Page 8 of The Reborn

“Yeah,” I echoed. “That would be crazy.”

Whitney sipped her margarita and watched the interplay like it was the funniest tennis match she’d ever seen.

Harper shrugged. “I told him when we got married that I wanted a big family.”

Eden lifted her glass for a toast. “To getting a Creed man to—”

“His back?” Whitney piped up, a smirk in place.

“His knees?” Deanna suggested.

The rest of us stared in shocked silence a moment, then burst into more laughter.

“I was going to say, to do anything he doesn’t want to do, but those are better,” Eden said once she caught her breath.

“Much better!” Vanessa agreed.

“Yes!” Genevieve and Harper both spoke together.

As the mariachi band started up and we dug into our new plate of food and next pitcher of drinks, I could literally feel the tension leaving my body. I spent so much of my time being a business owner and single mom, it was incredibly nice to just be one of the girls for a little while as they talked about love, life, food, and what songs they were going to butcher during karaoke at the bar next door.

“What about you?” Genevieve asked, looking my way.

I swallowed the sip of margarita in my mouth and tuned back in. “What about me?” I glanced over at Whitney’s telling smirk as she scooped up another loaded chip and stuffed it in her mouth. “What am I going to sing?”

Genevieve grinned. “Well, yes, that too. But I was asking about dating. Men? Anything exciting to share?”

“Well, I can tell you her karaoke standby is Carrie Underwood’s ‘Before He Cheats,’” Whitney answered for me. “Always has been, probably always will be.”

“Really?” Genevieve and Harper said in unison as the rest of the women looked on with a mix of sympathy and curiosity.

“Yeah,” Whitney continued. “The bitch is my best friend and still won’t give me the backstory on that one.”

I shook my head and lifted my drink for another sip since my bestie was on such a roll, silently giving her the floor.

Genevieve just laughed, her hazel eyes sparkling in the light. “Okay. So, does that mean dating is a sensitive subject?”

I nodded, but my answer was cut off as my phone rang from my purse and we all heard it because I’d jacked up the volume all the way before I left home just in case Sofia needed anything.

I yanked it out and pressed it to my ear, plugging my other one to block out the loud mariachi music. “Hello?”

“Olivia?” Sofia’s voice was soft and nasal as if she’d been crying but tinged with panic.

“Yes. What’s wrong? Is everything alright?” Talk at the table silenced as I met Whitney’s concerned eyes.

“No.” Her voice was a whisper now.

The blood in my veins turned to ice. “What do you mean no?” My heart was pounding so hard, I could feel it in my temples. A door softly clicked in the background, and it was suddenly quieter on her end. “Where are you?”

“In your closet,” she whispered again.

Now I was sure I was going to vomit up everything I’d eaten. “Sofia. What’s going on?”

“Someone was trying to break in the house, and I think they might’ve gotten inside.”

Five

Olivia

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