Page 72 of Chasing the Sun

She huffed, but there was no real heat behind it. “That’s sweet, but unnecessary. I have Rose and Betty.”

“It’s Sheila,” the dark-haired woman corrected, lips twitching with a smile.

Elodie gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. “No.”

“Yes,” Sheila deadpanned.

She turned to Rose, eyes wide. “Did you know about this?”

Rose patted her arm. “We were going to break it to you gently.”

Elodie looked around like she’d been personally betrayed. “Since when?”

Sheila let out a delighted cackle. “Since birth, sweetheart.”

I ignored them. “Where’s Kit?”

Elodie blinked, then waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, she’s fine. She went home with herownbad decisions.”

I muttered a curse, raking a hand through my hair. Of course she did. Kit was a handful in her own right, but at least she was capable of getting herself home without stripping down to her underwear in the middle of town.

The three of them were linked at the elbows, a drunk, giggling tangle of limbs as they swayed down the street. Elodie wasn’t the only one whose clothing was coming undone.

Rose was wearing a lace-trimmed camisole and what looked like a slip instead of an actual shirt, and Sheila—well, Sheila had completely ditched her blouse and was parading down Main Street in a leopard-print bra like it was a Mardi Gras parade.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Where the hell are your tops?”

Sheila flung her arms out, nearly taking Elodie down with her. “Too restrictive. The universe wants us to be free.”

Rose clapped. “Preach.”

“You guys.” Elodie gasped dramatically. “I love you.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Elodie,” I ground out, already feeling the headache brewing, “where exactly are you going?”

She turned in a slow, exaggerated circle, as if that might help her find the answer. “The Drifted Spirit Inn.”

I stared at her.

“Yourinn,” she clarified, like I was the idiot in this situation. “They’re staying there, so we’re walking together.”

I looked at Sheila. She nodded. “Yep. Girls’ night!”

I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “You’re not walking anywhere like this.”

Elodie pouted. “Why not? My legs work just fine.”

I gestured broadly. “Because this is not walking attire.”

Sheila shimmied her shoulders. “Oh, honey, don’t act like you’re mad about it.”

My jaw flexed, heat creeping up the back of my neck when I thought about Elodie. I wasn’t going to admit they had a point, but for the sake of what was left of my sanity, I needed to get them all out of public view before half the town saw this shit show.

I rubbed a hand down my face. “All right, let’s go, ladies. I’m driving you.”

It took way too much effort to wrangle all three of them toward the park and into the cab of my truck. Rose climbed in first, taking over the passenger seat, but Sheila took one look at the setup and declared, “Oh, sweetheart, I need leg room,” before crawling, ass in the air, over the seat and into the back.