Page 6 of Wicked Love

“Yes, he does,” Calista interrupts my spiral into all things Bowie. “All those men are fine as hell. Javi better be glad I met him first!”

I feel eyes on me and turn to see Sadie watching me thoughtfully. She grins, tapping her chin.

“You never came to one of our girl nights. We invited you, remember? After meeting you at Twinkle Tales.”

“I know! I'm sorry. I really wanted to. Work was crazy there for a while and then the holidays got so hectic.”

“It's okay. You'll have to come to the next one. We got distracted too between holidays and the end of the season. And Elle just got married.”

“You did? That’s awesome. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Elle smiles. “We put it together quickly, but we’ve been close forever, so we thought, why wait?”

“I love that.”

“It was the prettiest wedding,” Sadie says. “And we’ll get together more often now that the season is over. In the meantime, you should come to my wedding…”

“What?” I say, shock lacing my voice.

“Yes, I’d love to have you! I can just tell you’re good people. There will be plenty of food and it’s going to be such a fun night…lots of dancing.” She clasps her hands together. “Please, say yes. I would love to have you there.”

“That's amazing. So thoughtful of you!”

“Oh, you'll be perfect,” she says. “You'll fit right in with everyone. It's not a big affair. Don't get me wrong…with the team and all their plus ones, it’ll be plenty of people, but still feel intimate.” She leans in and looks so pretty, her cheeks rosy and her eyes lit up with excitement.

I’m the only one with blonde hair in this group. They’re all gorgeous and each has a distinct look and various eye colors, but they all have long, dark hair. Calista has dreadlocks right now, so it looks even longer than the other times I’ve seen her. They’re dressed really well too…makes me wish I’d stopped by the house to change out of the athletic wear I live in at work. I’ll have to get a new dress if I plan on going to this wedding. I can’t believe she’s inviting me to her wedding! I’m a huge Mustangs fan and I think I’m in shock that these women are so welcoming.

“We’re going to be taking over the Landmark Mountain Ski Lodge & Resort and we’d love to have you. It's coming up soon, February 28th.”

“I’ll be there,” I say, already knowing that my schedule is clear.

“Wonderful. Type your address in my phone so I can send you an invite. I cannot wait.”

“Neither can I. Wow. Thank you.”

Tru and Elle look at Sadie and her smile grows. She hands me her phone and I put my address in before handing it back.

I can't help but think I'm missing something, but I’m just so honored she's asked me to be there, I don't even question it. I've wanted to make new friends in Silver Hills and it looks like I'm getting my wish.

Sadie leans in. “Make sure you save a dance for Bowie.”

Oh my. For a second I’d forgotten about Bowie. My cheeks heat again.

“I’m not so sure he’ll want to dance with me. He didn’t seem very…into me.”

“He’ll dance with you,” Elle says, bumping my shoulder with hers. “He holds everything close to his chest, but I think you intrigued him.”

I make a face, laughing. “You must have seen something I didn’t then.”

“We need to get one drink in Bowie—he rarely ever drinks, but when he does, some of that gruff exterior falls off of him,” Tru says.

Sadie points at her, nodding. “You’re not wrong. Oh, this is going to be so fun.”

My eyes narrow. “You’re not trying to set us up, are you?”

“Who me?” Her eyes widen comically. “Poppy, I am going to let the love in the air work its magic. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

I call my sister when I get home. Marley’s twenty-four, three years younger than me, and we’re really close. She got married last year and she and Eric live in California now. I hate that I can’t just drive over to her house to see her.

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