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“Whoops. Sorry.”
“Kelsey, are you ready?” Ally was smiling at me, but there was no missing the pinch marks around her mouth and eyes. I was already derelicting my duties.
One best friend demotion coming up.
I hurried over to the long table weighed down with Sage’s gifts. “Let’s pop these suckers open,” I said with all the cheer I could muster, tugging on the festive green ribbon around a huge round present.
Which then broke through its wrapper and somehow spewed rainbow foam blocks all over the grass.
Including a projectile one that landed on the lap of one of Sage’s college friends seated up front—and knocked her merlot-colored drink all over her lacy white sundress.
“Oh, shit, this is wine.” She jumped to her feet and a circle of her sorority sisters hustled forward to help her clean up.
“I’m so sorry. Oh, I’m so sorry!” I bent to grab the colorful foam blocks that were all over the grass, nearly tripping over several in my haste to get to Sage’s wine-drenched friend.
But she was already rushing away, surrounded in a classic girl huddle, so I fell back and shoved foam blocks into their entirely inadequate mesh sack. I glanced at Ally, who was smiling in that strained way that always seemed to follow me when I was operating at full socially awkward strength.
“I’ll just keep track of names and gifts in my planner,” I said weakly, pulling the sides of the wrapping paper together and looping the straggly bow lamely over the top.
I looked around for my hobo bag—I’d brought it out here earlier for this purpose, I knew I had—but didn’t see it anywhere. Until a pair of work boots appeared at the edge of my peripheral vision right before a tanned hand held out my familiar navy leather planner.
“Looking for this?”
“Thanks.” I snatched it from Dare and nodded, not meeting his gaze. “You’re a male,” I reminded him out of the corner of my mouth as laughter broke out from the crowd. But it was hushed, as if they were giggling behind their hands at us.
No, at me. Might as well be honest in my own head. I was the one who’d ripped apart the present and now I couldn’t even find my own belongings without Dare’s help.
He’d helped me find a lot of things, including my uterus just long enough to plant a baby there.
Maybe.
If there’d been planting.
If it had been him.
God, it had to be him.
“Are you okay, darlin’? You looked flushed. And you’re mumbling to yourself.”
“I’m fine. Great actually.” He pushed a chair at me and I slumped into it gratefully. This had to be a heat-related illness. I’d forgotten sunscreen today, so I’d probably be burnt to a crisp to boot.
Lovely.
“I’m ready to begin,” I smiled at Ally and pretended I couldn’t hear the continuing laughter.
Dare was not getting the hint.
“You sure about that?” Ally asked, raising her brow at Dare. “The other guys are in the man-cave downstairs if you want to—”
“How come he gets to be out here?” Seth’s voice rang out clearly from the back stoop. “We were banished, and the newbie to the crew gets an all-access pass?”
Sage let out a giant sigh. “No. No men. Not you, Seth, not you, Dare—sorry—and definitely not my husband. Go play with yourselves or something.”
This time, there was no mistaking the laughter, including from Dare and Seth. And even me, a little. Just a little though because sweet
marmalade, I had an alien invading me.
Possibly.
