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I waved a hand to apologize to the angry guy behind me.

Arrow turned in my direction from all the honking as I sped off.

Enough was enough. It was time to vent. When I got to my apartment, I texted the girls.

Vivian:Wanna meet up tonight?

Audri:Come over to my place. New jewelry just arrived.

Michelle:I’m out of state. Send pics.

Natalie:Sorry. We’re in Paris visiting my mom.

Kiera:I’ll be there!

Vivian:See you soon.

I had to do something for myself tonight. Something fun that would put me at ease. I didn’t want to think of men. If I saw another man, I’d probably stab him with something.

I called Kaylee. “How are you doing?

“We’re about to watch another movie,” she said with a mouthful of something.

Kaylee was at Violet’s house for a sleepover this weekend. Violet lived with her mom one floor below ours.

“I’m heading over to Audri’s. Call me if you need anything.”

“I won’t need anything. Have fun!”

Kaylee was the most responsible teenager I’d ever met. Sometimes she acted as though she were my mom. She spewed wisdom that kids shouldn’t have. Kids these days know more about things than adults give them credit for.

I always knew where Kaylee was, and she always knew where I was. That was our deal, and she’d never disappointed me.

Knowing that she was safe allowed me to let loose. Tonight, I needed my friends to cheer me up. I needed their sound advice. Just their presence was good enough as well. Maybe after tonight I’d rekindle my friendship with Bullseye on the app. Or maybe I’d meet someone new.

But no. That would be for all the wrong reasons. Whatever. I’d think about that later.

I arrived and parked on the side near Audri’s massivestudio. Remington had added the addition to their home not too long ago for her to work at home when she wanted to. She had a gorgeous flagship store downtown inside the same building as Natalie’s clothing collection.

I walked to the lounge area of Audri’s studio, where Kiera sat on the comfy couches. Her long brown hair was tied into a ponytail.

“Where’s Audri?” I asked.

“Getting appetizers for us.”

I placed the bottles of CheckMate Black and CheckMate Red on the wooden coffee table.I needed to get them out of my apartment once and for all. They reminded me too much ofhim.

“Oh, I haven’t had either of these yet. May I?” Kiera reached for a bottle and examined it.

She had the glow of love around her. She and Forrest recently got engaged, and I’d agreed to be one of her bridesmaids. They hadn’t set a wedding date yet because Kiera was taking her time.

“Open it,” I said. “They’re for us tonight.”

“Where did you get these?” she asked, pouring herself a glass. “I heard Forrest talking about Arrow’s new wine, but it wasn’t ready for the market yet.”

“I attended a wine expo. Who knew there were so many types of wine around the world?”

“It’s big business.” Kiera sipped and purred. “So good.”