Just as I was coming down the stairs, the doorbell rang and I opened it up to find Maria and Holly. Maria was loaded down with bags, looking like a pack mule, and Holly was balancing three pizzas and two very large bottles of Chardonnay. Maria rushed in and threw everything down on the living room floor with a huff, and Holly swept past her into the kitchen.
“Oh, this is so cute! I hate to admit it, but you might have been right about this place.”
I followed Holly into the kitchen, and Maria followed me. “Thanks? I think?”
Holly laughed at me. “No, I’m serious. It’s very homey. In a good way.”
I had decorated the kitchen in various shades of blue, mainly due to all my pots and pans being blue already. The cheap white vinyl countertop and the old wooden cabinets weren’t exactly appealing to the eye, so I had thrown a blue valance on the window over the sink, and bought a new blue coffee pot. The table Mac had sat me on not even three hours ago had a pretty runner with blue flowers on it. Therewas a sliding glass door that led to the backyard, and I’d hurriedly ripped down the ugly-as-sin Venetian blinds that had hung over it. The kitchen towel hanging from the oven made me giggle. It read “When in doubt, pull out,” and had a picture of some half-burnt bread on it.
Maria grabbed a slice of the pizza Holly had set on the table. “What else needs done?”
I shrugged. “Not much. If those were the towels and stuff that you brought, we can put those up. Finish getting the living room situated.”
Holly was munching on a piece of pizza as well. “Wait ‘til you see the bed set I picked out for you. Your old one looked like you got it from a homeless man.” Maria gave her a look, and Holly added, “No offense. But you’ll like it, promise.”
I grabbed some glasses from the cabinets and poured us each a glass of wine, then I turned my music back on, and the three of us got to work. Maria took all the tags off my new linens, throwing them in the wash before helping Holly move furniture in the living room. We finished the first bottle by the time the dryer dinged, and were goofing off more than we were being productive.
They teased me relentlessly about my relationship with Mac and Dalton, pressing me for details. I was reluctant to give too much away, but when Holly asked if they were good in bed, I blushed about five different shades of red, and she howled with laughter. I was growing to love these two women dearly. When I was with them, I could forget all about being Detective McGrady—a rule-follower and all-around good girl. Instead, I was all Nicole—someone unafraid to voice her opinion, doing so often and unapologetically.
And someone, to my surprise, I really enjoyed being.
I watched from the doorway as Jackson and Diego pulled up. Maria had one glass too many and Holly, who was doing her best to support her but who had also had more thanher fair share of wine, was stumbling next to her. The two men helped their partners into the back of Maria’s minivan, and Diego waved to me as they pulled away. I, for one, was very pleasantly buzzed and not feeling up to climbing the stairs just yet. So, I slowly made my way over to the couch, and threw myself rather ungracefully down. I snuggled into the plush cushions, loving the chenille fabric of my new sofa.
My phone buzzed with an incoming text and I rolled over onto my side as I read the message from Dalton on our group chat.
“I’ve got good news and bad news, Vixen.”
“Bad news—it’s all bad fucking news,” Mac added.
“It is not. Just ignore him.”
“Fuck you.”
“Rude.”
I raised my eyebrows—whatever had gone down with Greyson had left Mac in a very bad mood.
“Sorry to interrupt the love-fest, but what’s up?”
“What do you want first?”
“Um… good news?”
“There is none.”
“Shut up, Mac. Good news, baby girl, is you get to take my credit card and go get three dresses for you and your friends.”
“Maria and Holly?”
“No, Rodney and Clint. Yes, Maria and Holly.”
I chewed on my bottom lip as I began to worry, but replied, “Smart ass. What’s the bad news?”
“Silas has some fucking dinner planned for the DiAngelos. Somehow, he said you’ve caught his eye and he wants you there.”
“Actually, what he said was that he couldn’t wait to get his hands on what had me and Dalton so pussy-whipped. I tried to put my fist through his face, but my idiot brother stopped me.”
That surprised me. Usually, Mac was the cool-headed,steadfast leader.
