Page 4 of Lost in You (Flirting with Forever 1)

Sophia takes a deep breath and gives Hadleigh the stink eye. I think we all know this is most likely not a science mug to match Quinn’s if it’s coming from Hadleigh.

Sophia dips her hand in and comes out with … edible underwear.

Oh, Hadleigh.

The whole table freezes for a second before bursting into laughter.

Piper is the first to be able to speak. “Oh my gosh, Hadleigh.” She giggles. “I can’t believe you.”

Hadleigh grins devilishly, holding both hands up. “What? They’re engaged now. We all know what they are up to.”

Quinn rolls her eyes. “When’s the wedding again? You’re going to end up pregnant before you get down the aisle.”

Sophia’s eyes gleam with excitement. “The middle of June.”

“Doesn’t she look just blissfully happy?” Piper interrupts, patting Sophia’s shoulder and giving her a goofy, margarita-fueled smile.

“It’s all the sex,” Zoey snickers behind her hand as our gazes all snap to her.

My eyes widen, and before I know what I’m doing, the words fall right out of my tipsy mouth on a giggle. “Heath must really know what he’s doing.”

“Ew, gross!” Quinn shudders, making me laugh harder. “You remember I have to work with the two of them in the same department, right?”

Amid more lighthearted laughter, Hadleigh nods knowingly, and I see the naughty look in her eyes right before she very solemnly says, “He definitely knows how to dick her down.”

No sooner are the words out of Hadleigh’s mouth than Piper chokes on some water and Zoey snorts loudly, then covers her mouth, a horrified look on her face.

We devolve into one booth of six hysterical women in no time flat.

These women. I have never felt so sure that I’ve finally found my tribe. I feel like I belong when I’m with them.

Now, if only I could get the other pieces of my life in order.

Chapter 2

Shawn

I’ve only just come out of the stockroom from doing some inventory, but whatever Sophia and her friends are talking about over there sure must be amusing. It’s all excited chatter, gales of laughter, and every once in a while, a giggle-snort catches my attention. If I strain to hear, snippets of their conversation drift to my ears. Whether or not it’s a good idea to listen in is debatable.

The brunette sitting on my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s right must be feeling her margarita because she doesn’t seem to realize how loudly she’s talking. It’s like her volume has accidentally been turned all the way up.

“We aren’t talking about C-O-C-K. This is a book club.”

Oh, boy. Did I just hear her spell out what I think I did? I stifle a chuckle and try to mind my own business. My face flushes red. Definitely not a conversation that I need to overhear.

In the same moment I decide maybe I should go find some earplugs, the women dissolve into fits of laughter. “Piper, you can just say it, you don’t have to spell it.” Tears stream from Sophia’s eyes, and her body shakes with amusement.

I head out from behind the bar and stride purposefully toward the back hallway on the pretense of needing something—anything—because I don’t want them to see me howl with laughter. I shake my head as I near their table and attempt to avert my eyes. Their supposed “book talk” is some funny shit.

As I walk past their table, my gaze flicks over to the group for just a split second. My body startles in recognition of a familiar face, but I continue on to the storage room.

I’d be able to pick Madison out of any crowd. That long, thick, curly mane of hair is impossible to control, so she just lets it float around her shoulders and do what it will. It’s been like that ever since I can remember. She’s someone I was aware of in high school, and then I’d gotten to know her better when she’d dated my best friend right after we all finished up our respective college degrees. Madison. I roll her name around in my mind, thinking about how I’d actually asked Heath about her just the other day. I’d spotted Sophia out with Madison a couple of times and was curious to know how she’d been since I’d last spoken to her. I remember her as a sweet, sensitive girl—she definitely hadn’t deserved what Chase had done to her.

It’d been a long time since I’d seen her at all, and now it’s happened for a third time in just a few weeks.

Seeing her again is dredg

ing up all sorts of memories—things I’d tried to shove way down deep and forget about. At the same time, though, there’s just something about her; something that makes me want to take a chance and talk to her again.

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