Page 70 of Pin-up Girl

“I do, and I’ll help with that, too. I promise to try to be subtle.”

There was a knock, and Evie pushed the door open without waiting for an answer. “Are you two making out, or can I join in?”

“You can always join us when we’re making out.” Alys yanked her into the room.

Evie laughed. “Are we going to lighten the mood out there?”

“If we can,” I said. “Talk about anything but the wedding.”

Evie made a grumble-sigh noise. She was on the same page we were.

“I know.” I didn’t have anything better to say. I shut off the water, and the three of us rejoined the group.

“Everything all right?” Elaina asked as we took our seats.

I showed off my shirt, which had a damp spot but no stains. “Good as used.”

The comment earned me a stuttered response of strained laughs.

“Are we ready for the next slice?” Neva sounded irritated.

Though, she frequently did.

We all said yes, and the vanilla was handed out.

Ravyn paused with her fork halfway to her sample. “Isn’t anyone going to say they have a problem with vanilla?”

Bless her.

“It’s my favorite.” Elaina was enthusiastic.

Several of us giggled, more genuinely this time, and pink spread across Eliana’s cheeks. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Until I can get my cake in bright red a—” I realized what I was about to say and how bad it sounded, and snapped my mouth shut. That didn’t stop memories from last night from flooding into my mind.

“You were going to say bright red ass flavored,” Evie said.

Alys tasted her cake. “Thankfully, you figured out how that sounded, and none of us had to hear that phrase.” She gave Evie a pointed look.

“I figured most of you would be into something more like tres leches.” Elaina bit her bottom lip.

Ravyn snorted.

“I’m not touching that.” I emphasized my point by eating some of my cake.

“She totally would. And she’d get it all over her face,” Evie said.

Sylvie was almost smiling. “Aubrey’s always been messy when it comes to cream.”

I’d be pleased she was joining in, but I was too busy torn between here and thinking about last night.

Risa was laughing with us, and Neva wasn’t pleased.

It wasn’t that I enjoyed pissing off my aunt, but the payback for her passive aggressive comments about my clothing and tattoos was nice.

The evening got better, and my friends skillfully kept the conversation away from the wedding—an incredible feat considering we were sampling wedding cake. When we were done, Risa promised to call Sylvie directly with the poll results, so she could have the final say. Everyone helped clean up.

Risa boxed the leftovers up and handed them to Alys.

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