GIRL TALK AND GUILLOTINES
“CedarIsland, we have a problem,”Ishouted asIhurried inside the house and foundWhitneyandWillowsprawled out on the couches.
I had to admit—the place looked nice.Therewas still a laundry list of little things that needed to be done, but the big ones—paint, floors, roof, plumbing, electric, and siding—were done.
The renovations had gone surprisingly well.Idelegated the big tasks to professionals, but did everything else thatIcould myself.Myarms were always sore, my skin was sunburned from landscaping no matter how much sunscreenIslathered on, andIwas fairly certain my lungs were lined with dust.
But it was almost done.Thefinish line was in sight.Whichwas exactly whyIdidn’t care thatIneeded to get back to replacing all the old electrical outlets and light switch covers, and was on a warpath to my girls.
I froze. “Where’sMiles?”
“Present,”Milessing-songed as he jogged down the stairs. “What’swith the frown,Wander?Doyou need to be turned upside down?”
Willow giggled under her breath. “Morelike she wantsJackto turn her organs upside down, but she has house guests.”
“Not denying it, but that’s not the current problem.”
Whitney raised an eyebrow. “What’sthe problem?”
“Jack wants to take me on a date.”
The ladies andMilesexchanged confused looks, butWillowwas the first to speak up. “Forgiveme for stating the obvious, but why is that a problem?That’skind of what happens when you date someone.Ifear this is common sense,Wander.”
“We’re fucking.We’renot dating.Bigdifference.”
“Awww!”Whitney’sexpression softened as she closed her laptop. “Isthis your first official date with him?”
“Hell yeah!”Milesgave me a high five. “Wayto fall in love, champ.”
“I mean, we’ve done date stuff, just not in a date way,”Icountered. “Dinner, but it’s takeout while we work on the house.Walkson the beach, but it’s so we can get fresh air after breathing in paint fumes.Movies, but it’s so we have background noise while we bang.”
“Do people still say bang?”Willowasked.
“Focus!Date!HowdoIsay no?!”
“You don’t,”Willowsaid with a laugh. “Youput on something cute, fix your hair, and let him show you off.Where’she taking you?”
“Some fancy restaurant down the coast,”Ihuffed. “Whycan’tIsay no?”
“Because you want to go.You’rejust scared that it means you have real feelings for him,”Whitneysaid.
Willow nodded. “Spoileralert: you do.”
I growled under my breath asIstomped to my bedroom to get fucking dressed. “Youguys are no help.Ididn’t bring date clothes.Ihave shorts and tank tops and more shorts and more tank tops.”
“Raid my suitcase,”Whitneysaid. “Stealwhatever you want.”
I turned and narrowed my gaze. “DidOpheliapack for you?”
Whitney grinned from ear to ear and nodded. “Yep,” she popped thepin the most self-satisfied way because she knewIcouldn’t resist her assistant’s fancy taste in clothes.
The girls descended on me whileMilesled the charge.
I was unceremoniously shoved into a chair to give yeses and nos on outfits presented to me byWhitney.Handsdescended into my hair, digging into the bun that was mostly wilted after a day ofNorthCarolinahumidity.
I shrieked as the elastic was yanked out of the tangles. “Whatthe hell?”
“Just sit back and relax, boss lady.I’vegot your back,”Milessaid as he took a comb to the knots. “Literally.”
