Page 142 of Can't Get Enough

“Mom!” Deja pouts. “We want to hear about her billionaire boyfriend, too.”

I crack up laughing and loop my elbow around her neck.

“I’ll tell you all about my fine, rich, and amazing boyfriend later,” I promise. “I also may have ordered a few things from Sephora that arrived today. Check behind the sofa.”

Deja’s face lights up like a neon sign.

“You know I’m trash for Fenty.” She grabs Lupe’s hand. “Girl, let’s go.”

As soon as my bedroom door closes, Yasmen and Soledad pounce, pelting me with so many questions I fall back onto the bed and drape my arm over my forehead.

“Y’all don’t need to know every detail,” I tell them, cracking one eye open.

“But things have been good between you two?” Soledad asks, grinning like she already knows.

The smile blossoms on my face. I feel it. I know it, but I can’t stop it.

“Look at you!” Sol pops up on her knees on my bed. “That look you say I get when I talk about Judah? Hate to tell ya, but it’s allllll over your face right now, baby girl.”

“You do kinda have the look,” Yasmen says, scrunching her nose and smiling. “Is the dick that good?”

“Most definitely, yes.” I nod my head. “No notes.”

We collapse our forty-year-old selves into girlish giggles and flop onto our backs to contemplate my bedroom’s stipple ceiling that hasn’t changed since I was a kid.

“It’s more than that, though,” I continue, resting my palm on my stomach, wishing it was the weight, the strength of Maverick’s arm around me. “We just have a ball together. Whether we’re on a yacht dancing in the moonlight…”

“Très romantique, by the way,” Soledad inserts.

“Or we’re just laying around watching YouTube videos orTop Boyon Netflix. It just all feels… right with him. You know?”

“Oh, we know from personal experience. Sounds like love.” Yasmen turns her head and smiles at my profile. “You think you’re in love?”

“Love?” I draw in a sharp breath and close my eyes. “That translated to me asDo you think you should jump off this cliff with a tinfoil parachute?”

“Itcanbe scary,” Soledad says, reaching for my hand. “Remember how twisted up I was about Judah? You helped me sort my feelings for him by asking what I wanted for myself. And he was it. Judah checked all my boxes.”

“Does Maverick check any boxes?” Yasmen grins knowingly.

“Chile, Mav checks all the boxes and writes in some new ones. He’s like what about this? You’re gonna need this other thing, too, right? Did I mention I also color in the circles? I got ya covered.”

Our laughter floats up to the ceiling and settles over us, the joy of being together again even if for only a few hours.

“Zere did finally call,” I tell them, my smile dissolving. “She saysI’m out. She wants to do the show with Chapel, but doesn’t trust me after I ‘stole’ her boyfriend. Doesn’t feel comfortable working with me anymore. I’m not looking forward to telling Chap, but I gotta put my big-girl thong on.”

“Um, you did a lot to get the show where it even is so far,” Yasmen says. “I remember you working on the pitch and reaching out to your contacts. Can she completely cut you out like that?”

“You know what?” I shake my head. “She tried to intimidate me talking about consulting her lawyers and they assured her I didn’t have a case should I try to buck. I think I actuallycouldhave a case, but I don’t want that. I just want… peace.”

And Mav.

“Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve led with your head,” Yasmen says. “Maybe this once,with this one, you can afford to lead with your heart.”

“What makes this time any different?” I scoff, but it’s half-hearted because I know what’s different.

Maverick is different.

“So I had a thought,” Soledad says, sitting up on the bed once they’ve drained me of all Maverick-related information.

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