“Oh my goodness, I never thought something that looked so awful could taste so good.” Molly gulped down the putrid green drink while Bridget grinned at her. Although the self-defense classes started the week before, Molly decided to continue her personal training sessions with Bridget. Molly thought she was learning a lot from the classes, but the sessions with Bridget made her feel empowered, like she could do anything, and that feeling was worth every cent of the training fees.

Molly was finishing up the smoothie while Bridget chattered about rumors of a reality show for DS Fight Club when Nanda poked her head around the corner.

“Bridget, you wanna carpool to Bailey’s tonight?” Nanda asked. “Oh, hey, Molly.”

Molly waved and raised her eyebrows in greeting while she continued to gulp down the rest of her smoothie.

“Carpool? Is book club at our house tonight?” Colin, who had been walking past the gym’s kitchen, leaned back and popped his head through the opposite doorway.

“Yep, big man. You’d better get ready.” Bridget was fighting to keep a straight face, and when Colin groaned, she lost it. “Oh, it’s not that bad.”

“No, it could be at Charlotte’s. I don’t know what it is about the Mashburn house that brings out the wild women in y’all, but damn, it does.” The huge man shook his head. “They get you in on this craziness, Miss Molly?”

“Uh . . .”

“You should come.” Nanda grinned and nodded her head enthusiastically.

“Well, I probably haven’t read—” Molly began.

“Doesn’t matter. Half of the time, we don’t read either,” Bridget said with a snort.

“Oh, well, if I wouldn’t be intruding, it would be fun.” Molly rinsed out her cup and put it in the dishwasher.

“You were just saying you needed to get out and socialize more with someone who wasn’t your mother,” Bridget reminded her.

“That’s true . . .” Molly chewed on her lip, still hesitant about horning in on an already established group.

“Come on—it’ll be fun.” Bridget bumped Molly’s shoulder. “Come on.”

Molly laughed. “Sure.” What did she have to lose?

*****

Molly wheezed with laughter at Ashley Richards’s horrified expression, and when Charlotte Mashburn let loose with her distinctive bray, Molly almost aspirated a carrot because she was laughing so hard.

“What do you mean you don’t like deviled eggs?” Ashley scoffed. “That’s like not liking . . . I don’t know, something that everyone likes. It’s un-American. Who doesn’t like deviled eggs?”

Nanda snorted. “I don’t know what the big deal is, Ashley. You act like it’s a personal affront.”

“It is,” the statuesque blonde retorted. “What’s not to like about deviled eggs? Everyone likes deviled eggs. Molly, do you like deviled eggs?”

Molly swallowed the crudité that currently filled her mouth. “Of course. I love me some deviled eggs, but I can see how someone might not like them, if they didn’t care for boiled eggs.”

“But who doesn’t like boiled eggs? Add relish and mayonnaise and mustard, a little bit of horseradish—”

“Oh Lord, here she goes,” Em said, helping herself to another serving of the appetizer in question. “Molly, we’re not completely insane. Ashley is a bit of a deviled-egg evangelist.” She bit into the egg and hummed in pleasure.

“They are really, really good.” Molly plucked an egg off the plate and popped it into her mouth.

Nanda shuddered. “That is just vile.”

“Don’t yuck on someone else’s yum,” Molly playfully scolded.

“Are you who Maude picked that up from?” Em clapped in glee. “I love that. It’s so perfect.”

“I’m always telling that to my lot.” With a look that brooked no argument as to who got the remaining egg, Ashley made quick work of clearing the deviled-egg plate.

“Your lot?” Molly moved her attention back to the crudité plate. “I sense a story.”

All the women dissolved into laughter, except for Ashley, who merely rolled her eyes.

“I have five children,” Ashley explained.

“Molly, ask her how old they—” Em said with a snort.

Ashley rolled her eyes again. “They’re eight months apart. Rose and Ava are four, and Mary, Clara, and Niamh are three.”

Molly’s jaw dropped, and all the women, including Ashley this time, began to howl with laughter.

“What can I say? Rory’s a sexy motherfucker, and this mother likes to be fucked.” Ashley winked and took a big drink from her wineglass.

Molly tried to keep all the couples straight. “So Sheila, who picks up Lucy and Maude, is your mother-in-law?”

Ashley snorted. “Close enough.”

Em leaned into Molly and said in a loud stage-whisper, “Ashley hasn’t let Rory make an honest woman out of her. Yet.”

“December twenty-third,” Ashley stage-whispered back, and all the women’s heads swiveled to look at her. “You heard me. It’s official. We have an officiant and a hall reserved and everything.” She looked very pleased with herself.

“Oh my God, you’re getting married!” Em flew at Ashley, and all the women began babbling excitedly. Molly grinned at their excitement but stepped back just a bit until Bailey, who had been quiet for most of the evening, stepped over to her and squeezed her wrist.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Everyone must be very excited.” Molly hoped her smile didn’t look as forced as it felt.

Bailey began to say something, but then a masculine voice rang out through the entryway.

“Knock, knock! Fighter taxi service!” Nanda’s husband, Dig, stepped through the door of the sitting room. “Whoa!” He looked at the mass of hugging, babbling women. “Is everything okay?”

“Ashley and Rory set a date, for real!”

“Well, yeah.” Dig shrugged. “We knew that. December twenty-third, right?”

Nanda slugged her husband’s bicep. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me? Oh, you are in so much trouble . . .”

Molly laughed as the group tumbled out the door, leaving her alone with Bailey.

“I’ll be going, too. It’s late,” Molly said, gathering up her tote bag. “Thanks so much for including me.”

“Thank you for coming. I hope we didn’t scare you too much.”

Molly laughed. “No, it was a lot of fun.” Molly gave Bailey an impulsive hug. “Thank you.”

She turned to leave, but Bailey said, “Wait.” Molly turned back to Bailey, who suddenly seemed nervous. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Buddy, and I know it’s really none of my business, but . . . please give him a chance. He’s a good guy who’s had a really, really crappy time.”

Molly nodded. “I know he’s a good man. I can tell by the way he treats Lucy, treats you, and even his ex.”

“I’d better go. Thank you again, Bailey. I had a great time.”

Molly let herself out of the house, and Colin was just entering the house with Maude in one arm and a baby carrier in the other. He jerked his chin up in greeting, and Molly waved good-bye. As she drove home, she thought about the quiet man with the sandy hair and gray eyes and wondered if, given the opportunity, she might just risk getting involved with another parent again.