Page 105 of Sing Your Secrets

“Not true,” I mutter. “Nothing’s changing with us—”

“No, no, it’s good. Change is good. Actually, I’ve been thinking lately that our friendships need to change too.”

“What?” Mani asks with a tone indicating she’s offended.

“We’re not just a sisterhood anymore. We’ve grown into a big family.” She looks at Noa. “We were all there when you had Jonah, he’s always felt like our own. But now Presley is our little peanut too, and not just because she’s your goddaughter, but because she’s Chase’s daughter. We love him.” She nods toward Quinn. “Cody’s not just my friend, he calls me his little sister. And honestly Quinny, at this point, you fuck with Cody’s heart, and you fuck with mine.”

Quinn’s lips fall open as her eyes freeze in wide circles. “Did she just threaten me? About my own husband?”

I snort, picturing the baby of our group taking on boss lady Quinn. “We’ve already planned out Joel’s kidnapping, murder, and the eventual cover-up if he gets cold feet and leaves you before your wedding,” I say with a dead-serious expression.

“I think you’re missing my point,” Addie grumbles.

“No, no,” I explain, “I get what you’re saying. Joel means a lot to us. We care about him and we’re going to feel very bad if we have to murder him.”

Ignoring my sass, Addie continues, “And we’re all going to be front row at the opening of The Garage watching Miles perform like a herd of fangirls because we’re proud of him and what he’s accomplished. And whenever Mani decides to tell us who she’s secretly sleeping with, we’ll adopt him too.”

Mani rolls her eyes but stays silent throughout the matter.

“Where are you going with all this, Addie?” Quinn asks as she stretches her tan arms above her head, trying to relieve pressure from her aching back from sitting on the hard floor. All right, fine…I’ll think about some new furniture.

“Maybe we keep girls’ night to every other Friday?”

“What?” Noa asks.

“The hell?” Mani adds on.

“No, ma’am,” Quinn says with certainty.

Addie claps her hands together above the medley of objections. “Girls’ night every other week and family night for the Fridays in between—with all the people we love. Boyfriends, husbands, babies…our whole family.”

Oh, Addie.Sweet, sassy, sentimental Addie. “I like that.” I smile as I raise my imaginary glass in the air. “Cheers to that.”

Five hands raise in the air and we can almost hear the imaginary clinks.

My phone buzzes loudly on my glass coffee table and doesn’t let up. Snagging it off the table, I walk toward my bedroom to take the call when I see Miles’s name pop up on the screen.

“Hey, you,” I say as my cheeks bunch. “We were just talking about you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. You have a formal invitation to girls’ night next weekend. Or family night, I suppose. At any rate, it’s a mandatory play date with all my friends and their significant others.”

“That’s cool,” he mumbles. “Can’t wait.”

Okay, I was expecting a little more enthusiasm than that.“What’s wrong? Did you get the email?”

“Yeah. They sent over a draft of the deal.”

I shut my bedroom door with the heel of my foot. Sucking in a deep breath, I ask, “Miles, if it’s not enough, there are other labels. This is just the beg—”

“It’s enough. The advance is millions.”

“Baby! That’s incredible! Good. You’re damn worth millions, I’m glad they’re offering what you’re worth.” I wait through the silence. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…” He falls silent again and I press the phone harder against my ear. “I know I’m not allowed to have you on Fridays, but…”

“Do you need me tonight?”

“Yeah,” he breathes out. “I do.”

I hear the laughter of my best friends in the world through the door. If they were listening to this call on speakerphone, if they could hear the anguish in Miles’s voice, I know exactly what they’d say.

“Just tell me where to meet you. I’m on my way.”

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