Ricki laughed. “No assist for her.”
Abby put her hand on her hip. “It doesn’t matter if she knows how she helped, it was still what she said that did it.”
Ricki released an exaggerated loud sigh. “Fine. Half a point.”
Blythe raised her hands toward the ceiling and danced in the middle of the kitchen. “Woo-hoo. Living large. Half a point.”
With the ice broken, they fell into the easy camaraderie they’d experienced at Ricki’s house, laughing and joking as they polished off most of the food.
“Damn, that was good,” Blythe said. “And filling. I didn’t think we were gonna have enough to eat, but I’m stuffed.”
Ricki picked up the wine bottle and topped off their drinks. “And this wine is fantastic.”
“It’s from a local winery. It’s only about half an hour away.”
“You have a winery nearby?” Blythe gaped. “How bougie of you.”
Abby flipped her hair off her shoulder. “What can I say? You’ve come to a high-class area of the state.”
“I love your hair down,” Blythe said after seeing Abby flip her hair. “But I see you still wear it up at the library.”
Abby’s face colored. “Yeah. Madeline’s been after me to let my hair down at work, literally. But it just feels more professional leaving it up.” Abby shrugged. “Maybe someday.”
“Leave her be,” Ricki said. “She can wear her hair any damned way she wants.”
“Says the woman with lilac hair.”
“Damn right.” Ricki grinned. “I’ve got a stake in this game.”
“I couldn’t imagine you without your hair color.” Abby ran her fingers over the short hair on the side of Ricki’s head. “It suits you.”
“And your bun suits you.”
Abby’s face fell. “So you don’t like it down?”
“God, no.” Ricki put her hands up. “I mean, yes. It looks amazing down, but you should be able to wear it however you want.” Ricki put her hand over her face. “Can we stop talking about hair? I want to talk about this incredible house.”
“You don’t think it’s over the top?” Abby ran her finger along the rim of her wine glass and didn’t look up. “My parents hate it.”
“Well, I love it.” Ricki shot Blythe a look.
“Yeah. It’s, uh, different. Uh, cool,” Blythe said, stumbling over her words. “Trendy. Definitely trendy.”
“I need to take photos.” Ricki pulled her cellphone out. “Your followers will love it.”
Blythe faked a gasp. “Did you just say you want to take pictures to post on social media? Willingly doing it without me twisting your arm?”
“Shut up.” Ricki grinned. “This place is too cool. I must capture it.”
“We could shoot videos, too.” Blythe’s eyes lit up. “Abby, do you have any props? Costumes? We could dress up to match the rooms.”
“Ya know, I think we could throw a few outfits together,” Abby said.
Blythe clapped her hands. “Yes, I love it.”
CHAPTER 32
Abby had a bouncein her step as they left the Peoria Civic Center. Blythe and Ricki had been shocked when they discovered she and Madeline had brought them to see the Peoria Prowlers, the local roller derby team. When they’d seen the marquee, the looks on their faces were priceless. Abby had almost asked them to re-create it, so she could capture it on camera. Blythe would have.
