Page 62 of Silver Linings
“Same goes for you and the girls.”
“Holy hell, Lily. You are one smoking mama!” Emma embraced Lily as she walked up to the bar.
“Thanks,” she responded shyly.
“Oh no. That won’t do. You need to tell me you already knew that, and make it convincing. Because no way did you paint those jeans on tonight not knowing how good they make your ass look. Are you and Gunner trying for baby number two already?”
“No!” she said much too quickly.
“Don’t tell me that grumpy guy is giving you a hard time about getting back in the love-making saddle after you had his baby.”
“No, no, nothing like that. Life has just been a lot for both of us lately. I’m not sure where he stands, but I’m good with how things are between us. Besides, postpartum life has been really hard and I’m just not ready for all that.”
“One day, I’m going to need all the details about how you got Gunner to go all mushy for you. You must have a magical kitty cat to whip him into husband and daddy material,” Mae winked and Lily prayed the floor would open and swallow her right up.
“Oh, don’t say daddy,” Emma chuckled, turning bright red and looking into the restaurant.
“Please don’t tell me you and Sebastian have a daddy-mommy kink,” Mae groaned.
“Not a full-blown kink…but it’s fun to role play every now and again.”
“I don’t think I should be listening to this.” Lily looked up and down the bar, praying a menu would appear and she could wilt into it.
“You and Gunner haven’t dabbled in role play? That man screams praise and degradation kink. I can see him trying to get you over his knee every chance he has.”
Lily felt like she’d already consumed ten shots of alcohol as the heat flushed through her body from her toes straight up to her hair. “Um, well, no. We haven’t.”
“How about we put the poor new girl out of her misery Mae and order some shots that will loosen up that tongue of hers?”
“Good thinking. Then maybe she will feel confident enough to go home and use that loose tongue on Gunner.”
“He’ll be praising her in no time, and then they can thank us for baby number two.”
“You both are wicked.” Lily laughed, trying to embrace their antics. Mae and Emma were fun and clearly loved to get rowdy. She couldn’t wait to tell Gia about them. It would be fun to see how they acted as the night went on. Maybe she could even learn a thing or two about Hawk and Sebastian that would help her feel more at ease around the team.
“Sugar Cookies?” Mae asked Emma.
“Of course.”
“You brought cookies?” Lily asked, thinking she was going to need something more hearty to soak up the alcohol.
The girls laughed. “That’s the name of a shot Emma invented on our first official girls’ night out a few weeks ago.”
“And it’s strong. Just what we need.”
Emma placed the order with the bartender, whose eyes went wide at the request.
“So, Em, tell me where he is,” Mae smiled.
“Who?”
“Don’t give me that. No way is Sebastian letting you out of his sight. And if you’re here, that means Sebastian and Addie aren’t far away.”
“Yeah.” Emma sighed as she looked over her shoulder. Lily waved at Sebastian, who was smiling as he looked over at their group. A pretty little face peered out from the booth, and Lily realized that must be their daughter. “They’re just going to have dinner together and then we’ll have to go. Honestly, it was like trying to pull teeth to get Seb to agree to let me come tonight. I understand why he’s so protective, and to be honest, I’m not totally sure I’m ready to be out in the world without him.”
“That makes sense, babe. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other,” Mae said.
Emma nodded.