I didn’t see an issue with any of it.
Then again, I wasn’t the one looking to date me, so…
I screenshotted one of the profiles and sent it in my group chat with Holley and Saylor.
ME: What do you think?
Saylor responded, quickly followed by Holley.
SAYLOR: HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYY!!!!!!!
SAYLOR: It’s the worst dating profile I’ve ever seen.
HOLLEY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY *party emoji*
HOLLEY: I have to agree w Say, it’s awful.
I grimaced.
ME: Thanks. Happy birthday to me.
HOLLEY: I mean, you can’t see your face, Kins. Why is it hidden by a book?
ME: I’m trying to be mysterious.
SAYLOR: So dress up as a psychic at the fall fair, don’t hide your face on a dating app. How is a guy supposed to know if he’s attracted to a gardening-loving bookworm if he can’t see her face?
ME: Surely he should be attracted to my personality.
HOLLEY: Oh, sweet summer child.
SAYLOR: That’s not how the internet works.
ME: The internet sucks.
SAYLOR: It does.
HOLLEY: Alas, it’s all we have in this town.
ME: Stop tag teaming your texts to me. I know you’re standing right next to each other.
Sure enough, my phone rang seconds later with Saylor’s name flashing up on screen.
“What?” I answered.
“Sorry,” Holley said down the line. “Why don’t we meet for lunch and we’ll see if we can tidy it up for you?”
“That depends. Are you buying it? And where are we going? Colton said we’re all going to Bronco’s tonight, so I don’t want to eat there twice.”
“Why don’t we get sandwiches and walk up the trail a bit? We can shut the store for an hour. Dartree Mountain has that half-marathon thing on today and by the sounds of it, everyone is heading that way.” Saylor coughed. “So it won’t be busy on the trail.”
I thought about it for a moment. “All right. I’ll come to the store around midday and we’ll go.”
“Sounds good.”
“Also, this morning’s delivery wasn’t obnoxious at all.”
I swore I could hear their grins through the phone.
“You’re welcome,” Holley sang to the tune of the Moana song. She hung up before I could respond.
I shook my head and set my phone down, reaching for my coffee cup to finish my coffee.
Good. Midday.
That meant I could take a shower, dry my hair, and read a few chapters of my book.
Bingo.
***
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Kinsleeeeyyyyy, happy birthday to yoooouuuuuu!”
My cheeks flamed furiously as all my friends sang at the tops of their voices. The cake that was placed in front of me by Jasmine, Ivy and Holley’s mom, was absolutely divine. It was shaped like an open book; the cover was a dark brown, leather-look spine, and the pages were all intricately shaped to look like well-loved, well-thumbed pages.
And on the right page was a copy of the first page of Pride and Prejudice, one of my all-time favorite novels.
All right, the twenty-six candles somewhat ruined the ambience, and the sparklers were definitely on the extra side of a birthday cake, but I still couldn’t help but enjoy the overall effect.
Not to mention that they’d clearly thought through the cake. I was more of a run into the local grocery store and grab whatever’s left at the last-minute kind of cake buyer.
I obliged by blowing out all the candles. It took me two breaths, but that was because they were idiots who put twenty-six freaking candles on the cake. The table threw up a cheer, and I blushed when my brother wrapped his arm around me and hugged me.
“I didn’t think you’d blow them out,” Holley admitted.
Saylor sat back with a grin and held out her hand.
“Do you two just make a living betting on crap I do or don’t do?” I questioned, watching as Kai got up to cut the cake.
“Pretty much,” Saylor answered.
Ivy shook her head, rubbing her hand on the top of her rounded bump. “They’ve got at least two hundred dollars on when I’ll go into labor and how much she’ll weigh.”
Now that I knew.
“Yeah,” Tori said, flicking her newly lightened brown hair over her shoulder. “But that’s a pool, so it doesn’t count. We’ve all got about twenty bucks or so in on it.”
My pregnant friend rolled her eyes so hard, the baby probably did it, too.
“Hey, why aren’t I in on this?” Josh, my brother’s best friend, leaned forward on the table and looked at Holley and Saylor. “You know you can’t run a betting pool without me.”
“You always win,” I pointed out. “So that’s exactly why you aren’t in on it.”
Everyone nodded.
“We’re sick of giving you our money,” Kai agreed, handing me the first slice of cake with a wink. The second went to Ivy.
Josh protested. “It’s not my fault I’m lucky. Come on, let me bet on it.”
“Absolutely not,” Holley said resolutely. “You can fuck off.”
I hid a laugh behind my hand. I also knew that they’d deliberately kept it secret from Josh because, somehow, someway, he would win.
We didn’t know how he did it. I’d long suspected he used a psychic, but that was probably the result of too many paranormal books as opposed to a genuine suggestion.
He really was just that lucky.
I ate my way through my chunk of cake as they continued bickering about Josh being able to join the betting pool or not. Since it was like five on one, I didn’t think he was going to win, but it was definitely interesting watching him fight tooth and nail for his right to be a part of the group.
“We’re going to go,” Ivy said, reaching over the table and squeezing my hand. “I’m getting tired.”
I got up when she did and hugged her, careful to go to the side to avoid her bump. “Thank you for coming to hang out.”
“Of course.” She hugged me back. “Text me and
