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“I got you a new phone today on my plan, so if anyone calls you that shouldn’t be contacting you,” I said quietly, arching a brow at her, “I’ll be able to shut it down real quick.”
“Thanks,” she said with a soft smile.
“And that means you can stop using my phone to call your friend Jane. She sends texts all the time, you know. Every five minutes.” I handed her my phone so she could go through the texts from Jane, who I’d never spoken to before. I hadn’t readthe messages between the two of them even though I’d wanted to. I wanted Sierra to trust me, just like I was learning to trust her.
“Hm,” she hummed, grinning as she showed me a picture of a little brown-haired girl with ringlet curls. “That’s Jane’s daughter. She’s three.”
“How long have you known Jane?”
“Oh, a decade or so. We went to college together and she… Well, she’s the only one out of our group of friends who knows the truth about me.”
“And she helped you get out?”
“She did. I called her one night and I told her a wanted to leave and she helped make it happen.”
I nodded, breaking from her gaze to look around the bar. It was slow today, but it was still early.
“Who’s working tonight?” I asked Frankie.
“Wes and Jules,” she said absently.
“Great, well, I’ll be upstairs if you need anything. Come on, Sierra.”
Sierra took another drink of Sprite before abandoning what was left of her fries and followed me back upstairs.
But as we walked through the door to my apartment, I stuck my hand out to stop her. She bounced off my arm, yelping.
Keely grinned widely as she came around the corner of the hallway.
“I was wondering where you were.” She smiled, one hand on her hip. “You must be Sierra.”
“Keely,” I hissed from the kitchen. Keely ignored me completely from her perch on the couch next to Sierra, her legs tucked underneath her.
“He really did talk about you for ages,” Keely continued.
“That’s not true,” I warned, but neither of the women were listening to me at all.
“I mean, he didn’t ever say your name but it was obvious he was pining—”
“Keely,” I growled, and she looked up at me and giggled. “Get out—”
“I must have made an impression.” Sierra laughed, ignoring me.
“Oh, my God,” I breathed, turning back to the Chinese food that had just been delivered. I pulled a few cartons out of the plastic bag it came and as I glowered at the two women taking up space in my apartment. Keely, my sister, and Sierra, the woman carrying my child.
They were best friends now, apparently, and Keely had been busy airing my dirty laundry right in front of me.
She’d told Sierra that I’d been a grouchy mess since we met a year ago, going as far as to blame my behavior toward her and George as repressed longing for a woman I thought I’d never see again.
In my defense, I met Sierra after the whole George and Keely thing had happened. But still.
“Is anyone going to eat, or are you just going to sit there and gossip about me in the open? Also—” I pointed an accusatory finger at Keely—“where the hell is your man?”
“George?” She laughed. “He’s at home. Why, should I invite him over?”
“Well, you invited yourself over,” I added, grabbing a plate from the cabinet. “Might as well invite the whole damn town while you’re at it.”
“Pete is still learning to like me, I think. It’s only been what… twenty-five years?” Keely giggled as she swung her feet off the couch. “I should get going though.”
