Page 27 of Stand Your Ground

“Well, nothing saysfuck me brainlesslike an Easter dress,” I teased, sipping my white wine with a grin before I picked up the bracelet I was crafting. I’d brought over my travel jewelry kit so I had something to do with my hands during this little girls’ night other than drink myself into oblivion. Currently, my project was a delicate tennis bracelet peppered with round briolette cut moonstones. I planned to give it to Chloe as a wedding gift, but she didn’t know that yet.

Chloe Knott was a kindergarten teacher and fiancée to our grumpy goalie, Will Perry. We’d been bugging them since he popped the question for wedding details, only to find out recently that they planned to elope. And though we all were bummed that we wouldn’t be there to sob all over them as they exchanged vows, it made perfect sense.

I couldn’t imagine a world where Will Perry would be excited to share something so intimate with a crowd of two-hundred people watching.

Theywereindulging us with a little close friends and family party when they returned, at least. That was the only reason we all hadn’t rioted.

“I mean, if we’re talking pagan origins, Easteristhe goddess of fertility, so…” Grace shrugged, tilting her bottle of beer toward Chloe. “I guess it depends on what your goals are for this wedding trip.”

Grace Tanev was our little adventurer in the group, a Coppertone tan ball of sunshine with platinum blonde hair who was always on the go. She was only in Tampa for a week before she was bolting off to do a cruise to Antarctica, stopping by long enough to give Chloe fashion advice and steal a few nights with her beloved Jaxson Brittain — who just so happened to be her brother’s best friend and teammate.

That hadn’t been atallscandalous.

Chloe’s phone rang before anyone could tease her further, and she lit up at the name on the screen before running to her laptop to answer. She set it up to face all of us before accepting the call.

Mia Love’s smile filled the screen in a dazzling flash.

“There she is!” Chloe sang. “How was night two in Kansas City?”

“Incredible,” she breathed, peeling off her fake eyelashes. Her bronze skin was glowing, long brown hair wavy and sweatyat the roots. “I surprised them all with a guest appearance from REX.”

“The rapper?!”

“Who else?” She laughed. “I think they were all very confused when I started an acoustic version of ‘Barbie Q’, but when REX came out, they lost their minds. It was epic.”

“You’reepic,” I shot back.

She blushed, like she didn’t already know it, like she wasn’t the biggest pop star in the world.

Mia was the newest addition to our group, married in a flash to our stubborn asshat winger, Aleks Suter. It had been a surprise to all of us, how quickly they’d started dating, got engaged, and then married — but they’d been friends since they were kids, and apparently crushed on one another that long, too.

Whatever miscommunication kept them apart, I was glad they figured it out — because I already loved her fiercely. She was a girl’s girl, through and through. The fact that she was rushing to her hotel to video chat her girlfriends after playing a sold-out stadium show was the perfect example of that.

“Well, you’re just in time,” Chloe said. “We’ve picked two outfits so far, nixed about seventeen, and now we’re debating this dress.”

Chloe stepped back so Mia could take in the full view of it, and when Mia’s smile took on an awkward tilt and she blinked a little too much, I couldn’t contain my laugh.

“It’s… colorful!” she said, too much teeth in her grin.

Chloe deflated but was smirking when she started to hang the dress back on the hanger. “Not exactly the vibe I’m going for.”

“Is the vibe you’re aiming for more likerip this thing off me and rail me into next year?Because I might have a few things you could borrow, if that’s the case,” I said.

“Oh, God. If we take this party to Liv’s place and dive into her closet, I have a feeling we’ll send you off to the Seychelles in nothing more than fishnet,” Maven teased.

I shrugged. “And this is a problem… how?”

“To be fair, I’m pretty sure Daddy P would rail you even if you wore a burlap sack,” Grace said to Chloe. “Never seen that man turn to putty until he met you.”

Mia offered up her closet next, but I missed out on the glitter and sequin jokes when Maven pinched me just above my elbow.

“Ouch!”

“Who were you texting just a minute ago?”

“That hurt,” I said, rubbing the spot she’d assaulted.

She sucked her teeth. “Please. You don’t fool me. I’ve seen your top dresser drawer, and that pinch probably felt like a tickle in comparison to the contraptions you’ve got in there.”