Page 37 of A Little Naughty

“I shouldn’t be too late.” I look up at her. “You okay?”

She presses her lips together and nods. A pang of guilt hits me right in the stomach.

“I can’t bail on this meeting since it was sort of my idea to have a Mardi Gras gala.”

“She’ll be fine.” Monay walks over to sit beside her on the couch. “Won’t you, sweetie? We’ll eat chicken fingers and watch Romy and Michelle.”

“What’s that?” Nikki squints up at her.

“One of the funniest movies of the nineties—and it has Phoebe in it.”

Nikki shrugs, unconvinced. “Okay.”

“If we have time, I’ll paint your fingernails. I’ve got a new color, Lavender Haze.”

“That sounds fun!” I infuse my voice with optimism, but it only earns me a tiny smile.

Chewing my lip, I’m afraid I’m screwing up the mom thing again. I bet a good mom wouldn’t leave her daughter with a friend after said daughter has clearly had a bad day. I bet areallygood mom would drop everything and take her out for hot chocolate or a slushie from the Pak-n-Save or something like that instead of working late.

“I really won’t be long.” I go to the door and pick up my purse. “Oh! I got this for Angie Dickinson.”

Hurrying back to the couch, I pull out a packet of dog treats. Angie hops to her feet, the little pink bows on her pink ears twitching with curiosity.

“That’s right!” Using my good doggie voice, I hand the treats to Nikki and continue digging. “And I have more…”

As I rake my hand through the cracker packets in my bag, Monay walks over to me, crossing her arms. “Girl, I thought you had stopped doing this.”

“What? They’re good for her teeth. Dr. Andrews said they prevent tartar buildup.” I speak the words precisely, like I’m reading an ad.

Nikki is opening the packet, and Angie’s little pink butt shakes as she tries to wag her stump of a tail.

“I get her milk bones for tartar.”

“Here it is!” I pull out the other one. “Should I have gotten more than two? They look so small now.”

Monay puts her large hand over mine, taking the plastic bag of treats. “You’re hoarding again.”

“I am not!” Straightening my shoulders, I push my bag behind me so she can’t see it. “I thought it would be nice for Angie Dickinson, since she’s new in town. Look how happy she is!”

She’s lying in Nikki’s lap with her paw on the treat, doing her best to gnaw it.

“Show me inside that bag.” Monay levels her brown eyes on me. “If there’s less than three cracker packages in there, I’ll give you five dollars.”

“Show me the money first.”

Monay crosses her arms, shaking her head in a disapproving way. “You need help.”

“I need to get to the distillery. Bye, Nikki! Bye, Ang!” Grabbing the handle, I hurry out the door before she asks any more questions.

We haven’t even gotten to my bad-boy addiction and Raif Jones.

* * *

“Haveyou set the date yet? This is so exciting!” Britt sits beside me on a stool, her blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail, and she takes a big sip from her tumbler of bourbon. “I haven’t been to a party since Bonnie was born. Heck, I’ve barely slept since she was born. There’s a lot they don’t tell you about babies. I’ve never been so exhausted in my life.”

“Tell me about it.” Piper sips hot tea, resting her hand on her belly. “I don’t know how Adam talked me into doing this again.”

“From what I understand, there wasn’t much of a discussion.” Alex gives her a wink.

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