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Maya was nodding, a soft look on her face, and Liv could tell the penny had dropped for her too. “I’m sorry, Elise,” Maya said. She paused, seeming to tread carefully. “I think, though, from having gotten to know Nico pretty well now, that his life isn’t as easy as he makes out.”
Elise darted her gaze over to Maya and back again. “Oh yeah?”
Maya nodded. Elise opened her mouth as if to ask more; then she appeared to catch herself and closed it again, concentrating instead on creating more shiny blond curls. “He certainly seemed pretty easygoing today, when he stripped naked to jump into the Fairy Pools.” She huffed out a breath. “Again.So those antics haven’t changed since school. At least the teachers weren’t there to witness it this time.”
Liv grinned. “Hope you averted your eyes during the stripping-off part, and the emerging-from-the-water-naked part, like Maya and I did.”
Maya shrugged, her face deadpan. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”
Liv eyed Elise for a moment, watching her cheeks stain pink and imagining her as the perfect heroine in an enemies-to-lovers romance. Starring opposite Nico.Ha! That’d really piss Elise off.
Elise cleared her throat. “When did Nico get that sleeve tattoo? It’s huge.”
“A few years back,” Liv replied, a smile playing on her face. “But I thought you weren’t looking.”
Elise’s cheeks were practically glowing now, and she fell silent, concentrating on her hair. Liv decided that her friend had likely had enough teasing for one day and went back to her book.
“Liv?” Elise asked.
She glanced up, now feeling guilty about ribbing Elise and worried that she’d hurt her friend’s feelings. “Yeah?” she said, about to apologize.
“Are you feeling okay?” Elise asked softly, looking at her via the reflection in the mirror. “After your dad showed up last weekend?”
“Yeah. I’m good,” she said quickly, trying to cover her discomfort. “We’ve not heard from him again, so hopefully he’s fucked off somewhere.” Probably back to hell to hang out with his best mate, the devil. She took a breath, blinking. “Anyway. I assume I don’t need to remind you both about the first rule of the sten weekend?”
Maya and Elise glanced at each other before saying in unison, “We don’t talk about Dave.”
Liv nodded, forcing a smile onto her face. “And the second rule?”
The two of them smiled back. “We don’t talk about Dave.”
“Excellent,” Liv said, shifting her eyes back onto her book and trying to get Dave out of her mind.
There were a couple of seconds’ silence before Maya broke it. “Thanks again for organizing this. I’ve loved everything about it so far.”
Elise set down her hair equipment and ran her fingers through her freshly curled hair. Liv almost wanted to cross the room and join in, the blond tendrils looked so temptingly soft.
“I hope you like the restaurant,” Elise said as she got to her feet. “I’ll feel terrible otherwise.” She was wearing skintight shiny black trousers and a sparkly silver tank top, with little black ankle boots.
Maya stood to join her, and Liv put down her book, slipped on her red heels, and moved around the bed to follow the two of them out of the room.
“Of course I’ll love it,” Maya told Elise, linking arms with her. “You’ve got excellent foodie taste. In any case, with this company I’d love it if we went to McDonald’s.” She led them out of the room, her soft black jumpsuit swishing around her stilettoed feet.
“Aw, man,” Liv replied as her tummy rumbled. “I could really go for a Big Mac right now.”
Elise laughed, turning her head to flash her a smile as they headed toward the stairs. “I’m afraid this place doesn’t do Big Macs.”
“Why is it even called a Big Mac?” Maya asked as they descended the stairs. “It’sMcDonald’s, notMacDonald’s. So really, it should be a Big Mc.”
Liv chuckled. “Good point, Miss M.” She glanced down as she stepped onto the landing behind Maya and Elise. “Bloody hell, Elise. Are you wearing space pants?”
Elise shot her a puzzled look. “Space pants?”
“Yeah.” Liv grinned. “Because your arse is out of this world.”
Maya broke down laughing as they rounded the corner to where the blokes were sitting having a drink in the living room. Elise joined in and Liv’s chest warmed as she took in how Elise’s eyes lit up. It was something she observed much more rarely in her friend since Harry’s death.
Sam was studying them curiously, a smile on his face, and the warmth in Liv’s heart swelled at the look of adoration he gave Maya as he appraised her evening ensemble. She signaled to the women to take a drink and Maya nodded, as Sam stood to kiss her cheek.
