Page 39 of Sloane

“Gee, meet the hot Marine you’re crushing on and his single Marine, fire fighter, and cop friends? Twist my arm!”

I let out a big sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“So, what are you wearing?”

“I think the dark jeans that make my butt look good, brown boots—”

“Over the jeans?”

“Yeah.”

“I approve. Continue.”

“I was going to wear my beige sweater but since it’s a bar, it will probably get warm, so maybe just my maroon blouse—”

“The V-neck one?”

“Yeah.”

“Your boobs look amazing in that one. Good choice.”

“Thanks. What about you? What are you going to wear?”

“I’m not sure yet. Jeans—obviously, but I’ll have to look in my closet to figure out what shoes and top.”

I hesitated to ask the next question, since I was pretty sure I already knew what Tammy’s answer would be.

“Do you think I should cover my birthmark?”

“You haven’t done it yet, why start now?”

“I don’t know. I guess I don’t want Sloane to be embarrassed to be seen with me.”

“Sweetheart, if he’d be embarrassed to be seen with you, then he’s not worth your time, and I’m putting my pajamas on and staying home.”

“Okay, fine. No makeup.”

“Well, don’t get crazy. Wear makeup, just no foundation.”

“That’s what I meant.”

“Just making sure. What time is this shindig?”

“We’re going to get there around six-thirty.”

“Okay, I’ll get there about a quarter to seven then.”

“Thank you again for doing this for me. I mean, his friends have all been super nice, but it would just be nice to have someone on Team Ashley.”

“Babe, I’m Team Ashley all the way. I’ll see you tonight.”

I knew Tam always had my back, and I was grateful for that.

I don’t know why I was so nervous about tonight. I’d already met his close friends at the base when he got off the plane. But Sloane had mentioned O’Malley’s was going to be a lot bigger crowd than Wednesday’s. Crowds weren’t my favorite thing.

Still, I’d suck it up for him. The fact that Tammy was going to be there made it that much easier.

Chapter Thirteen

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