Velma was just being nice, Marlee was confident in that. But the idea of having anything truly wedding related was a big fat kick in the gut. She’d done all that once and now she had a load of gifts to box up and return.
“No wedding shower. That’s probably inappropriate with the divorce and all.”
“You’re not really going to divorce him, are you?” Heather grimaced. “I mean, he’s Eli. You can’t divorce Eli.”
Well, he was Eli. But… “I kind of have to. Since we’re not actually a couple.”
“But you could be.” Heather grinned huge. “I think you should be.”
Marlee let her mind wander to that place where maybe she and Eli could work. He was easy to be with. Excellent in bed. Always there for her. She’d expected her life with Eli to last a few months and then she’d go back to a new version of what she’d done before. But life with Eli could be wonderfully comfortable.
Blah. No. No way was she ready for that.
“My fiancé just dumped me after ten years together. There’s got to be some kind of period of mourning or something I need to adhere to before I start dating again. And shouldn’t I have a rebound guy? I don’t want my rebound guy to be my best friend’s brother. That would make things so awkward.”
Unlike marrying him…
“Maybe we could help you find a rebound guy so that you can be with Eli?” Claire asked. “We love projects. Especially projects that end with Eli not being so grumpy all the time.”
Eli wasn’t grumpy. Eli was just misunderstood. Marlee opened her mouth to say just that—
“There will be no hooking Eli’s wife up with a rebound guy,” Jase said from behind Marlee. “If you need a project, I have a wall that needs paint.”
Jase wandered into the kitchen, moving behind Heather to nuzzle her neck before he grabbed a couple of beers off the counter.
“Shoo,” Heather said. “This is girl stuff.”
“What’s girl stuff?” Brek asked, coming inside and taking one of the beer bottles from Jase.
“Trying to find Marlee a hookup so she can be with Eli.” Jase gave Heather a clear don’t-you-dare look.
“Well, that’s the worst idea I’ve heard in a while.” Brek popped the bottle cap off his beer.
“Which is why we’re going to do it.” Claire shrugged.
“Don’t you worry you’ll piss off the beast by finding his wife someone else?” Jase asked, standing behind Heather with his arms around her.
Marlee glanced away, her throat suddenly filled with cotton. She missed that feeling. The feeling of a man behind her. A man who wanted to touch her.
“Finding her someone else will ensure that the two of them end up together,” Claire said like it was really a thing.
“Who ends up together?” Eli stomped into the kitchen.
“You two.” Jase pointed between them with the end of his beer bottle.
“For fuck’s sake,” Eli said under his breath.
“They’re coming up with this themselves,” Marlee assured. “We’re in the middle of a very amicable divorce. I don’t want to do anything to compromise that.”
And the idea of hooking up with anyone made Marlee’s skin start to itch. Well, not Eli. That hookup was actually pretty fun.
“Well, at least come out with us next week?” Velma asked. “I get another night off from mom duty.”
Marlee perked up. She missed having lots of plans. She needed plans. “That sounds really fun.”
“Great.” Claire clapped her hands quietly. “And we’ll only try to set you up with the cute ones.”
“And only if you want to,” Heather added.
