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“Where’s Nolan?” I ask, suddenly realizing I haven’t heard him racing around for a solid fifteen minutes now.
“I’ll check on him.”
Rue walks into the living room and laughs. “He’s asleep on the couch. Poor thing, he must have played hard today.”
I groan softly. “That means he’ll wake up later and want to play until midnight.”
“Want me to wake him up?” Rue offers.
“No, let him rest. He’s a grouch when I try to wake him up from naps.”
She sits down at the breakfast bar and says, “Same.”
“Do we still have that red onion?” I ask, voicing the question in my head.
When I walk over to the bowl of veggies on the counter, I get my answer. I’m halfway through chopping it when Rue lets out a gasp that makes me turn in surprise.
“We should totally do this,” she said, her gaze focused on the screen of her phone.
“What?”
She looks up at me, grinning. “A divorce celebration. One of my favorite influencers just posted pics from one.”
“No.”
She lowers her brows, making a pouty face. “I didn’t even tell you about it yet.”
“Well, I have no interest in a cake with a single woman topper, a bonfire for all the photos I have with Dean in them, or male strippers.”
“There are other options.”
I shake my head. “I’m not spending a single dollar on something like that.”
“What if it’s just dinner and an adventure? Like nose rings?”
I balk at that. “Getting divorced doesn’t make me want to get a nose ring.”
“Yeah, my bosses probably wouldn’t love that. Let’s see what the other suggestions are…oh! A vacation! We could drop Nolan off with Mom and go somewhere in Florida.”
“Maybe. I’d need time to save up for it, and I can’t take time off from work yet. I don’t have any vacation time saved up.”
“Well, we should at least start planning it. Your totally single year is a great time for new adventures.”
“My totally single year?”
She lowers her brows, looking confused. “Haven’t I told you like twice that you need to not date or have sex for a year after your divorce?”
I set the knife down, scooting it a few more inches away so I’m not tempted to pick it up and stab her. I love Rue, but she’s exhausting sometimes. Turning to face her, I cross my arms and glare at her.
“That’s your opinion,” I say.
“It’s more than just my opinion,” she says, clearly offended. “It’s sound advice.”
I roll my eyes and pick up my wineglass. “Here we go.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
After a long drink from my glass, I say, “This is about Pike. Again.”
“Poor Indie, with the older sister who takes her in, helps with her kid, and tries to keep her from making another disastrous choice in men five minutes after getting divorced.”
“What is it about Pike that you find so disastrous?”
She throws her hands in the air, her eyes bulging. “You mean besides the fact that he’s a tattooed and pierced pro athlete who probably gets more ass than a toilet seat?”
“Probably? How would you know?”
She narrows her eyes and walks over to the wine bottle, swiping it from the counter and refilling her glass.
“Smart women make smart choices,” she says as she pours. “I told you not to marry Dean, but did you listen to me? And now, here we are again.”
“I’m not marrying anyone.”
“Not yet, anyway,” she says sarcastically.
Shaking my head, I walk closer to her, anger making my pulse pound. “I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m a grown-ass woman who can make her own decisions.”
She opens her mouth to respond, but I cut her off.
“I respect you, Rue. And if we’re going to continue living together, you need to respect me, too. I make enough money now that I can either start paying you rent or find a place of my own.”
“I would never ask you to move out, Indie. I just don’t want you and Nolan getting hurt,” she says, her tone softer but her expression still grim.
“You just have to trust me, then. I want to be able to talk to you about things without you turning into a judgmental clone of Mom.”
“Wow.” Her lips part with surprise. “That was low.”
“Well, if the orthopedic shoes fit…”
Rue groans and smiles. “No, stop. I am not turning into our mother. Oh God, I’m not, am I?”
“Well, you just suggested that we go get nose ring piercings and then said Pike isn’t dateable because he has—want me to finish that sentence?”
She covers her face. “A nose piercing. Classic Mom hypocrisy. Okay, I’ll work on it.”
“You know what else drives us both crazy about Mom?”
“Her bangs?”
“Well, yeah, but not that.”
“When she signs her texts Love Mom even though we already know they’re from her?”
I smile and shake my head. “This could go on all night. I’m talking about how she never apologizes when she’s wrong.”
