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Rachel smiles warmly at her sister. “Never change, my hopeless romantic,” she says, then pops the square into her mouth and moans.
Fable follows suit and groans carnally.
Juliet’s next and she gasps for a good, long time.
I beam.
“And we have a winner,” Kenji declares, then turns to me, his brown eyes glittering. “I told you those would be perfect with the cocktails. Mister Cocktail will make champagne-themed drinks that night,” he explains since he’s been helping with planning.
“Mister Cocktail,” Fable snickers.
I roll my eyes. “Just eat the next one,” I urge, pointing to the tray with the chocolate-covered cherries. “They’re made with dark chocolate and a cherry filling I canned this summer from fresh farmers market cherries.”
Fable flaps a hand in front of her face. “My mouth is watering.”
She grabs one, and Rachel and Juliet do the same. Rachel finishes first, with glossy eyes, saying, “I really hope Carter gets home early from practice because this chocolate is turning me on.”
“Yes!” My grin spreads to my whole body as I high-five Kenji.
“That’s what we want,” he says. “Also, I hope your man gets home early too.”
“Thanks. Oh!” Rachel bounces in her chair with obvious excitement, fiddling with her heart necklace. “Did you know Carter is friends with Hot Daddy?”
I tilt my head toward Rachel, curious. “Who’s Hot Daddy?”
Juliet rolls her eyes. “Elodie, hot daddy is obviously one of your fiancé’s many nicknames.”
Kenji goes thoughtful. “I do love a daddy. But can he be Inked Daddy?”
“Excellent nickname,” Fable says approvingly to the man next to me. “We’re keeping you in our crew.”
He clasps his hands together in appreciation. “Thank you.” Then to Rachel, he says, “Now, dish.”
I try not to be too curious. But I am on the edge of my seat as my bestie dives into the gossip pool. “Apparently they’re friends. Inked Daddy and Carter. And Monroe too,” Rachel adds, nodding to Juliet.
Juliet narrows her brow. “Monroe,” she grumbles since her podcast co-host on Heartbreakers and Matchmakers drives her crazy. The two of them are at each other’s throats a lot on the show with their whole frenemies vibe. Which is, admittedly, kind of hot.
“We’ll get to that Monroe soon enough. Keep going,” Kenji says, waving a hand at Rachel, eating up her story.
“And apparently you made quite the impression on Inked Daddy,” Rachel says to me, having too much fun doling out these details.
My pulse speeds up. Sure, I knew this because, well, I’ve experienced it. But hearing about his affection from someone else is next level. “Really?”
“Did you hear that? The way her voice pitched up?” Juliet asks, enjoying my reaction far too much.
“You bet I did,” Fable says, then we’re all little dogs waiting at Rachel’s feet for her to give us more kibble. Rachel looks right at me, a devilish grin on her face. “Evidently he said it was a damn shame that you weren’t having another date. He said you were incredible and”—she sketches air quotes—“‘she kept me on my toes like no one ever had.’”
It’s as if I ate a whole bar of chocolate with popping candy. I’m fizzy inside.
Kenji slaps my shoulder playfully. “You’re blushing!”
I lift a hand to my cheek, feeling heat. “No, I’m not.”
“Don’t deny it,” Fable chides.
“Fine, fine. It’s not a secret we had an amazing date,” I say. And an amazing sort-of-pretend second date where he nearly got me off with words in a coffee shop. “But now we’re not. And that’s fine too.” My stomach swoops with a fresh round of nerves. I hope we can pull this off. The pop-up, the plan, everything. “I mean, how hard will it be to resist him?”
It comes out rhetorical, but I mean it. We’ve sort of been good at resisting so far. Cheek kisses and dirty words surely count as resistance.
