Page 7 of The Girl He Loves

“Thanks for being here,” I say.

She rolls her eyes. “Are you kidding me? Here is the one place I want to be. I want to get as much friend time in as possible. Besides, between working on the wedding with my mom, my sister, and his sister, Gigi, I’m ready to elope. I need to do something other than wedding planning.”

Josie puts her fist in the middle of our circle. “Here’s to a night where big money is raised, laughter is shared, and good things go down.” She wags her brows. “You can take that however you want,” she adds with a wicked smile.

We all laugh.

From the pile, three hands with sparkling engagement rings glisten, reflecting the afternoon light. Mine is the only ringless hand. I glance at both Paisley and Jayne. When I was getting my divorce, they were hooking up with their Mr. Wonderfuls. In reflection, I’ve come a long way. Yeah, it’s been hard, but I’ve done it. And I’ll get over this next bump, too.

I squeeze my hand over theirs. “Don’t forget to thank everybody for being here, for helping such a good foundation, and push appetizers and desserts.”

“Family on three,” Josie says.

It reminds me of a football huddle and my early college days when life was classes, football, and easier times.

“One, two, three,” Josie says.

“Family,” we say in unison and dissolve in laughter because it’s fun and silly.

Jayne nods to the rope being removed from our entrance to allow customers in. “Doors are open,” she says with air quotes. “I’ll start seating people.”

There’s a line of bikers in all shapes and sizes. Some with long hair, some with short. White-collar or blue-collar, at Bike Week, none of the specifics matter. The only requirement is a love for motorcycles. And often leather.

Jayne seats people, and we’re off taking orders. I’m dropping my first order at the counter for Jeff, the cook, when Josie sidles up next to me.

She says, “Wanna tell me what had you looking so blotchy when you arrived?”

I feign ignorance. “The sun?”

She shakes her head. “Wanna try again? I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Jayne mentioned it, too.”

I blow out a heavy sigh and gesture to the event. “I tried calling you earlier. After all this is over, I need some professional advice.”

“Sorry, I haven’t had time to check my phone. I was helping with the setup.” She raises one brow and looks confused. “Is it that snake of an ex of yours again?”

“If only it were that easy. I need a criminal attorney. Unless you think you might be able to handle it.” I look away. I despise asking for help on big-ticket items. Reminds me of how independent I’m not.

Josie was grabbing menus when I dropped the bomb. She slaps them on the counter and faces me. “Spill. Just know that everything you tell me now is considered client-attorney privileges, so if you killed Justin —”

“I need my record expunged. Something stupid I did in college.”

She looks slightly disappointed, and gestures for me to continue.

I tell her the sunbathing sorority sister story. I was sick of it. “They dropped the charges and all thirteen of us paid a fine, so I’m surprised I have a record.”

“Because you were arrested, you have a record.”

I nod. “Is it possible to have my record expunged?”

She does a slight side nod. “Anything's possible.”

“Is it possible to have it expunged by Tuesday?”

Josie lets out a low whistle. “I’m not going to say yes or no. Let me do some research, and I’ll know for sure first thing tomorrow. In the meantime, don’t panic.”

“Easy for you to say. Expunging starts at a grand. Which I’ll reimburse.” I take the plates off the counter as I prepare to deliver them. She grabs the extra plates and follows me.

“I won’t take it, and if we need to get outside help, I can cover that.”

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