Page 36 of Stay With Me Forever

The Evans family had award-winning cheeses and not only had samplings but also had tours of their dairy farm. Katie usually gave the latter since she had a natural talent for putting on a show.

Katie finally forced her gaze from West’s behind and looked at me, grinning. “Well, he was hot and I couldn’t resist. But a week ago seems like forever.”

“What, do you count how fast or slow a day goes by how many sexy guys you see during it?”

Katie tapped her chin. “That’d be an amazing way to judge how good my week is. Maybe I’ll start taking a tally.”

She waggled her eyebrows, clearly joking, and we all burst out laughing.

Amber finally spoke up. “That wouldn’t work for me, though. I suck at flirting. Not to mention I’d die before I’d ever ask a guy to bend over for me.”

Katie clicked her tongue. “Drop something and casually ask him to pick it up. I do it all the time.”

After a few more sips of my drink, my tongue was a little looser, and I jumped in. “It wouldn’t work for me either. Even if some of the groomsmen are pretty hot, they’re usually in coats, and it covers everything.”

Abby snorted. “Except for that one wedding, where everyone wore Star Trek uniforms. After seeing just abouteverythingduring the ceremony, I suddenly became a huge fan of sci-fi weddings.”

I laughed, remembering the black pants and black-and-colored tops. Some of them had been on the tighter side, for sure. “I was mostly a sucker for the shoulders.”

Katie leaned in. “Like broad shoulders, do you?” She glanced back over at West, bit her bottom lip, and all of the sudden, I wanted to tell her to stop checking him out.

As soon as I was about to say something, I held my tongue.Shit.West wasn’t mine, would never be, and I shouldn’t care if Katie eyed him like a piece of meat from now until eternity.

So I drained my drink and ordered another.

Katie studied me, and a sense of unease fell over me. I asked, “What are you planning now?”

“Who said I was planning anything?” Amber, Abby, and I all shook our heads, and Katie asked, “What?”

I replied, “You get this glint in your eye right before you do something that will probably be outrageous, embarrassing, or both.”

Katie shrugged. “Life’s too short to care what people think of you.”

The words might seem lighthearted to most, but I knew there was more to it. Once upon a time, Katie had been more reserved and determined not to stick out. She’d always been curvy, had developed big boobs early, and had been endlessly teased for it. That was around the time she’d started acting out, and I thought she did it to distract people and take control of what they said about her.

I decided to steer the conversation back on track. “Anyway, I thought we came out tonight to celebrate Amber taking over the bakery.” I raised my glass to her. “Well deserved and about time. You’re a way better baker than your stepmom.”

The others followed suit with their glasses and cheered.

Amber’s cheeks turned bright pink. “I don’t know about that. My brothers are already taking bets about how long I’ll last.”

Katie growled, “Your brothers are assholes.”

Amber shrugged. “They’re still young. I’m sure they’ll grow up eventually.”

Katie looked about ready to argue, so I jumped in. “Ladies, we need to celebrate with more than just drinks. How about some dancing?”

Amber shook her head while Katie and Abby nodded.

I said, “Oh, come on, Amber. You know you want to. Let me just pick some songs from the jukebox, and we can all dance together as a group. If we’re lucky, some guys will come join us.”

I drained the last of my second margarita and headed toward the jukebox. I was definitely buzzed. Otherwise, I never would’ve suggested this. Not many people danced at The Watering Hole. But I wanted to not only forget about West and his fine ass and shoulders in the corner, but also help Amber let go a little.

After selecting three songs, I ordered a round of shots at the bar and brought them back to my table. I set the tequila and lime wedges in front of each of us. “For courage.”

Once we each finished the salt-tequila-lime process, Abby snorted. “You’d better slow down, or you’re going to pass out soon, Millie.”

It had to be the alcohol that made me blurt, “Emmy.”

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