Page 46 of Coerced
Surprise washed over me. Granted, Sawyer had told me there were a lot of women in the group, but I was surprised to see them actively seeking to meet me. Then again, I couldn’t miss the one thing Avalon had said. She noted that her guy worked in the same department at Harper Security Ops as Paxton. Was word spreading around this group because the women were talking, or was it Paxton who was sharing the news? I wasn’t sure which I would have preferred.
Snapping myself out of it, I smiled and said, “It’s wonderful to meet you both.”
“Likewise,” Liv replied.
I expected they were going to make their lunch orders next, but that wasn’t even remotely close to what happened.
Avalon was all but bouncing up and down with excitement when she shared, “We’ve all decided it’s time for another group gathering.”
“Pardon?”
“All the girls,” she clarified. “I’ve spoken to a handful of them already, and everyone is on board so far. We want to get everyone together some time over the coming weeks to have a bit of fun, but I thought it might make sense to check that you’re okay with it first.”
My eyes shifted between Avalon and Liv before ultimately landing on Mallory. “At this point, it’s almost become a ritual,” she explained.
“You want me to join you for a girls’ night?” I asked.
I received a round of nods and smiles in response, and Liv shared, “We think it would be a great way to welcome you to town. We were thinking a night at The Steel Pub for some dancing would be fun.”
“What do you think? If I coordinate everything with the other women, would you be interested in joining us?”
I wasn’t one for getting overly emotional about things, but I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit affected by what had just happened. These women, who didn’t even know me, had just invited me out for a girls’ night with them and the rest of the women in their group.
Steel Ridge was getting better and better by the minute. Somehow, despite the tightness I felt in my throat, I managed to find my voice. “I… I would love that.”
“Perfect. I’ll coordinate everything and get it all set up,” Avalon bubbled. “We’ll try to do it sometime soon, since it’s only a matter of time before Mallory and Liv have these babies. I don’t want them missing out on the fun.”
“It sounds like it’s going to be a blast.”
“We always have the best time.”
I couldn’t wait. With the exception of the time I spent out with Britney on occasion, I hadn’t really had anything like this in my life. I loved it. I loved that there was a group of women who were willing to accept me into the fold the way they were. But there was a part of me that wondered if perhaps they thought there was more happening between Paxton and me than was actually happening.
“I really appreciate the invitation to join you, and I’m excited about it, but I feel like I should be honest.”
“Sure. What’s going on?” Liv asked.
“I couldn’t help but notice something you said earlier,and I wanted to clarify. I’m aware there’s a friend group here made up of all the women who are dating Harper Security Ops men. I know Paxton; he’s my neighbor. But we’re not together like that.”
“Yeah, but you did go out on a date with him just a few days ago, Aria,” Mallory noted.
“Oooh, that’s exciting,” Avalon declared.
Shaking my head, needing to be clear, I insisted, “It wasn’t a date like that, though. Paxton was just doing what he could to welcome me to town and give me a tour.”
“But you didn’t actually get the tour yet, since he decided he wanted to have fun with you instead,” Mallory reminded me. “Plus, you said you both intend to get together again.”
Before I could argue the point, Liv sighed dreamily. “I don’t know if it’s the pregnancy hormones or what, but I love this.”
I nervously shifted my gaze among the women and made one last attempt to clear up any confusion. “I think you’re all getting ahead of yourself. There’s nothing romantic happening between Paxton and me. He’s just a nice guy who wants to make my transition to this new town a bit easier. That’s all.”
Avalon giggled. “Of course, he is. But that doesn’t mean something won’t eventually come of it. Either way, we want to do our part to welcome you to town as well. So, I’ll work on it over the course of the next few days and get something set up for all of us.”
No matter how hard I tried to clear things up and set the record straight, these women had made up their minds. It might have been easy to get upset with them for it, but I didn’t have that desire. The reality was that thiswas all well-meaning. I didn’t necessarily believe it was a bad thing that there were women in a new town who wanted to welcome me with open arms. Plus, they weren’t hiding any of this or doing it behind my back. If nothing else, I appreciated them being up front about it.
With the decisions made, I took Avalon and Liv’s lunch order. And before I knew it, the end of my workday had arrived. I could head home and spend my time and energy thinking about what my life would be like if everything these new women in my life were saying was true.
Maybe I came to Steel Ridge in hopes of starting over and rebuilding my life. But it wouldn’t be so bad to build it with a handsome guy in my corner, too.