Page 27 of Daddy's Rule

Nyla

Even though I had thought everything would change between us after our sexy encounter, nothing really had. Whether it was because we felt awkward about it or because of the stupid terms of the stupid agreement, we had both gone back to business as usual as soon as we woke up Saturday morning. And now it was Friday again, the last weekday in our Rent-A-Daddy agreement, which meant I was down to the last item on my daddy-mandated to-do list. I had skipped going into the office this morning, gotten an expensive coffee at my favorite downtown cafe, and then gone to the attorney Bas had made me hire and filed for divorce. And even though I felt immensely better about it than I would have two weeks ago, doing it today and then going back to Bas, knowing our arrangement was about to end, felt like too much. I had a million questions and scenarios for a possible future running through my head, and I needed to decompress as much as I needed to celebrate. I decided to reward myself with a trip to my favorite boutique, and according to Bas, I might just run into a familiar face.

“Nyla. Freaking. Kavinski. Is that really you?” the familiar voice of my college friend Crissy Stevenson yelled from the back of the store as soon as I entered. How she even saw me was beyond me, but in less than two seconds, I was almost tackled to the ground in a hug.

Once I felt stable enough, I laughed and returned the embrace.

“It’s me,” I answered unnecessarily. I didn’t know what else to say. I was feeling very emotional as I realized just how much I missed this place and my friend, and how happy I was to be home.

“Where the hell have you been? What the hell have you been up to? I haven’t seen you since your wedding!”

“Well, it's kind of a long story,” I admitted sheepishly. It was a story I didn’t want to tell in the middle of a busy boutique when we already had a bunch of eyes trained on us.

Crissy picked up on my uncertainty right away. “I get it. We need a girls’ date. You can fill me in then. Actually, are you busy tonight? Jaz and Tay come to my place every Friday to watch our shows.”

Crissy, Jaz and Tay. I shook my head, a million college memories rushing to the forefront of my mind. It had been a long time since I’d had some good quality girl time with people who really knew me. I’d met Christine, Jasmine, and Taylor at a sorority party our first year in college. We’d very quickly decided that sorority life was not for us and created our own little squad.

Aside from the guys, these three had been my closest friends, and all because of my asshole husband I’d just walked away. From everything and everyone. Hell, I had walked away from myself. But now I was back, and even though I hadn’t admitted it to Bas yet, I was pretty sure I was staying. And I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be surprised. And if I was staying it meant putting down roots and mending fences, starting with Crissy, Jasmine, and Tay.

“You ladies still do that, huh?” I smiled. “You know what? That sounds like exactly what I need tonight. Count me in.”

“Oh my gosh,” Crissy gushed, her excitement genuine. “They will be so surprised! I’m not even going to tell them!”

I could just imagine the looks on their faces when they walked in and saw me, but would they be as warm and welcoming as Crissy?

“Hey. It’ll be fine, I promise,” Crissy assured me. “I’ll let my crew know I’m leaving early and you can just come home with me. Unless you’re busy with work or something.”

“I’m not busy.” It wasn’t a lie. I’d done what needed to be done and could really use some girl time.

“Great! Now, as excited as I am to see you, I still have a few things to wrap up before I can go. Who would have known that owning a store was so much damn work?”

“You own the boutique?” I asked, surprised. She had worked there for years, but I had no idea she’d bought it, and if Bas knew, he hadn’t mentioned it.

“Yep, Janet needed a partner when her husband got sick, and then it became too much for her to juggle, so last year I bought her out.”

“Congratulations, that’s amazing.” I gave her another hug.

“It really is, but it’s a lot, so I’d better get to work. Feel free to browse around and spend all that money of yours,” she teased as she walked away, proving she really didn’t know anything about my current troubles or why I was back in town.

But I would tell her. I would tell all of them. Bas was my temporary daddy for two more days and I had some things to work out, and what better way to do that than with my girls by my side and the wine flowing freely?

As excited as I was to get together with my old friends, the amount of nerves I had bubbling inside me as Crissy and I waited for the other two girls to show up was ridiculous. Crissy had assured me over and over again that there wouldn’t be any hard feelings between anyone. We all had busy lives, and all that mattered was that I was there now. I may not know what the future really held, but even if I didn’t stay in Pennsylvania, I needed to keep in touch with my friends. These were lifelong friends—the kind of people who loved me as I was and let no amount of distance or time change that. I didn’t have to work to impress or cater to these women to save their feelings. This was how relationships were supposed to work. Looking back, I couldn’t believe I’d given it all up, even temporarily, for a no-good piece of shit like Jake.

“Honey, we're home!” I heard Jasmine’s voice as she announced her arrival.

All of the negativity flew from my mind and my stomach flipped in excitement. Crissy put her finger to her lips signaling me to keep quiet.

“I’m in the kitchen,” she yelled back.

“My kids were being little monsters at the store so I didn’t have time to choose red or white so I grabbed one of each.” Jasmine breezed into the kitchen holding a bottle of wine in each hand.

She gasped when she saw me and would have probably dropped both bottles if Crissy hadn’t swooped in and grabbed them from her in the nick of time.

“Nyla? Oh my god, is it really you?” Jasmine screamed at the top of her lungs, rushing toward me.

I smiled and opened my arms. “In the flesh!” I responded with a laugh as she grabbed me and swept me into a rib-crushing hug.

“Holy crap, girly! What the fuck?! I can’t believe you’re here. How long have you been in town? How long are you staying? Is dickhead… I mean hubby-poo here with you?” She fluttered her eyelashes innocently, and I shook my head and laughed.

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