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I snort. "Trust me, if these guys wanted to hold us hostage, a handful of women wouldn't stop them."
"That's what I said!" Bambi throws her hands up. "But Miss Worrywart over here insisted on a recon mission."
Deborah's eyes widen. "You guys were worried about me?"
Steph reaches over and squeezes her hand. "Of course we were. We've got to stick together down here."
Deborah blinks rapidly, and I suspect she's fighting back tears. My heart clenches. I get the feeling this girl hasn't had many people in her corner.
Eager to shift the focus off of Deborah and save her from more embarrassment, I brandish the bag of ground coffee Gruffydd gifted me. "My hairy Prince Charming gave me a lovely gift."
"Aww." Bambi slaps a hand over her heart. “That’s so thoughtful.”
“Coffee!” Steph shouts. “I’d kill for a cup o’ joe right now.”
"Yeah, I didn’t have the heart to tell the big softie that I needed a coffee maker to brew it. But that’s definitely going in my Amazon shopping cart.
The conversation turns to the hoedown and I glance pointedly at Steph, Bambi and Octavia in turn, “Did anyone else get lucky last night?"
“Did anyone else do the walk of shame, you mean?” Steph teases.
I throw a pillow at her. "It's not a walk of shame if you're proud of it," I retort, sticking out my tongue.
"Bambi had an admirer. Olwydd. He wasveryattentive." Steph waggles her brows.
"Attentive?" Bambi rolls her eyes. "More like clingy. He wouldn't leave me alone all night. It was kind of sweet at first, but then it got a little..."
"Suffocating?" I supply.
"Bingo." She points at me.
Steph sighs dramatically. "At least he was actually admiring you. I got glared at all night."
"Glared at?" I frown. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know, it was weird. One of the Sasquatches wouldn’t stop staring at me. Every time I danced with someone, I could feel his eyes on me. Not in a sexy way, but in an 'I want to rip your head off' way." Steph shudders.
I glance over at Octavia, who's been quietly observing our banter. "What about you, Octavia? Any Sasquatch suitors?"
She startles, like she's not used to being included. "Oh, um...no. Not really."
"She was too busy running the whole show," Steph chimes in. "Seriously, the girl was everywhere. Refilling punch bowls, bussing tables, I think I even saw her polishing the cutlery at one point."
A vague memory surfaces of Octavia flitting around the edges of the party, always in motion.
Bambi frowns. "Octavia, you know you didn't have to do all that, right? You were supposed to be enjoying yourself, not working."
Octavia shrugs, picking at a loose thread on the hem of her t-shirt. "I didn't mind. I like feeling useful."
There's a story there, I can tell. But before I can probe further, Frank stands up, clearing his throat.
"Well, ladies, I'll leave you to your shopping. Let me know when you're ready to submit your orders." With an awkward salute, he's out the door.
"Okay, but seriously," Steph turns to me as soon as he's gone, "how was it? Spending the night with Gruffydd?"
I can't help the dreamy sigh that escapes me. "It was incredible. Like, mind-blowing." I fan myself dramatically. "Let's just say, you're all in for a very pleasant surprise when you take that step."
They're all leaning forward now, eyes wide with anticipation.
