Page 117 of Square Deal

Isaac Lawson

To:[email protected]

Miss Hayes,

I havea hunch that my assistant barreling into a board meeting, spilling a cup of coffee all over me, stealing my phone, and then leaving its mangled corpse on top of my desk is your doing. I think he backed over it with a bulldozer.

Lucky for him, Spenser is irreplaceable.

Unlucky for you, your ass will pay tonight.

All my love,

Isaac

I laughedthe rest of the workday.

I laughed on the drive home.

I laughed when I packed up all of my warpaint and drove to Steve and Erica’s.

I laughed the entire time the sexy six got primped and primed for girls’ night. Spenser was the best, and I was forever indebted to him.

“Bottom’s up!” Maddie screeched as she snagged a shot glass from the bar. We toasted and knocked back our shots. It took a near-kidnapping to get Erica to come out to Jokers with us tonight. She finally agreed when Steve strapped on the backpack baby carrier like a champ and brought four-month-old Aly to her first girls’ night.

Was it appropriate to bring a baby to a bar?

The six of us scurried our scantily clad asses to the dance floor and boot-scooted over the pretzel dust and peanut shells.

Tonight, we decided that the theme was country cliche. Maddie and Bee matched in cut-off Daisy Dukes and cropped tank tops. Mel and I had our flannel shirts tied at the bust. I dusted mycowgirl boots off and wiggled into a pair of shorts I hadn’t seen since high school. Kristin and Erica were in flowery sundresses, and had their hair in braids.

We looked like a ragtag bunch of country music video rejects, and it was fantastic. Three more dances and a round of beers later, we were back to our usual havoc-wreaking selves.

Bridget was drunk off her ass and had wrangled Chase into a “Make It Shake” dance-off.Not that he protested in the slightest.My knees and thighs hurt just watching them dance.

Erica was stone-cold sober and trying to convince Mel that karaoke was a good idea. Maddie was all for it, but nobody wanted to hear her sing. I loved the girl, but she sounded like a cat trapped in a dishwasher.

I plopped my behind down on a barstool and asked the newbie bartender for a glass of water. Poor thing looked like a deer in headlights.

“Hannah Banana!” Maddie squealed as she plopped down beside me. “How’s my sister-wife doing?” Instead of water, she ordered a cup of whiskey.

Just a large cup of whiskey.

I laughed. “How are we sister wives?”

“Well,” she began, slapping her palms against the bartop to command my attention. “I married Luca.”

I sipped my water, snickering, “I know, babe. I was there.”

“That’s right! You were! How was it? Was the wedding great?” She leaned in and tried to whisper, but it came out more like a shout. “I don’t know if you knew this, but I had a couple’a drinks at the reception. Shhhh.” She put her finger to her lips.

I leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep that between us.” While I had Maddie distracted, Luca swooped in and swapped her whiskey for a glass of water and a plate of mozzarella sticks. She didn’t even notice.

Maddie began happily munching on mozzarella sticks like itwas her intent all along. “But get this. So, like, Luca and Isaac—they’re tight. Like brothers, but you know—not brothers. And I married Luca, and you’re with Isaac, and so it’s like we’re sister wives! Livin’ the dream, baby!” She threw her hands in the air and shook her tits in celebration.

I stole a mozzarella stick. Dragging it through the marinara, I said, “You know that doesn’t make us sister-wives, right? That would make us… Not even sisters-in-law. Sorry, babe. For us to be sister wives, I’d have to marry Luca too.”

Maddie eyed her husband, turned back to me, and deadpanned, “He might go for it. I could convince him.”

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