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Paige
Like most people, I’d developed strategies to cope with shitty weeks. They included wine and some orgasms. Not necessarily in that order. But only three weeks after Greg had pawned off the water project on me, I was slowly reaching breaking point... mostly because four pitches I’d been sure were a done deal for my education center fell through, and I was facing the real possibility that my baby would be shelved. Greg had called me into the office on Saturday morning and all but slammed his fist on the desk, demanding I give his water project more attention. He had to send a progress report to Paris soon, and I was to prepare it.
Right now, I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs “TGIF.” Well, more like “Thank God it’s Saturday.”
I needed a kickass plan to push this to the back of my mind, or I’d drown in endless angst the entire weekend. I needed an outing with the girls where we talked about everything and nothing and would just be silly in general. Euphoria filled me at the prospect, but I deflated like a balloon after a few phone calls. My sisters were taking the kids on a trip to Universal Studios. Faith had a date, and Luna was visiting her parents. I thrummed my fingers against the plastic case of my cell. I wanted to ask out the Connor girls. Since Lori’s wedding almost two months ago, I’d been at three Friday dinners. The girls were fun to hang out with even when the guys were around. I could imagine that a night out with them would be a hoot. Would Will mind?
Surely a night out wouldn’t cross a line. I shot Will a text, which included a lot of grinning emojis, an angel face, and a devil face.
Half an hour later, the party was ON. Lori, Val, and Hailey were in, and so was Maddie, Landon’s wife. Apparently the guys had found my idea spectacular, because they were having their own outing.
Oh yeah, this day was shaping up to end much better than it had begun. I knew the problems would still be there on Monday, but I planned to thoroughly ignore them this weekend.
At eight o’clock sharp, I met the girls at a bar near Santa Monica beach. In true LA fashion, it was overcrowded and loud, but this just put me in a party mood.
The girls were already there, and I admired their outfits as I approached them. Val had an effortless bohemian chic thing going on: wide-sleeved blouse and black, wide pants. Lori wore jeans and a tank top, and Hailey was wearing the sexiest pair of red stilettos. The rest of the outfit didn’t even matter. Those shoes were the essence of life, right there. Maddie had opted for a light beach dress, just like me.
I whistled when I reached the girls. “Are we hot, or what?”
Hailey rubbed her hands together. “This was a great idea.”
“Looks pretty crowded,” Val said, surveying the long line to the entrance.
Hailey wiggled her eyebrows at Val. “Use your magic powers, sister.”
Five minutes later, not only were we inside, but we had a table. As we all slung our bags over our chairs, I made to take out my cell phone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Maddie and Hailey had done the same.
Val cleared her throat, holding up a finger. “Hey! Girls’ night out rule. No cell phones. It’s a slippery slope. Starts with Oh look, I have a notification to reading urgent e-mails, and... well, you know where I’m going with this.”
I grudgingly agreed, sliding the phone back in my purse. Hailey followed suit.
Maddie kept hers on the table. “I need it in case Grace calls. She’s watching the baby.”
“Stop worrying so much,” Val said soothingly. “Have fun for a few hours.”
We ordered fancy overpriced drinks, and I already felt the weight of the day lift off my shoulders.
“Shitty week?” Hailey asked sympathetically.
“Oh, yeah. But no talking about it tonight.”
Val drummed her hands on the table. “I agree. Tonight is for fun.”
I had an idea as I looked from one sister to the other. “And for getting some dirt on Will.”
Val feigned offense. “Are you asking us to break sister code?”
We paused when the server brought our drinks, and clinked glasses.
Then I said, “I’ve known him for a while now. I’ve earned the right to some dirt.” Wow. I couldn’t believe that already two and a half months had passed since I’d met Will.
Hailey tapped her forefinger against her lips. “Yep, you totally have. I was bursting at the seams at the wedding already, so I’ve waited long enough.”
Three cocktails later, I had enough dirt to fill a book: that one time Will had attempted to get a tongue piercing but the guy was a conman who ended
up giving him an infection. The time Will was caught jumping the fence to the Hollywood sign. How he’d dated a string of bimbos over the years (I chose to slurp loudly from my cocktail at this point), and they hadn’t liked any. But they liked me. Ha!
“Personally, I think his greatest achievement was when he saved Jace’s ass and mine that night we sneaked out to go to a concert and you thought we’d run away,” Hailey concluded. I was laughing so hard that my belly was aching, and so was Maddie. Lori threw a sheepish smile at Val, who looked... stunned.
