. But I was so heartbroken over Zander, it was hard to really enjoy myself the way you’re supposed to on the holidays. Still, death by bad seafood blows my shitty Christmas out of the water.”
“Winner, winner,” Grace grumbles.
Suddenly, the waiter approaches our table and takes our orders. Once he’s gone, Skyler sits back in her chair and lets out a long breath.
“You know, my Christmas sucked ass too.” She leans back, and the chainsaw on herEvil Deadt-shirt glimmers. “I got stuck in New York. I had a meeting at Random House Publishing. They want to turn one of our video games into a graphic novel, like theirHorizon Zero Dawnseries.”
“That sounds pretty dope,” I grin.
She nods, a flash of excitement in her eyes. “It’s badass, actually. It’s a zombie adventure series, and we’re looking to develop at least four games. Anyway, that’s not the point. There was a blizzard and I got stuck. Couldn’t get home until after Christmas.”
“Yeah, poor Carson was fielding all our parents solo,” Grace adds with a wry grin. “Poor guy. Wasn’t sure he’d make it through in one piece.”
“What about you, Stacey?” I turn my gaze to meet her bright green eyes. “Was your Christmas any good?”
She shakes her head, her short red hair dancing just above her shoulders. “Wish I could say yes, but no. Millie got chicken pox. Poor baby was so miserable, it broke my heart. Thank God Owen’s mom has moved to Denver and was able to help out. Owen made me keep my distance so I didn’t get sick, too.”
“Ahhh, that’s sad,” Skyler frowns. “So Millie had a bad Christmas too?”
Stacey lets out a snort. “Actually, she made out like a bandit. We all felt so bad that she was sick that we doubled her present load. Owen even got her one of those battery-powered Barbie jeeps and she’s been cruising around the house in pink sunglasses like she owns the damn place.”
We all laugh, and I grab the ultrasound photo and slip it back into my purse.
Our food arrives, and as we eat, we catch up on what’s going on with each of our jobs, families, etc. It’s been a minute since we’ve all been able to just sit down like this together, and I realize how much I’ve missed this. I’ve been so consumed with Zander and my family, I’ve kind of put my friends on the back burner. That’s life sometimes, I know, but I’m determined to make sure I don’t let them slip through the cracks again.
“I’ve picked up a few new clients from the Broncos,” Grace tells us, pulling up some Instagram pages on her phone to showus some of the social media content she’s been working on. “I’m to the point where I need to hire more people to help me.”
“Like a full-blown marketing firm?” Stacey asks.
“Pretty much.”
“Hell yeah!” Skyler exclaims.
“What about you, Stace?” Grace asks, and I take a bite of my Florentine chicken crepe while I wait for her to respond. “You’re on maternity leave, right?”
“Sure am,” she sighs. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have the time to rest and get ready for the baby. I’m so huge, I’m useless in the PT office anyway. But, honestly? I kind of miss work. Getting up and leaving the house, being productive. I’m getting a little stir crazy. And you know it’s not easy for me to rely on other people to handle stuff, after I spent so long doing everything on my own…”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead for me, but I’d go crazy if I couldn’t work. Thankfully, I can work from home and my job isn’t as physically demanding as Stacey’s, but still… what if I’m too busy with the baby to work? Or vice versa?
Oh, fuck. Great. Here comes the anxiety.
My phone suddenly buzzes, distracting my spinning thoughts, and when I grab it, I see I’ve got a text from Zander. Before I can open it, the other girls’ phones also start buzzing. I glance around the table as they all check their messages.
“Jensen just texted me,” Grace says, scanning the text. “Huh. The guys want to take us to Estes Park for the weekend.”
“Yeah, Owen sent me the same thing,” Stacey nods, her own phone in her hand.
“Well, Carson sent me a dick pic.” Skyler grins. She swipes her finger across the screen. “That’s going in the folder… oh! Here’s the Estes Park message!”
I look back down at my phone and open my own text.
Zander: Hey, Wildcard. The guys and I all talked and we want to whisk you girls away to Estes Park for the weekend since we’re all on break right now. How’s that sound?
Grinning, I shoot him a response.
