Page 27 of Stick to the Deal (Friendship Springs Romance #3)

“Nic’s husband is in town.” Bree’s gaze softens as she watches her family together.

A ping of longing unfurls in my stomach. I quickly drown it in wine.

Colin turns to me, eyes widening in shock. “Right now? And you left him at your apartment? ”

“It was a surprise visit.” Three hard sets of eyes stare me down. I block them out of view with the end of the bottle as another guzzle tickles down my throat. “Besides, he’s jet-lagged, anyway.” The excuse sounds lame even to my own ears.

The truth is, I’m still not entirely sure why I’ve been so adamant about keeping Reginald separate. It’s probably tied to old habits.

I’ve been keeping my London life and personal life separate for half a lifetime.

Part of it probably stems from noticing that Reginald doesn’t particularly enjoy socializing.

There’s some other reason that lurks just at the edge of my mind.

I’m reticent to dive too deeply, though, afraid of what I might discover.

Nora lets out another whimper, saving me from further questioning. Bree sighs and goes to take the baby back, but Colin stops her. “I got her, a ghrá .”

“Are you sure?” She looks conflicted.

Colin pulls her close and kisses her much shorter head.

“That nap did me wonders. You haven’t had a night with the girls since she was born.

I’ll drive her around for a bit. Maybe see if David wants to grab some coffee.

” With one more thoughtful look at me, he heads towards the door, a giant diaper bag on his arm.

Anna and Bree follow him out. In the case of the former, presumably to prepare snacks, and to watch her family leave for the latter.

With another sigh, I lean back and take another sip of wine.

I hiss as my bare toes connect with the leather sofa, chilled by the constant air conditioning.

Setting the bottle on the side table, I reach for the nearby blanket and spot the socks at the top of my bag.

Pausing for only a moment, I grab them and slip them over my icy feet.

I wriggle my toes inside the luxuriously soft fleece and soon warmth flows to them.

Who knew that socks could be a thoughtful gift?

By the time the girls reappear, I’ve finished the first bottle by myself. Mistakes have been made. Mistakes very much not like me.

“So, that’s Reginald, huh?” Anna asks from her seat in the recliner.

“Yea.” I keep my eyes on my gray covered toes as I wiggle them.

“You seemed…friendly.”

“We are friends.” My mind is getting fuzzy from the wine.

“So you said he got you a gift?” Bree asks hesitantly.

“Signed pointe shoes and a novel retelling Swan Lake.” Didn’t Anna go for snacks? Where’s the salty good stuff?

“Swan Lake?” Anna’s voice raises at the end, making it a question .

“Yeah, it’s my favorite ballet. We saw it together in London.” I’d even go for a fruit plate about now. Why didn’t I bring a charcuterie board?

“You like ballet?”

“Yeah, since I was a kid.” Sitting up, I dramatically turn to my friends. “Where are the snacks, sister?”

They share a confused look. Anna pushes the popcorn bowl closer to me. I grab it and happily start munching away.

Bree perches on the couch closest to me. Head cocked, she peers at me like a puzzle she’s trying to figure out. “So if you’re friends, is this one of those platonic marriage of convenience things?”

Flashbacks to Halloween send heat pooling in my stomach. “More like a husband with benefits.”

“Well, that was a gamble,” Bree says.

“I knew you were sleeping together!” Anna crows. “Is he any good?”

“Wouldn’t you test drive a car before purchasing?” I scoff. “We have an understanding.”

“Nic…”

“Bree.”

“That never ends well. I’ve seen that plotline a thousand times. Someone always catches feelings.”

“This isn’t one of your rom-coms, Brianna.” She opens her mouth, but I hold up a hand to stall her. “I know this comes from a caring place, but just stop. This is my life. Trust that I know what I’m doing and drop it.”

Her big blue eyes glisten with tears, and her chin trembles slightly. “I’m sorry, Nic. You’re right. I worry about you. This all happened so fast and you’ve hardly said anything about him. You have the best sense of people of anyone I know. I’m sure you picked a good one.”

“Ok, but how good in bed is he?” We both turn slack-jawed to our sweet southern friend, who has gotten more sassy since reuniting with David. “What? Just because I don’t swear doesn’t mean I’m a prude.”

“What do you want? A score out of ten? Or a rank?” Chuckling, I rifle through my tote for another bottle of wine. “I am very satisfied with my arrangement.”

“That’s it? No details?”

“Come now, Anna. A lady never tells.”

“That’s right! Do we need to call you ‘your grace’ now or some nonsense?”

“Grace is for dukes. He’s only a viscount,” Bree explains .

I groan around a mouthful of wine. “Would you both please drop it and put the fucking movie on already?”

We agree on a single film rather than our typical three movie marathon.

I push back a pang of sadness. What a change two years makes.

It’d be easy to blame Colin for it all, but as much as I like to give the guy shit, it would also be unfair.

Not once has Colin ever stood in the way of girls’ night.

In fact, he always offers to drive us, fetch snacks, or leave us alone.

He was only the first of many changes for us.

Time keeps moving. It doesn’t care if we want a moment to last a lifetime, or a season to race by.

She has her own pace and we are simply trying to keep up.

I cannot picture a time where these girls won’t be my family, but as our individual worlds change, so will our friendship.

Girls’ night will turn into couple’s game night.

Happy hour will morph into brunch—when the kids don’t have an activity.

Maybe it’s the Malbec, but the thought doesn’t scare me as much as it used to.