Page 85 of Single All the Way

“Emerson!”

I turned to find Chloe and Hayden huddled along an inner wall.

“Hey, ladies. Did you order to-go too?” I asked.

“We did,” Hayden said. “Just got done with last-minute shopping and dropped in on a whim when we caught a whiff.”

“The smell is killing me,” I said, realizing how hungry I was. “Big family bash tonight?”

“Au contraire,” Chloe said cheerfully. “Our guys took the kids shopping in the city. They’re staying at Faye and Simon’s tonight.”

“Which means Chloe and I have no kids to feed, clean, or put to bed,” Hayden chimed in. “What about you?”

“My kids are at Ben’s for the night.”

“Oh, so you’re taking dinner back to the hordes?” Hayden said.

“Nope. I’m…” I pressed my lips together, considering. I was as close to Chloe as anyone. I trusted her. And Hayden… I didn’t know her quite as well, but I liked her and knew she was smart and trustworthy. While I didn’t always rush to confide in others, I needed to tonight like never before. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” With a nervous laugh, I said, “I’m freaking out, to be honest.”

“What’s going on?” Chloe asked.

“It’s a long story. Is there any chance you’d want to hole up in my hotel suite with me, eat pizza, and help me straighten out my head?” I directed the invitation to both of them. “Impromptu girls’ night?”

Hayden and Chloe looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded.

“Absolutely,” Hayden said. “Girl time is the best. We’ll help you figure shit out.”

“But what are you doing in a hotel?” Chloe asked. “I thought you were living at Ben’s?”

“Yeah. That’s part of the long story.” I attempted to grin sheepishly.

“It sounds like we might need wine with our pizza,” Hayden said.

“Yes,” I said. “Please. We could get some from the hotel bar.”

“I’m not sure by-the-glass is going to do it for this,” Chloe said as Hayden’s name was called out to pick up their order. “We’ll stop by the Country Market and grab a couple of bottles and meet you. You’re at the Marks?”

I nodded and told her my suite number. “I’ll see you there. Thank you.”

She brushed off my thanks. “This is perfect. Girls’ night in the fancy hotel that brought me back to Dragonfly Lake in the first place. I can’t wait to see your suite.”

They headed out with their pizza, and I exhaled deeper than I had in the past fifteen minutes.

“Enough of the small talk,” Hayden said forty-five minutes later as we drank rosé and devoured our pizza. They’d also brought a pound package of M&M’s and a monster-sized bag of Twizzlers Chloe claimed would give us clarity. “What’s going on between you and the handsome veterinarian?”

“At Max’s, you were together but secret,” Chloe said.

“And temporary,” I reminded her.

I put my slice down and filled my half-empty wineglass to the brim.

The three of us were in the suite’s living room, around the coffee table, with one lamp emanating warm, homey light. Leaning back into the surprisingly comfortable armchair, I caught Hayden up.

“It was good?” Hayden asked. “Between you two?”

My eyes fluttered shut, and I sighed. “The sex was incredible.”

“Just the sex?” Chloe asked.

---