Once at church an elderly woman had asked me what my name was, and instead of Harley, she somehow understood Harry. I’d been so stunned that I didn’t correct her. As a result she still called me Harry to this day. Of course my savage friends had to brand me with this nickname.
“Sorry, I know. The reception up there is spotty at best. And I took a soccer ball to the face.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I just needed a break from life. It’s been crazy.” And I was on the run from my deranged ex.
Oh, how much I wished I could tell them everything.
“The monk you mentioned . . .” Coco pulled out her phone, thumbed the screen several times, then turned it to me. “Is that him?”
A short reel played of Kingsley standing behind the monastery’s F-150 on Velvet Drive, hands cuffed behind his back and legs spread, while Officer Moore searched him thoroughly. It had over three hundred thousand likes.
Something akin to a groan escaped me. “Yes, that’s him.”
“Shut up!” Bella yelled. “He’s a Grady!”
I chuckled. “He is.”
“Oh my—” She slipped from the edge with a squeak, and despite flailing her arms, slid backwards into the tub.
Coco burst out laughing, and I joined in. How could we not, when all we could see were Bella’s bare legs sticking out of the tub?
“What happened?” Noa Rose asked.
I grabbed the phone and angled it towards Bella splayed in the tub.
Now even Noa Rose laughed. Which said something. She was usually the one who got overly concerned in the most harmless situations.
I set the phone back down, then Coco and I pulled a cackling Bella out of the tub.
“So he’s Keaton’s youngest brother.” Sitting back down on the edge, she brushed her blonde waves out of her face.
“Yup.”
“How can a monk be sohot?” Coco mouthed the last word.
I grimaced. “You should see him in real life. There’s something about him that sucks you right into his spell.”
“By the way, I applied for a job at Tatum’s real estate firm. I had an interview this morning, and boy, that man is a grump.”
“Shut up!” Another squeak, and Bella disappeared in the tub a second time.
Coco and I all but rolled on the tile floor, laughing.
“I’m about to pee my pants,” Coco wheezed. She was squatting next to me, white-knuckling the tub’s edge.
My heart felt so full it was about to burst. I loved my girls and had missed them last week. We usually met every Tuesday for dinner, and went to church together every Sunday. There wasnothing better than having a group of friends who shared your love for Jesus.
“Who is Tatum?” Noa Rose asked over the phone.
“The oldest Grady.” Coco straightened, and so did I. “He’s a lawyer and has his own real estate firm. If I get that job, I’ll be his personal assistant and can ask him for Keaton’s autograph for you, Bella.”
I snickered. “Or I could ask Brother Samuel.”
Still lying in the bathtub with her legs hanging over the edge, Bella let out a grunt. “It’s just a stupid celebrity crush, okay? He’s happily married, and I’ll probably be in a relationship soon, too. Now can someone please pull me out?”
We all gaped at her.
“What do you mean?” Noa Rose asked. “Did Josh ask you out?”
“He did. We’re having dinner at his parents’ restaurant tomorrow night.”