Page 76 of Let Me Say It Again

“Knox is away, and I’m horny, but that’s about all for me,” Bianca shared.

Sighing, Perla sat back. “What else is new?” she asked.

I hadn’t known Bianca as long as they did, obviously, but I was pretty sure Perla was right, and Bianca’s horniness was a constant. I was surprised her and Knox weren’t expecting at therate they slept together from everything I’d heard. They went at it like bunnies, to put it mildly.

“Oh, and my first collection is nearly complete. I’ll have to show you all one day soon,” Bianca said, chiming in again. She smiled. “I’m redefining wedding fashion.”Way to be modest, Bibi.

“How about you, Perla? Allie?” I asked, trying to keep things moving.

“Nothing new. Frankie has agreed to start trying for a baby. He said he was only opposed to it before because he wanted to enjoy our time together first. Isn’t that sweet?”

“I think it’s nice for you.” Okay, so I didn’t excel at being supportive, but I was new to all of this sisterly stuff, all right? Give me a break.

“Perla, I’m so happy for you,” Maria gushed. Easy for her to do, by the way, what with one kid and another on the way, but what did I know?

Perla’s cheeks reddened, and she gazed down. “Thank you.”

“I have no news,” Allie said, stumbling over her words as the waiter approached the table to take our orders. Maybe I should have explained this whole Allie situation. See, Allie had gotten here early and had a few drinks at the bar before dinner. Apparently, she was committed to having a good time since Brady was home with baby Gina. I couldn’t blame her, though. Every once in a while, a girl had to cut loose.

By the time the waiter left, all four of my sisters were turned to me, staring, waiting for something. They were hardly blinking, just looking at me with wide, expectant eyes. Geez, what were they waiting for? “Yes?” I questioned, angling my head as I waited to hear what they wanted. Honestly, all the staring was beginning to get creepy and I was getting I-want-your-soul vibes. “What gives?” I asked, this time louder.

“Dish,” Bianca commanded.

“I don’t know what you mean.” That was a lie. I assumed they wanted to know about Red and me, but that was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

Would they believe me if I said I didn’t want to talk about it because I didn’t want to jinx things? Doubted it.

Maybe I could talk about the charity bachelor auction instead. Not that there was much to tell since the email still hadn’t come. I was starting to think Sherrilyn didn’t know what an emergency truly was. But not the point. I opened my mouth to speak, but Bianca beat me to it. “You’re in that sexy, fun stage of your relationship, and we want to hear all about it,” she explained, obviously fixated on the one thing I didn’t want to talk about.

Nodding their heads in agreement, Maria and Perla continued to stare me down. Meanwhile, something else must’ve caught Allie’s attention because her gaze was turned elsewhere.

Quickly debating what I wanted to say, I went with the truth. “We aren’t in a relationship. It’s all fake as you know.” Redundant, but apparently driving the point home was necessary.

“Fake-shmake,” Maria answered.Is that even a word?“Just look at Perla. We all know how that story turns out. Haven’t I told you this before?”

Yes, one too many times. I bit back a groan that would rival one coming from a man about to blow his load like he never had before. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “This is not that.” So what if I was starting to actually care about this man? That didn’t mean shit.

“No, it’s not because Red is a real fireball,” Maria said, waggling her brows.

“Fireball?” I asked, almost wishing I didn’t.

Nodding her head, Maria repeated, “Yes, fireball.”

“Are you saying Frankie’s not a fireball?” Perla jumped in like she was offended. Why, I had no clue. I didn’t even know what the hell that meant and certainly didn’t want Maria referring to Red as one.

Maria shrugged. “Frankie’s a teddy bear.”

Perla gasped, placing a hand on her chest.

“All right, what the hell are you two talking about? Why is Red a fireball?”

“His name is hot,” Allie finally spoke. Although I seriously wondered why she decided to contribute to this particular conversation. “Red,” she purred, testing it out on her tongue. Nodding, she confirmed, “Yeah, it’s hot.”

“Listen, some names are diabolically hot. Red, Reddington, whatever, is hot,” Bianca said, pitching in her take on this. “Knox? Hot. Brady? Hot. Dom? Blazing. Dallas? Hot. As. Fuck.”

“Still offended Frankie isn’t included in that list,” Perla murmured.

I blinked, shaking my head. “Dallas? Who the hell is that?”