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Cackling, Brex just shook her head, and I went back to blending my foundation as she said, “That just sounds like you’re looking for an orgy.”
“I mean, if you were gonna indulge in your darkest fantasies, that gene pool would be the one to do it in.” Val’s smirk was all trouble, but then she scowled at her laptop. “Love you guys, but I gotta go. Just had a deposition move up, and I gotta pick up some documents to get ready.”
“Wait, don’t they have to give you notice?”
She slammed the laptop closed and bent to slide it into her backpack. “Not Judge Carson. Bastard.”
“Good luck,” Josie chirped, tucking a frizzy, dark curl behind her ear.
“Yeah, good luck!” I echoed.
“You keep us all posted on the lumberjack,” Vallie ordered.
Rolling my eyes at the description, I flashed her a smile before chirping, “Love you.”
They all echoed it back before Vallie’s screen vanished, the images rearranging to show me Josie and Brex. “So, what’s going on with you two? Back door play aside.”
Wrinkling her nose, Josie shook her head. “None of that for me. It’s still the great drought of the twenty-first century. Brex, how are you feeling?”
“Good, actually! Supposedly, morning sickness can hit at any time during the first trimester, but so far, it’s been pretty easy, all things considered.”
“Good, babe, I’m so glad.”
“Yeah,” I added lamely, swapping my sponge for mascara. Returning my eyes to the mirror, I asked, “Any ideas on names?”
“No, we want to wait until we know what we’re having.”
“You meanyouwant to wait untilyouknow what you’re having,” I corrected, earning a snort of amusement from Josie and a scowl so palpable I felt it through the screen from Brex. Glancing in her direction, I snickered when I confirmed what I already knew.
“Yeah, ‘cause Rhy is cool as a cucumber,” Josie added.
“Fine. Yes.Iwant to know what we’re having beforeIfall in love with a name.” Rhyett called for her right then, Royal barking enthusiastically enough that it had to be time for—“Hey, guys, Rhy just got home and it’s time to walk the dog, but I’ll check in later, okay?”
“Love you,” Josie and I said in unison, grinning as Brex did the same. A pang of jealousy twisted in my stomach as I realized how much I missed my cat, Chloe. I knew they were taking good care of her, but her sweet little face flashed in my eyes and I cursed the fact that I had to swallow back tears. Would it be pathetic to video chat with my cat? Maybe. Was I beyond asking? Nope.
Brex vanished a beat later, leaving me and Jos hanging out as I lined my brows. “So, how are the kids?” I asked, missing their sweet faces something fierce. I’d never been away from them for this long—had been there when Jos got married, when they brought Gemma home for the first time. Hell, I’d been at the hospital with her for her delivery with Kyler. But I’d specifically avoided any kind of travel after Blaze died in the line of duty, leaving Jos a single mama with a folded flag encased in her apartment where her best friendshouldbe. This was the longest I’d been away from her, too.
“Gem’s getting big—just finished spring soccer, which she loved—and is mostly excited to start school this fall. Kyler is learning his alphabet, and despite mommy’s adamant attempts, still prefers peeing in my potted plants to the toilet.”
Chuckling, heart aching, I shook my head. “Miss you, babe.”
“You too.Somuch. Eric hasn’t caused any more trouble?”
I winced, piling all my cosmetics back in the case as a sigh leaked from my ribs. “He’s being…odd. Settling in like he’s here to fucking stay. But, no. It’s almost worse, you know?”
“Because you’re waiting on pins and needles?”
“Exactly.”
“Always wondering what the hell he’s about to do.”
“Yes!”
“Effectively, he has you walking on eggshells despite not being with him, the sneaky fucker.”
“My sentiments as well. On that note…are you still in touch with Shamra?”
Mouth popping open, Josie furrowed her brow, and I hated myself for asking this of her. But with Eric lurking, I needed to formulate a plan—and a backup plan, for that matter—in case he decided to take this whole situation nuclear. Shamra was the friend Blaze had died for. His best friend’s little sister was a badass in her own right. We’d all met her a few dozen times at barbeques and gatherings, then spent evenings laughing, leading up to the wedding.
