Page 110 of Betting on the Best Friend
I set the mug down with a thump. “I owe you for that.”
Sami correctly infers that I mean payback, not thanks, and scoots her armchair another foot out of reach.
“It was mine, right?” Madison says. “Getting y’all to do the Pitch-a-Friend about each other so you were basically listing the reasons you’re in love with each other?”
I turn to her, my jaw dropped. “You bailed on that intentionally?”
“Yeah. Oliver and I went to a movie.” She looks smug.
“Partial credit, I guess, because you only got Charlie to do it. The crowd got me to do it.”
She purses her lips and coos at me like she does with her cats. “That’s so cute you think that. I paid the event host fifty bucks to make sure it happened.”
I am aghast, my jaw fully dropped now. But also, I am impressed. I shut my mouth and salute her. Moving on to Ava, I narrow my eyes and consider her self-satisfied smirk.
“Let me guess,” I say. “You came up with the idea of making me go on a bunch of dates purely as revenge.”
“Of course, bestie.” She doesn’t look remotely apologetic. “You did it to me.”
“So it was mine, right?” Madison asks. “Mine was the one that worked?”
I look at each of them, considering. “What does the winner get?”
“To be maid of honor at your wedding,” Sami says.
“And your firstborn will be named after us, so you’re golden as long as it’s me or Sami,” Madison says. “If it’s Ava, you better hope you have a girl first.”
I sigh and look at Ava. “What’s the real prize?”
She gets up and walks into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a bedazzled baseball hat and a pageant sash. She turns them for me to read.
Both of them sayBest Bestie.
“You made these?” I guess, studying the turquoise and white color scheme.
Ava shrugs. “Of course. This is one of my best colors.”
“Too bad they’re mine,” Madison says.
“Um, did either of you write a magical song?” Sami demands. “Gimme it.”
“Not so fast,” I say. “Charlie and I aren’t together.”
“Yet,” Madison says, like it’s the most minor detail.
I sweep them all with another glance. “So what I’m hearing is that you’re going to help me figure this out?”
“Of course,” Sami says. “My tour starts soon, so I’ll have to mostly be moral support long-distance, but I’ll do anything I can.”
“Remind me when you leave?” I ask, like I don’t have that date shaded red in my calendar.
“Ten days?”
Eleven, but close enough. “Then we better come up with a plan quick.”
“Don’t stress,” Madison says, waving her phone. “I looked it up and Charlie’s classes won’t start until the end of August. We’ve got ti . . .” She sees my face and trails off.
“No. He’s not going to Colorado. I also looked, and UT’s grad program is ranked higher. We solve this now, and this is the best week because we have a conference together where we will actually be in the same building for three days.”
