Page 29 of The Best Wrong Move

I narrow my eyes at Dom, wondering how that’s possible, but he’s too busy bantering back and forth to notice, with a guy who has two sleeves of tattoos down each arm.

The other girl in the group, Rooney, grabs my arm. “Once you see what he’s working with downstairs, you’re gonna wish he was more than just your Airbnb owner!” She eyes Dom appreciatively, then bursts out laughing.

Isla stifles a gasp while her forehead falls into her hands, but she bursts into laughter too. They both look sideways at their husbands to make sure neither of them is listening, but the guys are all too involved in their own conversation.

“Rooney kind of dated Dom before she and her husband got together.” Isla grins widely — her front teeth are slightly twisted forward, giving her a cat-like appearance. I instantly like her. “But ignore her. Rooney is ridiculously in love with her husband over there, almost to a nauseating degree. And she’s a bit drunk.” Isla smacks Rooney on the arm playfully. “We already had a drink or two at happy hour down the road before coming here. She’s just reliving a memory from her glory days.”

“Can you blame me?” Rooney laughs. “Trust me. I’m happily married. But a girl never forgets a package like that.”

“A package like what?” Cliff asks, arriving at the table with a pitcher of freshly mixed mai tais, along with a second pitcher of ice water. He eyeballs the food spread across the table. “You ladies need anything else?”

“More chips and guac, please!” Rooney says cheerfully. “These will be gone before you know it. And, if you’re too busy with orders, I’m happy to come grab it!”

They must come here a lot together if Rooney is offering to get her own food from the kitchen.

Cliff smiles at her. “On it. I’ll grab you guys some extra plates too.”

“No rush,” Isla says before Cliff heads back behind the counter. Then she turns to me and says more quietly, “Rooney and Dom hooked up at one point back in college. I don’t even know if I’d call itdating. More like one random hookup a zillion years ago. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

I smile, then glance at Dom, trying not to imagine his package, though I’m highly curious now why Rooney hasn’t forgotten about it in the last ten years.

“You’re all college friends then?” I ask.

“More like college family.” Isla smiles warmly. “None of us have real family on the island, so we do all the holidays together. Kind of like a chosen family of island misfits. Dom is our daughter’s godfather, but more like her non-blood-relation uncle. She’s totally obsessed with him. Here, let me show you a picture. Hazel is about to turn three.” Isla pulls out her phone to show me a photo of a tiny brunette cherub with long, dark eyelashes framing a pair of stunning blue eyes. She has two piles of brown curls pulled up into tiny pigtails on the top of her head, wrapped with sparkly pink bows.

“Oh my gosh, she’s absolutely adorable!” I exclaim, meaning it wholeheartedly. “She looks just like you!” I grab her phone to look more closely. Hazel could be a little model.

“Even more adorable when she’s playing with that one.” She points to Dom with a smile. “He’s going to make a really great dad one day.”

My stomach flip-flops — I feel myself turn pink.

“Ignore Isla,” Rooney pipes up again. “For all we know, Olivia might be here for Dom’s package size and nothing more! I can hardly blame her!” She widens her eyes, then bursts into laughter. We all join in just as Cliff comes back with more snacks and a second big pitcher of ice water. He sets it all down in front of us, then pours Rooney a big glass before handing it to her. Their completely informal indoctrination into the group is making me feel more relaxed and welcome.

“How’s Jack enjoying preschool?” Cliff asks Rooney. She lights up and pulls out her phone, showing him a collection of photos. Her son Jack is a handsome little boy, a backpack almost as tall as he is strapped across his tiny shoulders. He’s beaming at the camera with big brown eyes.

I sit back and smile, letting myself fade into the background for a moment. This group already feels familiar — almost like we’ve always been friends, though we only met minutes ago. Welcoming a stranger with a hug and some humor, somehow makes me feel like part of the inside jokes.

“Good to see you here, Olivia,” Cliff says, leaning over to squeeze my shoulder. “When Dom texted us that you’d be coming with him tonight, he told us not to mention your viral clip, but let’s just get that elephant out of the room.” He breaks into a smile, and I can’t help but return one of my own. I was wondering when one of them was going to mention the clip of Rex and me.

Isla smacks Cliff on the arm. “Real subtle, Cliff!” she scolds, trying not to giggle, while Rooney rolls her eyes at him.

Dom’s ears perk up at Cliff’s teasing and he leans over.

“That took you all of two minutes,” Dom says to Cliff, his voice dripping with sarcasm. But he claps Cliff on the back and shoots me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Liv. These guys are all harmless though. They’ll have your back just as much as I will if anyone dares to give you trouble tonight. Anyone that isn’t them, apparently.”

“If anybody gives you attitude, I’ll just show them the door.” Cliff smiles at me. “It’s my name on the sign outside.”

“Thank you,” I tell him, and I mean it. Knowing this group of practical strangers is going to stand by me makes me feel so grateful — even a little weepy inside. After facing dozens of strangers’ comments back home alone, it means more to me than I can express right now.

“Now, relax.” Cliff’s smile grows wider. “Nobody’s going to bother you here, at least until the microphone comes out. Then all bets are off.”

Chapter 19

“Microphone?” I ask.

As if on cue, a lanky woman in a short leopard print dress hops up on stage, setting up a microphone and a little glowing screen. I’m not sure when the musician left the stage. I must have been too busy chatting with Dom’s friends to notice.

I study the screen until it dawns on me what’s happening.

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