Page 76 of Just Like That
I scrunched my nose. “Is it?” I was having a hard enough time wrapping my head around the hot-and-cold routine to know for sure.
“I would greatly accept male affection in the form of cash.” MJ raised her palms and closed her eyes like she was waiting for her mystery man to descend from the sky.
“You know what we need? We need to go out, no kids,” Sylvie announced. “Duke’s been a bear lately too. Maybe something ridiculous and fun—a way to celebrate the summer coming to an end.” She winked at MJ. “Find that millionaire mystery man of yours.”
Veda raised her cup. “I already have my man. No kids, but I’m in.”
Sylvie’s eyes lit up. “I have the perfect idea! I saw this thing on social media where you get a group together and shop at a thrift store or charity shop for your date-night outfits. Everyone has to pick clothes for someone else. There’s a set budget, and youhaveto wear whatever someone chooses for you.”
It was utterly ridiculous and I wasimmediatelyexcited.
Sylvie had her phone out to check her calendar. “Saturday?”
Sloane laughed. “I can tell you right now that Abel would rather cover himself in fire ants. Plus, I have a weird thing about musty clothes.” She shook in an exaggerated shiver. “How about I have the kids over for the night? A last hurrah before they start school.”
I glanced at Teddy, who was holding hands with Gus and helping him reach blueberries. “Are you sure you can handle all of them overnight?”
Sloane waved a hand in the air. “Piece of cake.”
I looked at MJ. “Want to be my date?”
Her eyebrows bounced playfully. “Only if you put out.”
We all laughed and my gaze shifted to JP. He was such a stick-in-the-mud. I couldn’t even imagine a world in which he’d agree to something fun like a thrift store date. It was a good thing the rest of his family knew how to have a good time.
Planning wasn’t my strong suit, but the rest of the women had that down pat. I could just go with the flow, like I’d always done. Being the flighty one meant never having to let someone down when you didn’t meet their expectations.
My eyes found JP.
It was impossible to let someone down when they never expected much from you in the first place.
I finished my vodka lemonade in one last gulp and swallowed down my complicated feelings along with it.
TWENTY-FIVE
JP
I couldn’t stop staringat her.
It really was starting to become a fucking problem. Hazel was sitting in a semicircle with the women of my family, laughing and smiling. I tried to focus on whatever Royal was saying, but the way her laugh floated on the early-autumn air was downright distracting.
When Hazel had made an offhand comment that she and Teddy were going up to the farm for a barbecue, I’d offered to drive.
Hell, I hadn’t even been invited.
It was my own fault, I knew that. My entire life I’d been living in my father’s shadow, groomed to take over the business, and I was expected to operate as an extension of him. Trouble was, that role had felt more and more like a cheap suit I couldn’t wait to shed.
The distance between my siblings and me was the direct result of my choices. They should hate me for it, but instead they greeted me with smiles and handshakes when I’d shown up with Hazel and Teddy in tow.
Conversations with my siblings were still stilted and awkward, but I was trying.
“She’s not going anywhere.” Royal chuckled beside me.
I tried to hide my frown by taking a sip of my beer. “What?”
“Your girl.” He gestured toward her, and I immediately wanted to pull his arm down and scold him for not playing it cool. “You can stop stalking her every move.”
I ground my molars together. “She’s not my girl.”