She raised an eyebrow in a move that would make any third grader fall in line. “Besides us, of course.”
I groaned and rested my head on the bar. “I just got here, and I’ve already been scolded by three people.”
“Make that four.” Summer squeezed in beside me and signaled to Salvatore. “We need a jumbo pitcher of frozen strawberry margaritas.”
I leaned against her shoulder. “You’re going to scold me, too?”
“Only if you withhold the dirty details of you and the beta,” she said. “Besides, you’re getting off easy. I wanted to follow you and Leo after the town meeting, but Ivy wouldn’t let me.”
“Stalking is not appropriate,” Ivy said.
“Tell that to Easton,” I said.
“What about Easton?” Olive hopped up on a stool, Felix perched on her lap.
“Summer wants to adopt his stalking tendencies,” I said.
Olive grinned. “I wouldn’t recommend it, but it did work out for us, so who knows?”
Ivy went to say something, but Summer waved her hand. “No, enough chitchat. I saved a table for us in the corner.” She grabbed the huge pitcher of margaritas and jerked her head toward the table.
We squeezed onto a plush velvet couch, and Summer filled our glasses to the brim. Felix hopped onto my lap and tried to stick his face into my drink.
“Absolutely not.” James swooped in out of thin air, grabbed Felix, and carried him away.
We burst out laughing at Felix’s dramatic meows as he extended his arms to us over his abductor’s shoulder.
“All right, we all have our drinks, so now you’re going to spill,” Summer said.
“You sure you don’t want to do some karaoke first?”
She scowled. “Stop stalling. On my way here, Marisol, Carmen, and Harry all stopped me to ask what’s going on with you and Leo. Do you know how hard it is for me to be out of the loop with town gossip, especially when it pertains to my friend?”
“Yes, so hard for you,” I deadpanned.
“You don’t have to tell us if you’re not ready,” Ivy said, except she spoke at the same time as Olive, who said, “If you don’t give us all the details right now, I’ll die.”
I almost choked on my drink. “Fine. But no telling the town gossips.”
“Start with the party you went to with the mystery alpha,” Summer demanded. It didn’t escape me that she hadn’t agreed not to gossip.
I told them how King had come into my shop and asked for my help to get him out of the auction, along with everything that happened afterward. I left out of a few of the more salacious details—including the wholeDaddything—ending with our unceremonious parting.
Summer tenderly squeezed my hand. “How do you feel about not seeing him again?” She was bright and loud and didn’t take life too seriously, but I knew the side of her she rarely showed to others—the tender, sensitive side that felt responsible for those she loved.
I shrugged. “I knew he wasn’t offering a relationship and I did it anyway, so I only have myself to blame.”
“Lucy,” Olive said softly. “That’s not how it works. You’re allowed to be upset about it.”
“Yeah. I just…what’s wrong with me? Why does no one want to form a pack with me?” I kept my eyes fixed on my margarita glass. “First Wilder, now King?”
My friends wrapped their arms around me, squeezing tight and holding space for me to just feel. When we finally pulled apart, I dabbed my eyes with a cocktail napkin.
“Nothing is wrong with you,” Ivy said. “Nothing at all. Relationships are hard and complicated.”
“You’re one of my favorite people,” Olive said.
“What she said,” Summer said gruffly.
