Page 45 of Happy Endings

“I didn’t ask for help, but I needed it,” she replied before grabbing another shrimp chip.

Everyone around the table mock gasped.

“Very funny.” Trixie rolled her eyes but smiled at her girlfriends. “I was out of sorts that night because of the news about my dad.”

“I’m glad Uncle Nguyen is doing better,” said Zoe. “My momhas some low-fat recipes she created for Ph?-Ever 75. Want her to send them to your mom?”

“I might take you up on that—if my mom ever lets me get a word in during our phone calls.”

“I’m glad your dad is out of the hospital, but I still want to know how Andre saved you,” Reina demanded.

“The very drunk woman was so mean. She told me that I sucked at my job. Normally, I’d shut her down with a snappy joke, but I was out of sorts. That pop-up could have been a disaster, but he saved it.” Trixie then recapped the woman’s rude remarks.

“Oh, sweetie. What a tough week for you.” Zoe grasped Trixie’s hand.

“He talked me off the ledge. I was such a mess when I got there. And then he went above and beyond when he offered to help me demo the massage oil.”

Trixie left out the rest. She was most definitely not going to tell them about the mind-blowing sex they had after everyone left.

“I still hate him,” Reina announced. “Unless you don’t hate him anymore. Do you?”

“I don’t know if I truly hated him.Angrymight be a better word.” That anger had dissipated and turned into lust last night. What had she gotten herself into?

Why did she have to make her life more complicated? Part of Trixie still wanted to hold a grudge against him for walking out on her. But that one moment shouldn’t define him for the rest of his life. Had it been fair to judge him only on that day? He was much more than that Dear Jane note. Yet that note had broken her in ways she didn’t know were possible.

Last night he’d awoken a hunger inside her, reminding her that the past two years, she’d focused exclusively on her careerand not her sex life. The irony of it all: owning a collection of sex toys to suit every mood, but in the end, they couldn’t meet her desire for emotional connection paired with the sensual touch of a person.

Not just any person—Andre.

“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Reina eyed Trixie. “Did something else happen between you two?”

“Well, there is one more thing.” Trixie hesitated. “Please don’t be mad at me!”

The Boss Babes had helped her refine her five-year life goals. Sleeping with Andre was nowhere on that spreadsheet Josie put together for her. She hated disappointing them.

“We could never be mad at you.” Zoe touched Trixie’s shoulder and nodded encouragingly. “Boss Babes are here to support you. Right, ladies?”

“Always,” assured Josie.

Reina narrowed her eyes, studying Trixie’s face. She gasped. “I know that look from college. You got laid!”

“About time,” Josie cheered.

“Was it Andre?” Zoe asked. “I noticed you came home pretty late last night.”

Trixie’s face flushed, and she nodded.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen. We could never keep our hands off each other. After the stressful day, he wrapped me in a hug and, well, one thing led to—”

“Sex? A hug led to sex?” Reina interrupted.

“I saw this side of him that he didn’t show me often when we were in New Orleans. He talked me through my panic about my dad, then he opened up about worries about Mama Hazel’s. Andre has changed.”

“From a big asshole to a smaller one?” Reina broke in. “He was so rude to you at the bachelorette party. It’s hard to believe he could change so much in just a few weeks.”

“Reina’s got a point,” Josie said. “He walked out on you, remember? Guys like him don’t deserve a second chance.”

“I’m afraid I have to agree.” Zoe pressed her lips together.

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