Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Yvette, how are you,” I asked as I pulled her in for a tight hug. I could smell the strawberry from whatever hair products she had used to get her curls so shiny and bouncy.
“Ugh, I’ve been better. Work was wild today.”
“Well, come in and let me get you some champagne. That should cancel out whatever crap happened at work.”
“I like your math,” she said, slipping off her sandals and coming inside. She followed me into the kitchen, where I grabbed a baby pink bottle of rosé and popped off the cork. The sound of more knocks mixed with the bubbly fizz of the champagne being poured into glasses. I grabbed an extra one and set it on the counter before Yvette took over pouring duties so I could go open the door.
“Tristan,” I said with a smile, pulling one of my closest friends into a hug. He appeared to have come straight from a kickball game, wearing his team’s blue-and-yellow jersey with grass-stained white shorts. “Good game?”
“Nah, we lost by a pretty big amount. But we still had fun, so whatever. I didn’t have time to change, though.”
“That’s fine,” I said, closing the door behind him. “As long as you don’t smell like you were running around with a bunch of sweaty guys and their balls, then I won’t complain.”
“Don’t catch me on a Sunday, then,” Tristan said, shooting me a wink.
“Or Saturday, or Monday, or Tuesday,” I shot back with a smirk.
Tristan rolled his eyes. “That was a particularly slutty week for me. I had no idea I’d end up hooking up with five guys. I think it was because my Saturn was rising or something.”
“Yeah, something was rising alright.”
Tristan scoffed out a laugh before Yvette walked out of the kitchen with three flutes of champagne in her hand. “You boys are gross,” she said, holding out the hand with the two glasses. Tristan and I grabbed one each.
“You heard all that?” Tristan asked.
“Of course I did. Eric lives in a two-bedroom apartment, not a countryside villa.”
We went to the couch, where we settled in to wait for the rest of the gang. We were only missing four more, plus Colton, who I was equal parts nervous and excited to hang out with. Sure, I wasn’t taking his case, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have him around my orbit from time to time. And I really did want to help him get settled into his new home with a good group of friends, even if that meant I’d be putting myself directly in front of Cupid’s line of fire.
My phone buzzed on my lap. I flipped it over and read Colton’s name, figuring he was asking for the address to my place again. Instead, I was greeted with an apology and a long-winded explanation about having to cancel on tonight’s book club meeting.
“What? What bad news did you just get?” Tristan asked.
“Huh?” I looked up from my phone, not realizing I was that transparent.
“You look like you just read a puppy’s obituary with the way your smile dropped.”
I huffed out a breath and typed out a quick response to Colton, letting him know it was totally fine that he couldn’t make it to the book club. Outside, a clap of thunder boomed somewhere off in the distance.
“Remember that new book club attendee I emailed everyone about? Colton? He just texted me to say he couldn’t make it.”
“Ah, gotcha,” she said. She took a sip of her bubbling champagne, her eyes narrowing from behind the rim of her glass.
“Is this the same guy you fell in love with back in the police academy and stopped talking to because you were scared of being yourself?” Tristan asked as nonchalantly as if he were asking what we were having for dinner.
I nearly did a spit take but was able to swallow down my drink before I sprayed it all over my best friend. “I, uhm, I’ve already talked about him?”
“Yup,” Tristan said, an arm thrown on the back of the couch and his feet propped up on the stool.
“I do faintly remember you mentioning that story,” Yvette said. “That’s wild how you guys bumped into each other again after all those years.”
“It is— what’s even wilder is that he asked me to help him with a case. And it would require us having to be fake boyfriends so I can attend his family trip to France.”
Tristan’s jaw dropped, and Yvette made a jumbled mix of sounds.
“And?” Tristan asked when he finally recovered from the shock of my reveal. “Are you going to take the case?”
“Absolutely.” The pair lit up, smiling wide. “Not. No, I can’t put myself in that position. He’s moved on, and I still feel guilty about how it all ended. How am I expected to go and hold his hand in one of the most romantic places in the world without catching feelings again?”