“I’m going blonde,” Natasha said, taking the first sip of her ale. “He had the brunette last time.”
“I thought last time was the redhead?” Nick asked, folding his hands in front of him at the table.
“Amber?” Megan offered, though the rest of us had given up remembering names long ago. There were too many to even attempt it anymore. Once, he’d brought one girl to a brunch and then another to an evening barbecue—two in one day. I had no idea how he managed to keep it straight.
“No,” Jaren said quickly, “I mean, yes, probably, but no, the redhead wasn’t last. She was before the one with really short hair. Remember, he dated the one with red hair on Valentine's Day.”
“Where did the British one fit in?” Brad asked.
“Wasn’t she with us when we went to the lake?” Jaren asked.
“Ahh, yeah,” Nick said, stroking his chin as he thought back, and I knew he was picturing the tiny bikini our men had all appreciated with way too much enthusiasm, much to our annoyance.
“Well, don’t give yourselves strokes thinking too hard,” Natasha said. “We don’t have to wait very long to find out.” She pointed toward the window, where Andy’s head could be seen just above the dark strip of tint from the restaurant’s logo.
He pulled the door open, stepping back so his date could walk in—always the serial dating gentlemen—and I sucked in a breath.
“Is that—”
“No way,” Nick said, shaking his head.
“Holy hell,” Natasha whispered.
“Emily!” Megan cried out, reaching out for a hug as the familiar face came into view.
I met Natasha’s eyes, returning her dubious glance. What the hell? In the twenty-two years I’d known Andy, I’d never seen him date the same girl twice. He was a non-committal dater, who changed women the way he changed his clothes. So to see him returning with not only a familiar face, but the face we’d seen the last time we all got together, was such a shock.
Emily slid into the booth next to Megan, leaving Andy at the end. “What’s wrong? You all look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said when she broke out of Megan’s hug.
I forced myself to breathe, laughing along with the rest of the group.
“It’s so good to see you,” Nick said.
“How’re things, Andy?” Brad asked from across the table.
“Things are good.” He gave a happy nod. “You guys? How’re the girls?”
“They’re great. Growing like little weeds,” Brad said.
“Emily, how are you?” I asked her.
She beamed from her seat, her black hair slicked back in a high ponytail, thick eyeliner and a dark, maroon lip I couldn’t have pulled off if I tried. Then again, she was almost literally half my age and stunningly gorgeous. Even more beautiful than most of the women Andy usually dated, and that was saying something.
“I’m great, thanks, Laura. How are you? Oh my gosh, you look so pretty.”
I felt heat rush to my face, though I knew she was only being polite. “Thank you. I’m doing well.”
As they settled into their seats, Lila was back to our table in a flash.
“Um,” Emily pointed to the empty place in front of her. “I’m the only one who didn’t get a drink.”
“Right,” Lila said, looking at Andy uncomfortably. “I wasn’t sure who, er, I mean what, um—sorry, what can I get you?”
“I’ll take a cosmo please,” Emily said, clicking her painted black nails on the table.
Lila nodded, without writing it down. “I’ll get that put in and be right back to take your orders.”
When she disappeared, Andy looked at Emily, his eyes bright. “So…can we get to the elephant in the room.”
She pressed her lips into a tight smile. “I know you’re ready. Go ahead. Tell them.”
Oh my God, she’s pregnant. Natasha’s shocked gaze met mine again, and I could practically hear her screaming internally.
“So, as you all know, Emily is a pretty big deal in the travel blogging scene,” Andy said, clasping his hands in front of him. He looked as if he were going to explode, his cheeks flushed red. His eyes traveled around the circle, waiting for us to acknowledge it.
“Right.”
“Yes.”
“Go on,” we all chimed in, realizing he was waiting.
“Well, a few months ago, she got word that a new, private resort was opening up in the Caribbean, and she was one of the first bloggers to get to sign up for it. But, the thing is, they’re doing twelve weeks of trial runs before it opens and they’re only inviting select groups on the island for a week each, so it was a major long shot.” He looked at her, just as it hit me what they were saying. “But we just found out she got accepted! And, well, of course, they want groups, right? So, we thought, what better group than this one?” He held his arms out, waiting for a reaction.
We hesitated as a group, and I saw the eyes traveling around—Jaren and Nick, Brad and I…
“Wait, what?” I asked.
At the same time, Natasha said, “So that was you?”
“The invitations?” Megan asked, looking up at Nick.
Andy’s face fell. “You already got them?”
“You’re the ones who invited us?” Jaren asked, pointing at them.
“Yeah!” Andy said, his excitement back. “I thought we’d hear back before you, but…isn’t that great? Guys, it’s an all-expenses-paid trip to a private island! Why aren’t you more excited?”
“Andy, we,” I looked at Brad, who looked as uncomfortable as I felt, “look, it’s a sweet offer, Emily. Honestly. We just, we can’t really afford to take the time off—”
“Oh, come on,” Andy scoffed. “You guys are your own bosses. If you can’t get the time off, who could?”
“Yeah, man,” Brad said, “but we’re crazy busy at work right now. Even if we wanted to take the time off—”
“What, you couldn’t?” Andy’s brow furrowed. “You’re seriously telling me you are going to pass up a free week on a private island? A free trip to paradise, and we have no
