Page 32 of Mess With Me
“Before you all snarf down the tapas,” Claire said, “the honeymoon starts tomorrow. I made you all appointments for the hotel spa. Massages, facials, mani-pedis, the full deal. In honor of you!”
“Thank you, Claire!” Ally exclaimed and rushed over to hug her.
Pretty soon they were in a massive group hug, laughing and exclaiming, bonded for life in the most important commitment of all—to themselves.
A short while later after champagne and tapas, they sat down to a delicious dinner they passed around family style. Filet mignon, grilled salmon, vegetable lasagna, and all sorts of sides—cauliflower au gratin, brandied mashed sweet potatoes, green beans with almond slivers. And then the best part—a huge ten-layer tiered wedding cake with pink roses. On the top was a pink heart where the bride and groom would be. Pink for female solidarity.
Ally floated on a happy cloud, surrounded by her sisters.
They all went to Claire’s penthouse suite afterward—a massive suite of rooms that took up the entire top floor of the hotel. The place was decorated in shades of white and silver with royal blue accents with two bedrooms, a living room with a big-screen TV, a dining room with seating for eight, and a kitchenette. They dumped their bags in the living room and headed to Claire’s bedroom with its walk-in closet for their favorite game—try on Claire’s designer clothes in a fashion show. Claire was so generous she frequently sent them home with a favorite item.
After that, they settled into the massive living room, sitting on the long sofa or on the floor, talking, talking, talking.
Pregnant Charlotte yawned and that immediately set the women into action, getting ready for bed. They all took care of Charlotte, mindful of her pregnancy. They settled into sleeping bags with Charlotte on the sofa to make it easier on her back.
Lights out and the talking continued. The best time for talking, when the secrets came out.
Charlotte had been warned she might be put on bed rest soon. Her pregnancy was considered high risk because of previous severe endometriosis. That had given them all a scare, but then Charlotte insisted they keep positive.
Sabrina had been spending time with Logan Campbell, strictly as friends. Apparently, he’d recently rented office space in the same building where she had her counseling practice. Though, of course, they all called her on it. If they were just friends, why had she kept it secret? Her reasoning that she didn’t want people to make a big thing about it had them settling down, not wanting to be the one she referred to as making a big thing.
Hailey worried things were going too well with work and the other shoe was going to drop at any moment and she’d be back to square one. They all assured her she was already a huge success.
Ally shared that the sologamy ceremony was the crowning moment of glory for her new single me, happy me plan.
Missy confessed she didn’t believe in lasting love, which was why she was so happy they all did this sologamy ceremony. She could never divorce herself.
Each secret led to much speculation and advice. Exactly what good friends were for. After a while, the conversation trickled down to a few whispers as her friends fell asleep.
Ally curled up on her side and closed her eyes, facing Carrie, Sabrina on her other side. Ethan’s sexy smirk came to mind. Now that she knew he was single, she could lust guilt-free. The more she saw him, the stronger the attraction. But where was his head at? Was he messing with her? Did he want to mess around with her?
She got a heat flash just thinking about it. No, no, no. She was not going to spend her solo wedding night thinking about Ethan’s well-formed body or his gorgeous face or his smirky dirty sense of humor. She sighed. It had been an embarrassingly long time for her. Dean, then Mark, she did some quick mental arithmetic and realized the number was in the vicinity of…oh, man, way longer than a year. She couldn’t bear to dwell on the actual number.
That got her thinking of Hailey’s friends-with-benefits situation and how it had kept Hailey single for so long because she had the sex part taken care of and it left her plenty of time to focus on her wedding planning business.
Could Ethan be her friend with benefits?
Carrie poked her arm. “You awake?” she whispered.
Oh, thank God. A distraction. That was a dangerous line of thinking. “Yes,” Ally whispered back.
“Will you be my maid of honor?” Carrie asked.
Ally’s eyes teared up. “Of course, I’d be honored.” She went to squeeze Carrie’s hand at the same time as Carrie reached out and they smacked hands and then squeezed. “I’ve missed our talks.”
“Me too,” Carrie whispered. “We should have some more girls’ nights out, especially with so many of us busy with our guys now.”
“I’d like that. What did Zach say about you marrying yourself?” That was her fiancé, a professor of anthropology, who cooked amazing meals.
“He thought it was fascinating. He did a bunch of research and told me it’s a growing trend here and internationally.”
“Such an academic.”
“He is,” Carrie said dreamily.
“Hard to believe you once thought he was a bad boy.”
“He still is in the bedroom.”
