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“Oh my gosh! I love your shop. I swear I could spend hours in there,” I gush. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her at first. Willa’s shop is designed like an apothecary, with gorgeous premade bouquets in the middle of the store and glass vials of home remedies and essential oils along the walls. She also makes her own soaps on the premises. She’s incredibly talented.
“Thank you. That’s kind of you to say.” Willa smiles softly.
“Can you join us, or do you have to get back to the store?” Gia asks.
“I can hang out for a while. My assistant is manning the counter while I’m gone. Let me go order my coffee.” She walks over to the register while we get a chair pulled closer to us.
“We need to plan another night out at the Howling Wolf,” Gia says.
“Ooh. Yes. I am so down.” I don’t even care that my feet will end up swollen beyond belief. I love dancing at the local bar.
“You want to come too, Willa?” Gia asks as she sits in the chair next to mine.
“Where?”
“The Howling Wolf. The guys like to spin us around the dance floor, and the drinks are always good.”
“Oh, uh. Sure?”
“We can hang out together and make fun of the loved-up couples,” Gwen teases.
“Hey, I’m not a loved-up couple,” I interject.
“Except Grayson dances with you almost the entire time, and when he’s not, he’s waiting on you hand and foot.” Gia grins.
I scrunch my nose. She has a point. “It’s not like I ask him to do those things. He usually does them despite my protests.”
“You and Grayson aren’t together?” Willa asks.
Her question makes Gia and Gwen laugh.
“Ignore them. No, Grayson and I have always been just friends. I was married. Well, technically, still am.”
“But we’re kicking that loser to the curb,” Gia interjects.
Willa winces. “Oh, I’m sorry if I made things weird.”
“You didn’t. I promise.” I wave her off.
Gwen explains, “We were laughing because Kylie isn’t sure that Grayson has feelings for her in that way.”
“It’s not just that,” I argue. “I also don’t want to implode our friendship when he’s the one person in my life I know I can count on no matter what. What if I lose him because everything changed?”
Gia reaches for my hand. “What if you gain a wonderful partner because you were brave enough to go after what you want?”
CHAPTER 16
Grayson
I’m going to have a heart attack.
Don’t worry about me, guys. I’ll just be on the floor dying. Carry on with the book club meeting.
Or maybe I’ll pass out from the lack of blood going to my head.
And I don’t mean my cock. That head is causing all the fucking problems here.
If I have to listen to Kylie talking about the group sex scenes any longer, I will need an ambulance. This has been even worse than the day we went swimming for Leah’s birthday. There, I could close my eyes and pretend as if she weren’t wearing next to nothing. I can’t cover my ears here. I’d look like a child, and everyone at book club would think I was fucking crazy. They’d be right. There’s a very good chance I’ve gone insane with pent-up lust.
