Page 46 of Suddenly Single

“Well, you are.” I fell back on the couch next to him, and he nuzzled my neck.

“Lucky.” Lori slurred, then drained her drink.

Florida grabbed her glass and refilled it. “Drink it.”

Lori’s bloodshot eyes widened, then she took the glass and sipped. I noticed the punchbowl was getting low.

“Carter, let’s go to the kitchen and make some more.” I grabbed his hand, and we almost fell over when we stood up. We stumbled toward the kitchen, and when we got there, a strange girl was standing in the doorway.

“Who are you?” I asked, my voice slurring.

“I found her sitting on the front step.” Mom’s voice called out. She must have come home early from her date. “What was your name again, child?”

“Mindy.” The girl stepped aside so we could enter the kitchen. “Miss Stalling’s assistant.”

“Oh, we forgot about you.” Carter grinned.

I saw a small brown stain on her upper lip, and leaned in for a closer look. “Oh shit.” I pointed at her mouth. “Is that chocolate?”

“Yes, dear.” Mom called out, and Carter and I raced into the kitchen. “I found a tray of truffles, and Thom and I couldn’t resist. We gave her one too.”

My heart stopped for a moment, and Carter clutched his chest. “You, um, ate the chocolates?”

“They’re delicious!” Judge Gottwald grinned, and mother eyed me suspiciously. “My compliments to the chef. Who made them?”

Shit. We’d drugged a judge. If ever we were to go to prison, it would probably be now.

“Mom.” My voice was shaking. “Can we speak with you? Alone?”

Chapter 27

Asher

Mom plastered a smile on her face. “Of course, darling. It’s about the wedding, right?” She winked at us, then without another word, Mom led us out of the kitchen. When she got to the living room, she halted in the doorway and muttered, “What on earth?"

“You got that right.” I sighed. Lori Stallings was still staring at her tablet, most likely watching gay porn. Granny, Sissy, Lila Brook, and Mary Jane were dancing around the living room to an old Donna Summer song.

Mom gave a little wave at the ladies, who all ignored us. She then led us into the study and shut the door behind us. Mom sat behind the desk, drumming her fingers on the wood. “Normally I enjoy a party, boys, but I’m not sure if Thom is prepared for our special version of fun.”

“Mom.” I combed my hair back with my fingers and sighed. “It’s worse than that.”

“Mary Jane made the chocolates.” Carter leaned against the wall, staring at Mom. She shrugged, then reality settled on her shoulders.

“Please, for the love of all things holy, tell me they’re just plain chocolates, and not the fun kind?” She clutched the strand of pearls around her neck.

A giggle bubbled up my throat.

“Please, don’t tell me I fed Thom Gottwald, a federal judge, laced baked goods.” Mom groaned. “Fuck.”

Carter’s eyes widened. Mom rarely cursed.

“Well, you fed them to both Thom and Mindy, to be accurate.” I giggled again. There was absolutely nothing funny about this, but I couldn’t stop myself. “She didn’t do it on purpose. Mary Jane says she made two batches, one with weed, and the other without. She just brought the wrong ones.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Mom’s fingers tightened around the pearls. “How am I going to explain to Thom, a man I’m happily dating, that I fed him marijuana?”

“Well, my mother is tripping on drugs for the first time in her life, and we also doped the event coordinator for CCV.” Carter put his face in his hands and sighed. “So, what we’ve done to fix it is get them hammered with margaritas. That way, we can blame it on tequila.”

“And of course, Thom isn’t much of a drinker, and that young girl I found on the front steps doesn’t even look old enough to drink.” Mom slammed the top of the desk with the hand not clutching the pearls. “Do you know how many laws we’re breaking? How much money we could lose if this were to become a civil case?”

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