Page 10 of Sugar

“Mom thinks we should invite Gloria over to set them up,” Greer shared with a barely contained laugh.

Giving my back to Attorney Hot Stuff so he wouldn’t see the insane face I was about to make, I grimaced and made only one of my eyelids flutter. I put my fingertips to my temple. “I’m sorry, I must’ve had a stroke. I almost thought you saidhimwithGloria.”

“I did,” Greer confirmed, and I made the unhinged expression again.

“You surely mean some other Gloria, right?”

“Josh’s mom.”

Officially, Josh was her ex-boyfriend. After two years of dating—and almost a lifetime of knowing each other—Greer had randomly broken up with him a couple weeks before.

Unofficially, though?

They talked like they were dating. Hung out like they were dating. Touched like they were dating. He worked as her dad’s admin, lived in the same gated community, and was literallyalways around. The only change was that he wouldn’t be returning to Coastal with us since he’d already graduated.

He could easily make the short trip to visit her every weekend, but it wasn’t good enough for Greer.

She claimed she’d run through all the scenarios, and they were up against too much. She didn’t want to drag it out and end things hating each other, so they ended it hurting instead.

It didn’t make any sense to me, but I was a girl’s girl. I supported her decision—mostly because it wasn’t my life. If it was, I wouldn’t have dated Josh to begin with. Not that he was a jerk. He wasn’t. He was just cocky and self-centered in the way that all guys seemed to be.

“Your mom actually thinks they would make a good couple?” Wren’s nose crinkled at the thought.

Greer’s expression matched. “Uh-huh.”

Gloria was four times divorced. Some might say that made her unlucky in love, but only those who’d never met her. If they had, they would know she was selfish. Whiny. A gold digger. Embarrassed to have a son old enough to graduate, but fine with hitting on his friends.

An LA stereotype.

Since we knew how she acted when all eyes weren’t on her, we didn’t like her. The OGs, however, gave her the benefit of the doubt. They thought she simply needed to findThe One.

I glanced back at the man as he accepted a bottle of water. It killed me to say it, but theywouldmake an attractive couple.

If not custom-made, his high-quality suit was at least expertly tailored to accentuate and accommodate his broad shoulders and chest. The matching black shirt was undone at the neck. He looked effortlessly classy, like he’d stepped out of an ad for a cologne no one could afford.

He was probably in his mid-thirties—which put him about ten years younger than her—but most would guess they were the same age. Gloria might’ve been annoying, but she was also beautifully expensive looking.

Wren shrugged. “Eh, maybe.”

Something about that just felt wrong as it twisted in my stomach. No one deserved to have Gloria’s meticulously groomed acrylic talons dug into them.

Though maybe he did. He could be herThe One, a match made in hell.

“But they didn’t invite her?” I asked, needing the reassurance. Not just because the idea of watching Gloria throw herself at the man nauseated me—though it totally did. Our final summer movie night was too important to ruin with her whining theatrics.

“Nope,” she said.

Oh thank God.

“Is Josh coming?” I asked.

“Any minute. Hence why I’m getting my ogling in now.”

Wren might’ve seemed immune to the man, but when she looked behind me, her dark eyes widened. Her words came outin a frantic rush. “Be cool because you’re about to get an up-close opportunity.”

The opposite of being cool, I instinctively looked over my shoulder to watch as Doug led the man our way.

From across the expansive kitchen, I’d already noticed he was tall. Once he was in front of us, though, I saw I’d been mistaken.