“Hi, Erin,” I said as she waved.
Patty made her way over to an older woman, who looked to be in her early forties. She was stunning and had a body I would kill for. Her blonde hair was fashioned into a French twist, and she looked like she was ready to take on the world. “This is Cara. She runs a book blog and is obsessed with exercise.”
Cara held up a book and asked, “Do you like to read, Emma?”
“I do,” I replied.
“How much can you bench press?” Her accent sounded very southern.
“Ahh…I’m not sure,” I answered with a shrug.
She winked at me. “We’ll fix that soon enough, darlin’.”
Tammy chuckled next to me.
“Moving on,” Patty said as she stopped in front of Rose. “This is Rose, whom you’ve met.”
I waved, and Rose returned the gesture.
“You know Tammy, you know me, and with Emma, that rounds us out to eight ladies. We are whole again!”
Amens filled the air, and Shannon made a note in her journal.
“Whole again?” I asked Tammy in a whispered voice.
“Patty has a weird thing about even numbers.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Emma, welcome to our group. Would you like to tell us a little something about yourself?” Patty asked.
My mouth dropped open a bit and I glanced around the circle.
Tammy nudged me to stand. “Do it now and get it over with, or Patty won’t let it go.”
Slowly standing, I wrung my hands together. “Well, I’m Emma Middleton, I moved here from Dallas, Texas.”
“Praise God, another Southerner,” Cara stated.
I grinned and nodded. “Yes, born and raised in Texas, but moved around a bit before settling in Dallas.”
Cara lifted her hands in a pumping gesture.
“Go on, sweetheart,” Patty said, shooting Cara a warning look.
“I’m currently working for Aiden Bishop as his nanny.”
Shannon made another note. I couldn’t help but notice she wore a smile on her face and mouthed the word,nanny.
“So, you’re single?” Landy asked with a smile.
“Yes.”
“Dating anyone?” Patty asked, although she already knew that answer.
Pulling my brows in, I stared at her. “Um, no. Notinterestedin dating anyone.”
Whispers quickly filled the air as the women made comments to one another. I looked around at them all and couldn’t help but shake my head and smile.
