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“Ooooooh,” Everly crowed.
“That narc!” Alanna growled.
“Sully?” Tess asked, her eyes twinkling. “That’s wonderful. He seems like a really good guy.”
“You know him?” Everly asked Tess, raising an eyebrow.
“He’s my neighbor and my—”
“Is he hot?” Everly interrupted. “Give us the deets. On a scale of flat as a pancake and pumpkin goodness, how’s his ass?”
Willow coughed into her glass of water.
“Stop, stop, stop,” Alanna cried waving her free hand. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not going anywhere.”
“WHAT?” Everly’s gaze drilled into Alanna’s forehead like a laser beam. Her voice went hoarse. “Is his butt in pancake territory?”
“No! His butt is fine. More than fine. God, I mean, it doesn’t matter.” Alanna spluttered.
“What’s the problem then?” Tess asked gently.
“I don’t do nice guys, okay?” Alanna snapped. She stood from the couch, suddenly needing to move. “I don’t do romance. I don’t do relationships. I don’t do love!”
“Hmmmmm.” Everly crossed her arms over her large chest. “You’re one of those, huh?”
“One of what?” Alanna grabbed the wine bottle from the breakfast bar and gave herself a generous pour. Looks like Layla would be driving them home.
“You know, busy career woman. Doesn’t have time for love. Doesn’t want to be tied down.”
“Exactly, you get it. Thank you!” Alanna set down the wine bottle more aggressively than necessary.
Everly gave Layla a conspiratorial smile.
Layla’s brows creased. “I don’t know, Everly. I haven’t given up hope, but Alanna’s the most stubborn person I’ve ever known.”
“Hold up, hold up,” Alanna called. “No silent sidebar convos allowed. What’s happening?”
Layla gave her older sister a guilty look. “Everly reads a lot of romance novels.”
Everly snorted. “Iread a lot of romance novels? That’s rich coming from the queen of happily ever after.”
“Okay, so I read a few myself,” Layla admitted, her cheeks growing rosy. “And, um…” Suddenly her eyes were anywhere but Alanna’s death stare. “…You kind of fall into a certain character trope.”
“The bitchy career woman,” Everly clarified. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Alanna answered. “I wear my bitchitude with pride.”
“See!” Layla hissed to Everly.
“Yeah, I get what you mean,” Everly muttered. “This is going to be a tough case.” She turned to Tess. “You know this Sully guy?”
“Like I was trying to say, he’s my—"
“Does he have a, hmmm, what’s the term….” Everly bit her lip. “A strong constitution?”
Tess frowned. “I think so. I’ve seen him running in the morning.”
“No!” Everly rolled her eyes. “Constitution! Like, can he handle a gorgeous, stubborn, and strong-willed woman like Alanna? Will he be able to break through her hard shell of cynicism and get to the gooey goodness of her vulnerability?”
