“Not at all,” Nina says, waving away my concerns. “He went over to his parents’ house to help his dad with something.”
“Good.” Willow slaps the tabletop. “Now we can get to the bottom of why Ginger stayed home to do laundry last night instead of hanging out with us.”
I place a chocolate croissant on my plate. “It’s no big mystery. I had a busy week with the holiday and Black Friday, and fell behind on my laundry.”
Willow rolls her eyes. “Spare me the lies, girl. I’ve known you too long to let you get away with a lame excuse like that.”
“If I were trying to lie, wouldn’t I have come up with something more elaborate?” I ask, hoping to throw them off.
“Not necessarily,” Nina says, taking a gingerbread muffin for herself. “Keeping it simple works best.”
“You’re an expert on lying, are you?” I tease.
Nina shrugs. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. There have been times I may have lied to my brother to get him off my back at work.”
“You must love not having to deal with that anymore,” Willow says.
“Well, that’s not exactly true. I’m still involved in the family business. They’ve just lightened my load and are allowing me to work remotely.”
“How’s it going?” I ask.
“Pretty good now, but at first my father wasn’t pleased.”
“Shouldn’t he be happy you fell in love with a great guy?” Willow asks, setting a pumpkin muffin on her plate.
“You’d think that would be his reaction, but the family business comes first with him.”
“What’s your sister up to?” I ask. She came to visit Nina at the end of the summer after a bad breakup but we never got to meet her.
“She’s in New York, trying to get on with her life without her asshole ex-fiancé.”
“So, back to your laundry,” Willow says, smirking. “You didn’t think we’d moved on, did you?”
I laugh. “I’d hoped.”
Willow shakes her head slowly. “No freaking way. What’s going on with you? You might as well tell us.”
“Getting whatever it is off your chest might help,” Nina suggests.
I let out a long groan. “You two are a pain in my ass for making me talk about this.”
Willow snickers. “Spill the tea.”
Nina smiles knowingly. “I think I already know. This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain tall, infuriating, absurdly attractive Thorne brother who owns a dispensary, would it?”
I sigh and briefly drop my head into my hands. “Yes. Is it that obvious?”
“Not at all,” Willow says, popping a piece of muffin in her mouth. “I only know because you’ve had a crush on him forever.”
“What’s changed that has you avoiding him?” Nina asks.
My appetite has disappeared, but I tear a piece from my croissant to avoid looking directly at either of them. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m being weird.”
“Define weird,” Willow says, leaning in like we’re discussing military secrets.
I take a breath, debating how much to share. But then I decide to go for it because I’m confused and can use any insight my friends have to offer. “Last Sunday he hung the shelves in my shop for me.”
“You told me about that when I helped you fill the shelves,” Nina says.
