“I think it is for some people,” I told her. “Some manage to sail through it without any problems. Or so the internet claims.”
“This says this is a first trimester problem,” Audrey told me, staring down at her phone as she read. “Oh.”
My brows shot up. “Oh, what’s ‘oh’?”
‘Oh’ is never good.Especially when said in that tone of voice.
“Nothing,” Viv said before Audrey could answer. “It’ll go away.” Her voice was brimming with confidence and assurance.
“I hope so.”
They all smiled at me in encouragement.
“But it’s fine.” I cringed as Sophie set the bowl of noodles down in front of me on the floor. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be long before I wouldn’t be able to sit down here on the pretty cushions I’d bought last year anymore.
“You have to eat,” Sophie said, motioning to the food.
That was easier said than done. Taking a bite, I ignored the fact that they were all studying me like a mouse running a maze, and worked on swallowing the food. It was only slightly creepy. “How’s the new job going?” I asked, looking over at Shay.
“Great!” She beamed at us. “I really like my new boss.”
“That’s good,” Sophie told her.
“Like him?” Viv asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“I’m twenty-four,” Shay said in a dry tone. “He’s like…fifty.”
“Ever heard of an age-gap?” Audrey asked, taking a large bite of her pizza.
“Haveyou?” I responded, narrowing my eyes.
“I’m twenty-one,” she said, mimicking Shay, “not twelve.”
“I knew what an age-gap was at twelve,” Vivian said, licking sauce off her finger.
Now that I was taken care of they were all finally eating.
“That’s because you always stole all of Mom’s old bodice rippers and read them even when you weren’t supposed to,” Sophie told her. She opened up a ginger ale and handed it to me. She’d always been like the mom of our little group—even as kids. Didn’t matter that I was the oldest, she was always the one looking out for everyone else.
I ate another bite of the soup and listened as Shay explained what she was doing in her new job. She had recently graduated college and this was an entry level position, but she was excited about it. That was all that mattered.
When the chatter about her job died down and they started looking my way again, I shook my head. “No. It’s not my turn again.” I didn’t want to talk about me. Turned out that wasn’t their plan. They wanted to know about Bolo.
“You have to tell ussomething,” Audrey demanded.
“Is he hot?” Viv asked with a sigh.
“You really need to find yourself a guy,” I told her.
“I’m trying!” She shook her head. “Why is it sohard? Does he have any hot friends? Brothers?”
“Try not to sound so desperate,” I said with a laugh. But I also understood because I’d struggled with the same thing until that biker had stormed into my life. She was twenty-eight and confided in me the other night that she was worried her time was running out. Vivian was a romantic at heart. She’d been searching for a husband since she hit eighteen. Being married was everything she wanted in life. But, like the rest of us—well, all of us except Soph, she wasn’t looking to date and for valid reasons—Viv kept running into men who weren’t…suitable. That was the nicest way to say it.
It wasn’t like there weren’t any good guys, but those who were good were already dating, married, or too busy getting their lives together to eventually get married. They had no time for anything else. Well, that and it was hard to meet new people when you were an adult. We’d never been the kind to go to clubs and bars. And forget the dating apps. Those were disasters waiting to happen. And people who were out grocery shopping, eating at restaurants, and working out didn’t want to be disturbed. That left work, but that wasn’t usually the solution either. All in all, it wasn’t easy to find love.
“Any of the firefighters you work with single?” Viv asked, a hopeful note in her tone.
“Yeah.Thisweek,” I told her.
