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Daphne’s cheeks are flaming as she lowers onto the couch, too. “He invited me to go out with him on his motorboat this afternoon…”
“That’s a good thing, no?” I question, confused. “Sounds like fun. What am I not understanding here?”
A shudder moves through Daphne. “It was just something about the way he grinned when he said…motorboat, Karli. I pictured him with his face buried in my boobs, flapping his lips and making engine sounds.With that mustache.” She shakes her head vigorously. “I couldn’t do it, Karls. I couldn’t do it.”
I try not to laugh. “Daphne, youdorealize that your parents are gonna keep pushing this guy on you until you stand up for yourself and tell them you’re not interested, right?”
“I’mtryingto be interested,” she says with a fake sob. “I mean, gosh, I don’t want to be a virginforever. At this rate, I’ve got a one-way ticket to Spinster Ville.”
“Staying a virgin is better than getting tethered to a guy who makes a shitty life partner,” Layla grumbles from her end of the couch.
My eyes volley between my girls. “There’s being a virgin”—I weigh that option in one palm—“and there’s getting tethered to a guy who makes a shitty life partner”—I weigh that scenario in my other palm—“But there’s a whole lot of good stuff in between. You don’t have to settle for either extreme.”
Layla quirks a smile at me. “Well, tell us all about that ‘good stuff’, why don’t you? You seem to know all about it.”
“Yeah, girl, spill it.” Daphne lights up. “You disappeared from the bar with your hot roommate the other night and we didn’t hear a peek from you for almost thirty-six hours. And now you’re absolutely glowing and you look like you’re itching to tell us something juicy.”
Oh, god. Now that the girls have turned the spotlight on me, I feel an anxious bubble growing in my gut. I swipe Sky out of Daphne’s arms. “Give me this guy.” His baby smell always calms me down. I start pacing.
“What? What did you do?” Daphne questions, excitement in her eyes.
“‘Whodid you do?’ is the real question!” Layla wiggles her shoulders.
Daphne gasps and then she squeals. “Admit it! You did Dr. Pretty Boy! Didn’t you?!”
“Again!” Layla smirks knowingly.
“Guilty,” I mumble and the girls squeal some more. “But that’s not the worst part. That part was actually really freaking good.” I rock Sky in my arms, my heart thudding. “The problem is, I’m falling for Mason,” I whisper. “But Ishouldn’tbe.”
“Why the hell not?” Layla questions.
“The man is hot, smart, andtotallyinto you,” Daphne blurts out.
“Plus, the two of you are locked up all alone in that house every single night,” Layla adds on. “What could possibly be the problem?”
My shoulders rock when I sigh. “I’m still trying to figure out what move to make next in my messy life. Hell, I don’t even know what I’ll be doing next month. How can I be falling for some guy? Especially one who has his shit together like Mason does?”
On the food chain of life, boys come pretty low on the list.
It’s like…your family. Your best friends. Your career. Your health and self-worth. And then maybe, you can consider adding a boy to the mix.
I’m doing this all wrong.
Layla climbs off the couch, coming at me. “I’ll just take my little guy back before you combust.”
She eases her baby out of my arms and sneaks in a tight hug, wrapping one arm around me.
“I know I’m the last person who should be dishing out boy advice,” my bestie says, “but I say you should go for it. Be as careful as you can, of course, but at the end of the day, the heart is gonna do whatever the hell it wants.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure…”
My heart has gone rogue. That bitch ran away from me when I wasn’t looking. Now, she’s parked in the palm of Mason Westbrook’s hand.
36
KARLI
And so the workweek begins…
