Page 59 of Beautiful Crazy
“Remind me to never tell you anything ever again.”
“You love me. You’d never be able to keep secrets like that from me, and you know it.”
I roll my eyes at her dramatically, which only makes her laugh more. But she’s right. After what happened with Everett at his place last weekend, I told my sisters and Charley the next morning. There was no way I was going to keep something that big to myself.
My cheeks heat at the memory of just howbigEverett was.
And then the classroom incident, which I’ve chosen to keep to myself. Mostly because it’s so fucking hot, I don’t think I could get it out without turning bright red. It’s definitely a memory I’ve thought of more than once… late at night with a toy in my hand.
“And it wouldn’t be weird to invite him,” she goes on, disappearing into the room again. “You guys are friends, he gets along with Sutton, and it’s not like you haven’t invited him to do stuff with all of us before. Just do it. I know you want to.”
“Yeah, but doesn’t that feel kind of… I don’t know… date-like to you?”
Walking back into the bathroom, she hoists herself up on the other side of the counter, sitting crisscross applesauce as she examines her makeup in the mirror, reaching for the blush. “Not at all.Maybeif y’all were going just the two of you, but even then, friends do stuff like that together.”
Pondering what she says for a moment, I finish the last piece of hair that needs to be curled. “I just don’t want him to get the wrong idea.”
“And what wrong idea would that be?” she asks.
“Well, what if he thinks I’m trying to make this more than what it is?”
“Would that be so bad?”
My gaze drags over to her. “Uh, yes.”
Grace breathes out a laugh. “Why is that?”
“Because we agreed to keep this just friends, no strings. I’ve got too much on my plate to even consider something more than that, and he’s still kind of new in town, and I’m sure he has much better things to do than getting involved romantically with a single mom with baggage. Not to mention, he’s also Sutton’s teacher.”
“For such a smart woman, you’re painfully clueless sometimes.”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” I scoff, narrowing my eyes.
Spinning around the counter, Grace meets my gaze, a faint smile tugging on the corners of her lips. “Gemma, the guy plays baseball with your son, comes to his games, dropped everything to take you to the emergency room, and then took care of you after your surgery. I don’t think he cares that you’re a”—she uses air quotations—“single mom with baggage. And give yourself a little more credit than that, Gem. You and Sutton aren’t baggage, and any man worth a damn would know that without a doubt.”
Rolling my eyes, I leave the bathroom, padding into the closet to get dressed. “He’s a teacher, Grace,” I say. “Of course, he enjoys playing catch with Sutton. And he’s a nice guy. Him taking me to the hospital when Sutton came to him worried about his mom isn’t that far-fetched for somebody who’s a good person.”
The words sound like bullshit even to my own ears.Deep down, I know everything Everett has done is about more than being nice, but something about sharing that with my sister feels… scary, I guess. I’d be lying if I said his actions haven’t made my feelings grow for him, but I’m not ready to admit to that.
“Does nobody answer the damn door around here?”
I poke my head out from the closet as I hear Georgia’s voice, watching as she and Charley waltz into my bedroom. “What are you guys doing here? I thought you were meeting us there.”
Georgia plops down on my bed, making herself comfortable. “I got off earlier than I thought, so I swung by and picked up Char. Neither of you bitches bothered to respond to my text; otherwise, you would’ve known we were coming over.”
“Oh, shit. Sorry.” I walk over to my nightstand and grab my phone. “I didn’t even hear a message come through.”
“Tell Gemma to invite her boy toy,” Grace says to them. “She won’t listen to me, but I know she wants him to come.”
“Do it,” Georgia says, flicking her gaze over to me. “Graham’s coming too, so he won’t be the only guy there.”
“He is? Is Megan coming?”
“For a little bit,” Charley chimes in. Megan is Graham’s wife, but she’s also pretty close with Charley. Being our sister-in-law, Megan gets along with Grace, Georgia, and I just fine too, but she and Charley have always been close because their parents are neighbors, and they have been since the two of them were kids. “She wasn’t feeling too good earlier, which is why you guys probably didn’t know they were coming.”
“How far along is she again?” Georgia asks.
“I think she just hit her third trimester, right, Char?” I ask.