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“You two are evil,” I exclaim, sinking down on the edge of the bed. I need to sit down.
I wait for my pulse to return to normal, while the two of them keep gossiping.
“You should have seen them, making heart-eyes all morning,” Lottie tells Ivy. “They’re totally in love.”
“Don’t believe her!” I protest, as Brooke and Avery arrive, too. “It’s all lies.”
“Who’s in love?” Brooke asks.
“Josh, the lawyer.” Lottie replies, before I can stop her. “Mom’s hooking up with him.”
“I’m not!” I exclaim, flushing as all eyes turn to me. “Well, maybe we’re… getting to know each other,” I admit, sending a worried glance at Lottie.
She just rolls her eyes. “I’m fourteen, mom. I know about hooking up. Not that I’ve done any,” she says, looking downcast. “The boys at camp were all idiots. And I didn’t like any of the girls like that.”
“Good,” I say, relieved. I swore I wouldn’t be an overprotective nightmare when it came to romance, but I’m going to need some warning – and way more conversations about consent – before I actually have to deal with it.
Luckily, Lottie is distracted by Avery up close. “Your eye makeup is so pretty,” she says.
“Thank you,” Avery smiles, stunning in a flowy gown and freshly-styled waves. “Do you want me to do yours?”
“Yes!”
“So, the most important thing is primer…” Avery takes a seat beside her, rifling through my makeup bag like she owns it. I’d take eyeshadow over talking about my sex life any day, so I don’t remind Lottie that makeup is still off limits.
Desperate times, and all that jazz.
But still, my kid isn’t so easily distracted. As Avery starts applying a light pink shimmer to her lids, Lottie looks back to me. “I like him.”
“Josh?” I ask cautiously, adjusting my dress. That lurch in my stomach is back, all the carefree lust I’ve been enjoying this week suddenly taking on a new weight of consequence.
Lottie nods. “So far, anyway. He seems nice. And you need someone, for when I go to college, and you’re all alone.”
“Gee, thanks,” I crack lightly. “Maybe I’ll just get a cat.”
“A cat won’t change your tire,” she shoots back.
Ivy looks interested. “What happened?”
“We pulled a flat, on our way back from the butterfly sanctuary,” I explain. “Josh taught Lottie how to change it.”
“He’s practical, that’s good,” Ivy notes.
Lottie nods. “We usually have to wait and beg Reeve or Jackson to fix stuff. It would be good to have someone else on call for emergencies.”
“Relationships aren’t just about getting things fixed,” I remind her.
Ivy smirks. “But it does help.”
“Does Robert fix things?” Lottie asks Avery, and she snorts with laughter.
“No, he’s not a fixing kind of guy. But he has a whole team of people on call, and they come do anything we need. There are lots of different ways a man can take care of you,” she adds, applying Lottie’s eyeliner.
“Not that you need a man for that,” I say quickly.
Avery rolls her eyes. “Easy with the girlboss vibes, babe. Everyone needs taking care of sometimes. I make sure Robert takes his vitamins and green juice, so his heart doesn’t quit on him,” she adds.
“Reeve keeps me fed,” Ivy agrees, with a fond smile. “He’s always got snacks, because I turn into a bitch if my blood sugar gets low.”
