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I take a sip of the drink and feel the bubbles dance on my tongue. “Champagne is so tasty.”

Kate holds her glass up to me and smiles. “To newfound besties.”

I’m not sure if it’s the alcohol or her addressing me as her “bestie,” but my body swarms with warmth. “To besties.”

Felicity walks over to the nightstand, fiddling with a control above it. “Ed Sheeran?”

“Hit me with him!” Kate replies.

I look across at her. “Is Tom coming?”

Her lips tip up at the corners as she eyes me through the mirror. “Yep. It’s our first time out as an official couple.”

“You’re officially dating?”

Her face fully illuminates. “Yes! It’s been a few weeks now, and he wanted to move it to the next stage.” She taps her chin in thought. “I think he’s the first ‘boyfriend’ I’ve had in maybe five or six years.” Her eyebrows knit together slightly. “But it’s nothing serious. We’re exclusive, but I’m not planning on marrying the guy or anything.”

Felicity comes to sit on the other side of me, examining the different eyeshadow palettes. “Kate doesn’t do serious relationships.”

Kate nods her head harshly to indicate her agreement, and then quickly apologizes to the hairdresser trying to pin her hair.

Keeping my eyes firmly fixed in front of me, I decide now is as good a time as any. “Zach told me last night that if distance wasn’t an issue, and if the hockey lifestyle was something I wanted, then he would ask me to be his girlfriend.”

On hearing my revelation, Felicity’s mouth hangs open, but then it quickly snaps shut as she reaches forward and grabs my half-empty champagne flute. “Top up?”

I burst out laughing. “I’m a lightweight, so I’ll pass.” I take a deep breath and exhale slowly as Cathy finishes up the first smokey eye.

“What did you say back?” Kate asks.

“I knew he wanted more,” Felicity adds.

“I said I needed time. It’s not like the distance is going to change anytime soon. I’d be uprooting my whole life, and he can’t exactly move to Florida.”

Felicity closes one of the palettes and shrugs. “He would if he could.”

I turn to her. “You think?”

“One hundred percent, yes. If he wasn’t tied into a contract, I think he would. Zach’s the kind of guy who would do anything for those he cares about most.”

She’s not wrong.

She crosses a leg over and sits back in her chair, drumming her pale-pink fingernails on the arms. “But I don’t think this is purely about distance, and it's certainly no longer about his issues or fear of commitment.”

Kate nods knowingly. “It wouldn’t be just your job and hometown you’d be giving up. It would be your privacy too.”

“I’ve lived my entire life barely being noticed. I don’t mean that in a self-pitying way,” I clarify. “What I mean is I’ve never had eyes on me. Before you two, I didn’t have any real friends. My family isn’t close at all, and I’m an only child. I’m used to heading to the store on a Sunday with no bra on.” I laugh. “Plus, let’s just say for one minute that I went through with it all. There would be weeks, probably months at a time, when I wouldn’t see him. It’s not that I don’t trust him, but I’d be in this big city, in a new job, and on my own. I’d be away from the only home and people I’ve known my whole life.”

“I agreed with everything but the part where you said you’d be on your own,” Kate replies. “You would have us, so you would never be by yourself.”

I throw her an appreciative smile. Turning to Felicity, I wonder how she does it. “How do you cope with it all?”

“It’s hard. It was really hard at first. The adjustment, the speculation. The media passing comment on my age and being older than Jon.” She laughs darkly. “At one point they questioned whether I was pregnant and had entrapped him that way.”

“Wankers,” Kate drawls, which draws a laugh from Cathy and her colleague.

“My bestie’s turning British.” Felcitiy giggles and then she returns her focus to me.“But it’s slightly different for me. I was already set up and living in Seattle when I met Jon, and as much as he hates to talk about it, he only has a season or two left in the NHL, and then he’ll likely look at retirement options. Hence why he’s doing so much in the coaching space right now. Zach is four years younger and has much longer to go. In theory, anyway.”

I nod. “It’s a big decision. I want to make everything work between us.”