Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
She beams. “Yes. Okay. So Andrew called me last night about Mom and Dad’s anniversary. We’re throwing them a little get-together with their friends. It’s going to be so cute. Anyway, while we were chatting, he might’ve mentioned that a few of the guys he hangs out with rented a little house on the Cape for a weekend coming up.” She scoots to the edge of her seat, her eyes twinkling. “And guess who got an invite?” She squeals, tapping her feet against the floor. “If I could do a cartwheel, I would.”
Gianna and I exchange a grin.
“I’m guessing your crush will be there?” I say.
“Yeah. It took a bit of finessing to find out if he was going without straight-up asking Andrew, but I managed.”
“This might be it, Audrey,” Gianna says, pointing at her. “This is your chance to put some moves on your man.”
Audrey flushes. “I don’t have any moves. How can I be your friend and not have moves?”
“Because you won’t let me teach you,” Gianna says. “How much time do we have? I can make you a little vixen, but I’ll need a few weeks.”
I fire a look at Gianna, warning her to tread lightly. We don’t want to make Audrey freak out. She’s waited too long for this. “You don’t need moves, Aud. Guys love girls like you. You’re sweet and pretty.”
“You’re fresh meat,” Gianna deadpans.
Audrey curls her nose. “Nice visual.”
“Did you bring my shirt, by any chance?” Gianna asks. “If you did, I don’t want to forget it.”
“It’s in my car,” Audrey says. “And don’t try to hem it yourself next time, please. You just make it harder for me in the end.”
Gianna shrugs.
“Your turn, Astrid,” Audrey says, settling in for story time. “What’s going on? Is this about the Trace thing? You met with the attorney today, didn’t you?”
I toss a lock of hair over my shoulder and try to appear as cool as I can … when I’m really toeing the edge of a cliff.
“So Dixon’s office called me earlier this week and canceled,” I say, my voice nice and controlled. Good, good. Keep it up. “They couldn’t reschedule me until June.”
Audrey’s face falls. “I’m sorry. That stinks so bad. I can look around for someone else. Don’t panic.”
“She’s not panicking,” Gianna says slowly, leaning forward with a smug grin on her face. “Why aren’t you panicking, Astrid?”
“She’s not panicking because she knows we’ll help her, right, Astrid?” Audrey asks.
I bite my lip and dodge Gianna’s gaze.
“No, Auddie,” Gianna says. “Think about it. Astrid has her life planned to the hour. You’re telling me that this fell through and she’s all breezy about it. You know her better than that.”
Damn you, Gianna.
Audrey cocks her head to the side. “You might be right.”
I sigh and shift in my seat. Might as well go in headfirst … ish. “I don’t need you to find me another name, Audrey, because I actually found someone who will give me a free consultation tomorrow afternoon.”
“Great,” Audrey says, grinning. “That’s such great news.”
“His name is Joe.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I have an appointment with him tomorrow afternoon.”
“Stop touching your hair,” Gianna says, eyeing me so closely that nothing is going to get by her. “And stop repeating yourself. Get to the point that you clearly don’t want to make but feel like you have to share.”
I groan, putting my hands on my lap. The longer I wait to lay it out there, the more suspicious they’re going to be. It’s time to rip the Band-Aid off. “Here’s the thing.” I pause. “Gray set it up for me.”
Gianna laughs, falling back in her chair. She has a victorious smile on her face that leaves me perplexed. Why does she look like she just won?
“Darn it,” Audrey says, stomping her foot. “I don’t have twenty bucks in cash on me. Can I pay you the next time I see you?”
“That’s fine.” Gianna snickers, looking at me. “We bet twenty bucks on whether you’d cave to that good-looking motherfucker by the end of the month or not. I won.”
“What?” I ask, my mouth hanging open.
Audrey sighs, frowning. “I thought you’d hold out at least a month. You’re usually so much harder than this.”
“I think the problem is that he’s hard, if you know what I’m saying,” Gianna says out of the side of her mouth.
“I didn’t cave to anyone,” I protest, looking between them. “You don’t understand.”
“What, exactly, do we not understand?” Gianna asks. “Your so-called mortal enemy set you up with an attorney to help you out of a bind. It seems pretty straightforward to me.”
No, no, no. “It’s not like that.”
“That’s not mortal-enemy shit,” Gianna says.
I want to disagree with her, but I’m not sure how to approach it. It doesn’t appear to be enemy shit, but we’re not necessarily mortal enemies anymore. He’s not my favorite person, and I’m sure I’m not his either. But we’ve managed to find a middle ground that I don’t hate. I wish I did hate it because gosh, it was easier, but I don’t.