Page 55 of Hometown Hottie

27

NOVA

Cassidy and I arrived at her parents’ fancy lake house to find the party already underway. Jessie, Amber, and Harriet had driven up an hour before us, and clearly, they’d put the time they’d had here so far to good use. They’d already opened all the stacking doors to the deck, opened the infinity pool, and put on music that flowed through the built-in sound system.

A gentle breeze rolled over my skin as Cassidy and I walked into the house. Natural light flowed in through the large windows her parents had installed. With all the doors now open, it almost didn’t feel like we were inside at all.

Jessie let out a loud whoop when she saw us from where she was standing behind the island in the kitchen. A blender already whizzed up a batch of margaritas in front of her. Wearing a bikini and with her hair pulled into a high, messy knot on top of her head, she let go of the button, grabbed two cocktails she’d had waiting for us, and grinned as she handed them over.

“Welcome, ladies,” she said in a sing-song voice, pulling us into gentle hugs so she wouldn’t make us spill our drinks while doing it. “I’m so glad you’re finally here. This is going to be the best weekend ever.”

“No doubt,” Cassidy replied excitedly, sighing as she stepped out of Jessie’s embrace and brought the glass to her lips. “You’re a queen, Jess. Thank you for this. You have no idea how much I needed it.”

“Uh, I think I do.” She winked at us. “All of us needed it just as bad, which is why we’re here, right? To take a well-deserved break for a change.”

Amber walked down the hallway, a bottle of suntan lotion in one hand and a margarita in the other. Her bright red hair was also pulled up but into a sleek bun. Her bikini was barely there, and when she saw me wondering where the rest of the fabric had gone, she laughed and rolled her eyes.

“I’m not getting tan lines, girl. Those are not hot and I’m here to make the best of the sun while we can. Where’s Harriet?”

I frowned. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her. We just got here.”

As if to prove my point, I glanced at my bag still lying at my feet. “We haven’t even put away our stuff yet.”

Jessie let out a long-suffering sigh. “She’s on the phone. Apparently, there are some meetings happening today that she insists she needs to sit in on.”

“What?” Cassidy picked up her own bag and marched toward the hallway. “Come on, ladies. Let’s go steal her phone after Nova and I change.”

Our gracious host sashayed down the hall. I chuckled and followed after her, already starting to feel like I’d left my worries a million miles away. Between the fresh air, the music playing, and my friends, I couldn’t bring myself to stress about anything right now.

Shedding all that horrible tension like an old skin, I darted into the room Cassidy pointed me to and finally allowed myself to relax. I changed into my favorite red bikini I’d had since high school. Sipping my margarita, I rejoined the others in Harriet’s room.

Our raven-haired friend was on the phone, as we’d been told, and as soon as we all burst in there, she made her eyes huge at us and shook her head, mouthing a very firm, No.

Cassidy pumped her eyebrows at her while Jessie went around her back, her hand reaching out to snake the phone away from Harriet’s ear. She pressed it to her own ear and made noises that I suspected were supposed to sound like Harriet was breaking up. Then she ended the call.

“Guys,” Harriet complained, already stalking toward Jessie to steal the phone back from her. “That was important. I need to keep my finger on the pulse of this merger or I’m going to lose it.”

“You won’t,” Amber said lazily, inspecting her nails until she glanced up at our friend. “You weren’t even saying anything, babe. I hate to tell you this, but they probably didn’t even realize you weren’t on the call anymore. We, on the other hand, notice when you’re not around. You’re on vacation, right?”

“Of course, but⁠—”

“No buts,” I said firmly, snatching her phone from Jessie but hanging onto it for now. “Take it if it’s really important, but it’s a vacation weekend. Try to relax. You deserve it.”

She sighed and nodded, but when the phone pinged in my hand, she grabbed it, furiously unlocked it, and concentrated intently as she read her email, despite the groans that had broken out from the rest of us.

“I think this calls for the pontoon boat,” Cassidy decided out loud. “There’s no way she can keep working once we’re on the water.”

She, Amber, and Jessie went to the kitchen to stock the cooler. Harriet replied to the email and I waited for her. Eyeing my beautiful friend with her Snow White features all scrunched up with worry, I frowned. “Is there something going on at work? Something that’s not just work, maybe? You seem extra stressed.”

She waved me off. “I’m a female mergers and acquisitions lawyer. I’m always extra stressed. This is nothing. How are you?”

I shrugged. “About the same as you, except that I’ve decided to take a real break this weekend.”

Finally shoving her phone into a waterproof backpack, she hiked the bag over her shoulder and looked out her window at the lake. “A real break, huh? Are you going to be able to do that with Carson Drake right over there?”

My heart skipped, but I tried to play it off. Harriet and Amber knew about my history with Carson. Mostly because they’d both been at the bonfire that night and they’d picked up the pieces after he’d sped away.

I’d already realized that Cassidy and Jessie were probably going to find out about this weekend—if Jessie didn’t already know as a result of her blossoming relationship with Vance. Even so, I didn’t want to turn it into a thing.