Page 58 of A Sin So Pure

“Um. No. I don’t,” she says. “Why do you ask?”

“I was curious,” I say. I twirl the rest of the pasta onto my fork and pop it in my mouth, swallowing down the garlicky goodness alongside a dallop of disappointment. “And the way you were with Wes before.”

“I’d be a terrible parent,” she says quickly, stabbing a piece of shrimp onto her fork. She waves it at me accusingly. “I think the food is making you see things.”

“Oh? Is special sauce code for something else?” I tease.

“Wes’s nan is definitely spiking it withsomething,” Nora mutters, popping the shrimp into her mouth.

“If garlic and butter are drugs, sure.” I take a sip of my wine, the burst of fruity flavor complimenting my meal. “Though I have to say, I’m offended you haven’t brought me to one of these yet. I’ve been missing out on stellar home-cooked meals all these years?”

Nora dabs her mouth with a napkin before setting it atop her finished plate.

“Like I said before, it was—” she’s interrupted by a body falling into the empty seat at my side.

“Hey, Mo,” Josie says, an exhausted smile on her face. She looks all kinds of rumpled, shirt wrinkled and flyaway hairs framing her face. She licks her lips as she deftly fills her plate with the scraps left from the meal. Her brown eyes, ever watchful, spy me from her periphery. “Glad to see Nora finally took my advice. You two hash it out? You good now?”

“Um…” My mouth pops open and my eyes cut to Nora. “I think so?”

She takes a second to answer, but I note the moment she commits to my forgiveness fully: her shoulders pull back, her eyes glint, and her red lips pull into her signature smirk.

“We’re good.”

The crushing weight on my heart lifts.

“Good,” I say softly.

“So, our standing Friday nights at the Den can resume? Leo and I were worried you two wouldn’t make up, and then we’d have to go to Envy’s clubs.” Josie fake gags. “As if I want to be Leo’s wingwoman at a dance club.”

“The Den has dancing,” I argue.

“Not the same kind of dancing.”

“I thought Leo wasyourwingman,” Nora says. “He better be doing the job right, since he stole it from me.”

“Does he help with my anxiety until I’m two drinks in? Yes. But after that, I’m good. I’m not eighteen anymore, Nor.” She shoots us both a look that says we’re both being idiots. She taps her temple. “He just likes that I can tell if they’re into him.”

“But he’s an empath,” I say. “Can’t he tell for himself?”

“He says it’s unethical for him to use his magic like that.”

“Leo’s unfairly attractive, and women throw themselves at him completely sober. I say you ditch him, and I take my rightful place back at your side,” Nora says, utterly serious.

“Excuse me,” I mock outrage, hand on my chest.

Nora throws up her hands. “It’s simply a fact that he could pull anyone attracted to men.”

“We do have an above-average looking friend group,” Josie says through a mouthful of bread.

A beat passes between the three of us before we burst into laughter.

It’s easy for us to fall back into our friendship.

“Actually, speaking of Friday night. We have Gluttony’s opening this week,” Nora says, pointing at Josie with her fork.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot with everything else going on.” Josie throws her napkin onto the table and leans back in her chair. Josie’s smile lights up her face, round cheeks prominent and squishable with two little dimples. Where Nora is all sharp angles, Josie is rounded. “We have a whole table reserved. You should come, Mo.”

“Sure,” I say. “I didn’t realize Gluttony and you were close?”

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