“And yet, I clearly I did.” Sabrina crowed as she picked up her win again. “So spill. Who is he? Where did you meet? How many orgasms did he give you?”
“Whoa!” Ryan called out from the living room as he entered the room holding his daughter. “Young ears in the room. Maybe warn a guy first before you start dropping words like that in our vicinity.”
“I shouldn’t have to,” Hope said with a glare that could’ve stripped paint off a building. “This is supposed to be my time with my girls. You’re supposed to be watching the baby.”
“And I am,” Ryan replied with a winning smile that didn’t lessen Hope’s glare. Finally, he sighed. “Okay. I’m sorry. I wanted to head over to Nathan’s place and talk to him about… You know what? It doesn’t matter. We’re going. Say buh-bye to Mama.”
“Mama.” Fliss babbled as she grinned up at her mama, flashing a hint of a new, shiny tooth. “Bababa. Dada.”
“Aww!” Hope cooed before she bent down to kiss her slobbery baby. “Love you, Felicity. And you…”
Whatever she was going to say was lost as Ryan kissed her. And kissed her. And just after I had to look away because it was going on so long, Ryan grunted.
“Ow!” Ryan let go of Hope to hold his nose. “Sorry, Fliss. Your mama is just too pretty.”
Hope blushed as she took a step away from her family. “Okay. Go to Nathan’s. I’ll text you when we’re done and it’s safe to come home.”
“Love you.” Ryan grinned wolfishly at his fiancé, a lifetime of promises glinting in his eyes. His smile dimmed a little as he turned to include me and Sabrina. “Night, Sabrina. Congrats on the big O’s, Maddie.”
“Ryan!” I yelled as the door closed behind him.
“See that right there?” Sabrina tilted her head toward a still-flushed Hope. “That’s how I knew you were getting it. That’s the look of a woman who has awesome… Sorry, I can’t finish the thought. Ryan’s my brother. That’s gross.”
Hope just laughed. “But back to the main point. Who is he? Where did you meet?”
“How many orgasms did he give you?” Sabrina finished for her.
Now it was my turn to blush. Again. “Come on, guys. Aren’t we going to talk about this week’s book at all?”
Hope waved a hand. “Yeah, in a minute. Stop deflecting. We want to talk about the rom-com going on in your life.”
I groaned. If they only knew… “Okay, so I signed up for a dating app. I can’t remember the name, but the one where you swipe if you like them or not. And he messaged me. He actually sounded like a normal guy, not one of those asshats sending unsolicited dick pics. We met up for drinks and we’ve been seeing each other ever since.”
“Has he taken you for an actual date?” Hope frowned. “Or are you just hooking up?”
Sabrina snapped her fingers then pointed at me. “Ooooh! Get out your phone. Let’s see his profile!”
“Yes!” Hope all but screamed. “I wanna see his picture.”
“Okay, I think it might be time to dial back the alcohol. And I don’t have the app anymore. I deleted it.”
“Ooooooohhh.” Hope and Sabrina moaned in unison.
“So it’s serious?” Hope asked.
“I don’t know.” I groaned and covered my face with my hands so I could hide if only for a second. I didn’t know what to say, how much I could tell them. I wanted to tell them everything. I felt like the lowest, crappiest friend ever because I was hiding so much from them.
These guys were my soft place to fall. I should tell them.
“Can I just say that I’m so glad you finally got over that silly crush you had on Nathan for so long?” Sabrina said with a sad smile. “You wasted so much of your life mooning over him, and he’s never looked at you the same way. And to be honest, you could do so much better.”
“Sabrina!” Hope gave her an appalled look. “That’s so rude. He’s your brother. And my future brother-in-law.”
“But it’s true. Come on you know it is. They would’ve been like Romeo and Juliet—doomed from the start—a freaking tragedy, not a romance. Nathan is just…he’s got such a hot temper and always has to be right. He thinks he knows what’s best for everyone and gets annoyed when you don’t agree with him. He would’ve crushed Maddie’s spirit in a second if she dated him. You know I’m right.”
Hope bit her lip but didn’t say anything.
Her silence was damning.
“You agree with her?” I asked, hurt bleeding into my voice.
“It’s nothing against you,” Hope rushed to say. “It’s just he’s so, and you’re… Sabrina’s right. He would’ve crushed your spirit. I don’t think you’d be a good match. Star-crossed lovers never work out.”
Tears welled in my eyes, but I’d be damned if I let them fall.
The fact that my friends—my best friends—thought so little of me, of my ability to stand up for myself pissed me off.
And hurt. God, it hurt so much.
Why didn’t they think I could stand up for myself? Was I really such a doormat?
“But it’s a moot point, right?” Hope asked with a concerned look. “Now you have this wonderful man in your life.”
“Right.” Sabrina answered with a tremulous smile. “Your new man. The great giver of orgasms. I’m so happy for you. I, uh, I don’t think you told us his name.”
“You’re right. I didn’t.” I put my wine glass down with a quiet clink. “You know what? I don’t think my spirit can take any more quality time with the girls tonight. I’m going home. Or to the place where I sleep, anyways, since I don’t have a home to go to. Whatever. I’m pissed off, and I’m going to leave before I say something I can’t take back. Have fun talking about our book, or me, the minute I leave.”
“Maddie!” Sabrina called from behind me as I headed for the door.
