Page 35 of Can't Get Enough

“Well, I’m not gonna be the only bare bitch up in here.” I laugh, grabbing my towel from the corner to wrap and tuck it around me. “But let the record show I was the last woman standing.”

“Kudos to you.” Soledad rolls her eyes teasingly. “You win.”

“So what’d you want our perspective on?” Yasmen asks, lying back on the bench with a towel now tucked around her torso.

“When I was in Miami—”

“Oooh, I been waiting for this.” Soledad’s face is wreathed in avid curiosity. “You got any tea on Zere and Mav?”

“Um, kinda?” I shrug. “I mean, not much more than what everybody already knows.”

“I heard he cheated on her.” Yasmen turns her head to catch my eye through the steam. “Did he?”

“No.” I shake my head and frown. “At least not as far as I know. She didn’t say that. She said…”

I glance around the hot box furtively as if I’m making sure we’re the only three in here.

“This stays in the vault,” I tell them, smoothing all humor from my expression. “For real.”

“You know we got you,” Soledad assures me, leaning forward. “Now tell it.”

“I’m dying over here,” Yasmen says. “I know I look calm, but the questions are eating my stomach from the inside out.”

We all laugh, and I allow myself a smile.

“It’s not that serious,” I say. “But Zere’s really hurting, and I want to be sensitive to that in how I handle this thing.”

“What’s the thing?” Soledad asks.

“Okay, so like I said, as far as I know, he didn’t cheat,” I tell them. “But the split may not have been as mutual as their statement made it out to be.”

“I knew it!” Soledad covers her mouth with both hands. “She dumped him.Shecheated?”

“Nobody cheated,” I start, but swallow my next words when two more women enter the sauna.

“I think we’ve been in long enough,” Yasmen says, sliding off the bench and heading for the door. “Let’s finish this outside.”

We go to the locker room, which is packed. I give them a meaningful look that saysHold that thought. By the time we’ve showered, gotten clothes on, and are seated in the dining area with our sushi, my friends are practically vibrating with anticipation.

“Oh, my gosh, spill,” Soledad says, eyes stretched wide. “What happened?”

Carefully glancing around to make sure no one is near enough to hear, I drop my voice, and lean in.

“She wanted kids and he didn’t.” I sit back and lift my brows to theHow ya like them apples?level.

Their expressions fall.

“Dassit?” Yasmen demands. “That’s your juicy tidbit you need our perspective on?”

“Gotta say.” Soledad tsks and lifts her bottled water for a sip. “I was expecting more.”

“That’s not what I need your perspective on,” I say. I’m not sure how to put it. There is no hard evidence supporting the misgiving that’s been building in my belly every time I think about my interactions with Maverick Bell. “He and I…”

“He andyou?” Yasmen straightens in the chair from her disappointed slump. “Y’all what?”

“Not like that.” I sigh. “Before I knew who he was, we had a moment at the bar. Like… not flirting, but vibing.”

“Vibing?” Soledad looks rapt again. “Go on.”

---