Page 102 of October
“Finley, last night I told Ava it wasn’t going anywhere. I told you I was with you, remember?”
“Yeah, I just…”
“Hey,” Logan said, walking up from behind them. “You heading in? I forgot the booze Candace contributed in the trunk. Mind if I get by? It’s heavy.”
“Oh, sure,” Molly replied and moved out of the way so that Logan could carry a box of alcohol through the gate. “We shouldget in there,” she added and didn’t wait for a response before she walked through the gate and seemed to reluctantly join the party.
CHAPTER 28
“She brought India? What the hell is going on?” Juliet asked.
“She didn’tbringher; she invited her. It’s different,” she said. “And she’ll be right back, so I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Are you okay, though?”
“No,” she admitted just as Finley approached with two beers and handed Molly one. “Thanks.”
“Sure,” Finley said. “So, I know a few of them, but who are all these people, again?”
“Oh, I should introduce you. Gwen knows them better than me, but that’s Elisa and Myra. These are their houses.” Juliet motioned behind them. “They got together right before us, basically.”
“And they bought houses next to each other?” Finley asked.
“No, they were neighbors. That’s sort of how they met,” Juliet explained. “Buster is Elisa’s dog.” She nodded to the two dogs that were now lying in the yard after playing together for the past several minutes. “And that’s Logan and Rory, who you know already, with Candace.”
“Who’s next to them?” Molly asked.
“That’s Monica and Bridgette. They’re engaged. That’s Melinda and her fiancée, Kyle, walking their way.”
“We know Melinda,” Finley shared. “She was our tour guide.”
“Do you know Jill and Willa?”
“No,” Finley said.
“Jill works with Melinda. Willa is her girlfriend. Then, there’s Sophie and Bryce.” Juliet pointed to the couple standing off to the side of the main group gathering in the middle of the yard.
“We sort of met them at Candace’s,” Molly said.
“Okay. Well, Asher and Linden are over there.” Juliet pointed to the food table where two women were kissing and looking very happy, which made Molly a little jealous because Finley was standing at least three feet away from her. “And Caroline and Enid are over by the beer, with Jodie and Viv. You know Ava already, and she’s on her way here now, so I’ll stop there.”
“Hey,” Ava said to Molly.
“Hey. How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“Yeah, good.”
“It’s weird, being here. I think I’m the only single woman in the place.”
“Better than being Keith, who’s the only guy here. I think they put him on the grill just to give him something to do,” Juliet said of Candace’s fiancé.
“And you’re not the only single one here,” Finley said. “My friend India is here. She’s single.” Finley nodded toward her ex, who was standing by Myra and Elisa, no longer holding the fruit tray that would undoubtedly be the best fruit tray ever made.
“Is this your not-so-subtle attempt at setting me up with someone otherthanMolly?” Ava teased.
“What? No. I just–”
