Page 15 of Irresistible

“I’m so happy right now I don’t even know what to do with myself,” Sofie says, and we clink glasses again.

She turns to me when the others start talking about dresses.

“So, what’s this I hear about you and Wyatt?” she whispers.

I put my hand on my throat as I stare at her, trying to figure out what she’s heard. “Uh, what do you mean?”

“I didn’t know you hit his car.” Her eyes widen. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I make a face. “It was my first night here, you were as exhausted as I was…and I didn’t even know it was him that night. We didn’t exchange names. We’ve actually had some…heated conversations. He said rude things, I said rude things, yada, yada.” I make another face and hold up my hand. “But…he apologized when I interviewed for the job at the hospital. I think maybe we’ve made our peace. Hopefully.” I laugh awkwardly. “Since we have to be in your wedding together and all that.”

She hasn’t said a word and is just staring at me still.

“At least I’m assuming he’s also in the wedding.” I laugh and fan my face. “What?” I ask when she only smiles.

“Nothing,” she says, her smile growing. “Yes, he’s in the wedding too. I wish I’d known all this drama was going on all this time. I would’ve set him straight sooner.”

“Oh, so you did that, huh?”

“Well, he did ask what your story was, and I forget sometimes that he’s usually the last to know all the gossip around here because of his crazy schedule. I didn’t think you’d mind me telling him. I hope that’s okay.”

I squeeze her hand. “Of course it is. He also overheard me talking to Cash before the interview, so I think he would’ve gotten the picture on his own eventually.”

“But the two of you are good now, you’re sure?”

I lift a shoulder. “We’re for sure better than we’ve been. I guess I’ll wait to see how he acts the next time I see him to make any judgment calls.”

Our attention turns to the food then and I try to not laugh when I realize that while we’ve been talking about dresses, Dakota has been grouping like items together in little piles all over the board and has a stack of crackers Jenga-styled in the center.

“Kota,” I say in a warning tone once I’m sure I won’t laugh out loud. “We’re sharing this board with our friends. Let’s not touch any more of the food, okay?”

Dakota leans back. “Sorry, Mama,” she says. “I ate a lot of chocolate and cheese.” She makes a face.

I look at the board again and notice it’s really only crackers and meat and a few pieces of dried fruit.

Scarlett winks at Dakota. “I didn’t really need any chocolate or cheese anyway.”

“Me either,” whispers April.

The crackers crash onto the board and Dakota jumps, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I’ll order another,” I tell the table.

“No, it’s okay! I wanted some soup anyway,” Holly says, waving me off.

“Same,” April says.

“Their Caesar is really good,” Scarlett says. “I don’t think we need another board unless you just want one.”

“Ya’ll might be the nicest people I’ve ever met,” I say, feeling overwhelmed with a sudden rush of emotion.

I meet Sofie’s eyes and she smiles, knowing that before her, I didn’t have the easiest time with friends. And then being married to Cash, I lived on pins and needles.

“Welcome to Landmark,” she says, leaning over to put her head on my shoulder.

“I think it might be even better than you told me,” I tell her.

CHAPTEREIGHT

---