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Alanna shook off the rain and gazed around Tess’s living room. “Well, this is an improvement.”
“Alanna!” Layla gasped.
Behind them, Tess gave a short laugh as she closed the door. “You mean the fact that I actually have a couch?”
“It’s definitely an upgrade from the lawn chair,” Alanna confirmed.
“Someone’s all growed up,” Everly agreed. Their fellow Crazy Cat Lady had beat them to the meeting and was currently lounging on said couch, a glass of wine already in hand. Today, she wore a tight pair of jeans that showed off her generous and—Alanna noted approvingly—seductive curves. Her t-shirt featured a necklace made of paw prints encircling the words, “Cats Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”
“Yeah, I finally got around to buying some furniture.” Tess dipped her head shyly, causing a curtain of auburn hair to fall over her face.
“It looks wonderful,” Layla gushed.
While the existence of furniture of any kind in Tess’s living room was certainly an improvement, in Alanna’s opinion, the woman’s decorating style hovered somewhere between generic hotel room and darts thrown at an IKEA catalog. Two oak side tables flanked a heather-gray fabric couch. In the corner, a garish red bookshelf held a series of intricate airplane models. The childish airplane model Alanna had noticed during the previous meeting sat next to the adult versions, looking like a sad outcast.
Nothing in the room matched. The walls were still bare. No television could be found. Alanna was aghast. How was the poor woman supposed to bingeNaked and Afraidwhen she needed to get through a Sunday morning hangover?
But, hey, it wasn’t all tragic. Alanna gravitated to the breakfast bar, where two bottles of wine beckoned. She set down a cheese tray she’d prepared next to a tin of perfectly round oatmeal cookies. The tin was decorated in a menagerie of cartoon cats—obviously Everly’s contribution to the proceedings.
Alanna poured a glass of wine for herself and a second glass for Layla. Scanning the room more closely, she eventually spotted Willow tucked next to a tall, brass floor lamp. The younger woman seemed fixated on the lamp chord.
“Do you have tape?” Willow asked suddenly, her voice so soft it was nearly swallowed by the rain. “Masking tape?”
Tess frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe?”
“You should, um, tape down the wire so no one trips.” Willow glanced up at Tess, her eyes dark pools of emotion.
“Sure,” Tess responded. “No problem.”
“Good.” Willow brightened. “Good.”
Alanna held back a laugh as she handed the second wine glass to Layla. Willow was such a freakin’ adorable weirdo. And, more importantly, Willow wastheirweirdo. Alanna felt a strange welling of protectiveness for the younger woman, for all the Crazy Cat Ladies, actually.
She dropped onto the couch next to Everly and nibbled a cookie. Every single one of her tastebuds orgasmed in unison.
“Marry me,” she said to Everly.
The other woman laughed. “You just want me for my cookies.”
“Guilty.”
Being here among these women felt good. Comfortable. It was almost as if they were… friends. Alanna’s guard sprang up.Gawd, what was going on with her? First, Alanna was feeling all warm and squishy over Sully, then big-sister protective of Willow. And now, she was going allYa-Ya Sisterhoodfor the rest of the Crazy Cat Ladies.
Careful,she warned herself.You’re leaving. Don’t forget.She’d never had time for friends before. Not in high school or college when she’d just been focused on surviving. And certainly not in Los Angeles. Who has time for friends when you live by the whim of clients, journalists, and press circuits?
Plus, it’s not like she’d lacked for companionship. That’s what Thomas was for.
“So, how is everyone doing today?” Tess asked. The petite woman seemed slightly less anxious on her second go as hostess.
“Me! Me! I wanna go first,” Everly cried, waving her arm in the air like the ultimate teacher’s pet. Without waiting for permission, she sang, “Peanut Butter had her kittens!”
“Oh!” Layla clapped her hands in delight, almost causing her wine to tidal wave out of the glass. “Why didn’t you text me?”
Everly grinned. “I was waiting for the meeting.”
“Peanut Butter?” Alanna asked.
