Like most people, I’d developed strategies to cope with shitty weeks. They included wine and some orgasms. Not necessarily in that order. But only three weeks after Greg had pawned off the water project on me, I was slowly reaching breaking point... mostly because four pitches I’d been sure were a done deal for my education center fell through, and I was facing the real possibility that my baby would be shelved. Greg had called me into the office on Saturday morning and all but slammed his fist on the desk, demanding I give his water project more attention. He had to send a progress report to Paris soon, and I was to prepare it.

Right now, I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs “TGIF.” Well, more like “Thank God it’s Saturday.”

I needed a kickass plan to push this to the back of my mind, or I’d drown in endless angst the entire weekend. I needed an outing with the girls where we talked about everything and nothing and would just be silly in general. Euphoria filled me at the prospect, but I deflated like a balloon after a few phone calls. My sisters were taking the kids on a trip to Universal Studios. Faith had a date, and Luna was visiting her parents. I thrummed my fingers against the plastic case of my cell. I wanted to ask out the Connor girls. Since Lori’s wedding almost two months ago, I’d been at three Friday dinners. The girls were fun to hang out with even when the guys were around. I could imagine that a night out with them would be a hoot. Would Will mind?

Surely a night out wouldn’t cross a line. I shot Will a text, which included a lot of grinning emojis, an angel face, and a devil face.

Half an hour later, the party was ON. Lori, Val, and Hailey were in, and so was Maddie, Landon’s wife. Apparently the guys had found my idea spectacular, because they were having their own outing.

Oh yeah, this day was shaping up to end much better than it had begun. I knew the problems would still be there on Monday, but I planned to thoroughly ignore them this weekend.

At eight o’clock sharp, I met the girls at a bar near Santa Monica beach. In true LA fashion, it was overcrowded and loud, but this just put me in a party mood.

The girls were already there, and I admired their outfits as I approached them. Val had an effortless bohemian chic thing going on: wide-sleeved blouse and black, wide pants. Lori wore jeans and a tank top, and Hailey was wearing the sexiest pair of red stilettos. The rest of the outfit didn’t even matter. Those shoes were the essence of life, right there. Maddie had opted for a light beach dress, just like me.

I whistled when I reached the girls. “Are we hot, or what?”

Hailey rubbed her hands together. “This was a great idea.”

“Looks pretty crowded,” Val said, surveying the long line to the entrance.

Hailey wiggled her eyebrows at Val. “Use your magic powers, sister.”

Five minutes later, not only were we inside, but we had a table. As we all slung our bags over our chairs, I made to take out my cell phone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Maddie and Hailey had done the same.

Val cleared her throat, holding up a finger. “Hey! Girls’ night out rule. No cell phones. It’s a slippery slope. Starts with Oh look, I have a notification to reading urgent e-mails, and... well, you know where I’m going with this.”

I grudgingly agreed, sliding the phone back in my purse. Hailey followed suit.

Maddie kept hers on the table. “I need it in case Grace calls. She’s watching the baby.”

“Stop worrying so much,” Val said soothingly. “Have fun for a few hours.”

We ordered fancy overpriced drinks, and I already felt the weight of the day lift off my shoulders.

“Shitty week?” Hailey asked sympathetically.

“Oh, yeah. But no talking about it tonight.”

Val drummed her hands on the table. “I agree. Tonight is for fun.”

I had an idea as I looked from one sister to the other. “And for getting some dirt on Will.”

Val feigned offense. “Are you asking us to break sister code?”

We paused when the server brought our drinks, and clinked glasses.

Then I said, “I’ve known him for a while now. I’ve earned the right to some dirt.” Wow. I couldn’t believe that already two and a half months had passed since I’d met Will.

Hailey tapped her forefinger against her lips. “Yep, you totally have. I was bursting at the seams at the wedding already, so I’ve waited long enough.”

Three cocktails later, I had enough dirt to fill a book: that one time Will had attempted to get a tongue piercing but the guy was a conman who ended up giving him an infection. The time Will was caught jumping the fence to the Hollywood sign. How he’d dated a string of bimbos over the years (I chose to slurp loudly from my cocktail at this point), and they hadn’t liked any. But they liked me. Ha! 

“Personally, I think his greatest achievement was when he saved Jace’s ass and mine that night we sneaked out to go to a concert and you thought we’d run away,” Hailey concluded. I was laughing so hard that my belly was aching, and so was Maddie. Lori threw a sheepish smile at Val, who looked... stunned.

“Wait, you and Jace were at a concert that night?”

Hailey held up her hands, as if in surrender. “Whoops, forgot you didn’t know about that.” 

Val opened her mouth, then closed it again, looking like a fish out of the water. “I think I’m too buzzed to process this.”

Hailey shimmied in her seat. “Oh, come on. Someone had to shake things up.”

I grinned. “You were the brat in the family. I happen to be the proud owner of that title in mine.”

Hailey considered that. “Well, Jace and I competed for that spot, but between us, I think I won by a decent margin.”

Everyone laughed then, Val included.

“So I’m forgiven?” Hailey asked Val.

“Just like that? Oh no, sis. You have to work for it.”

Hailey jutted out her lower lip like a baby, just as the fourth round of cocktails arrived. Or was it the fifth? I was more buzzed than I’d thought.

“Well, I was waiting for the right moment to bring this up,” Hailey said dramatically, “but it seems there is no time like the present. I, ladies, have gotten us tickets not only to the Oscars event, but also to one of the after-parties.”

“Oh my God.” We squealed so loudly that several other patrons turned to look at us.

Hailey batted her eyelashes at her sister. “Am I forgiven now?”

Val batted her eyelashes right back. “Depends, will anyone named Hemsworth be there? Asking for a friend.”

We clinked glasses, even though they were half-empty, and then Lori asked the question to which I dreaded the answer.

“Is this the fourth round of cocktails?”

Val wrinkled her nose. “Sis, we’ve reached the point where counting is counterproductive.”

“But so is not feeling my toes,” Lori countered.

Hailey snickered. “You always were a lightweight.”

I, unfortunately, thought Lori had a point. I was feeling my toes... but I wouldn’t be able to walk in a straight line.

I caught Val checking out a guy at another table. I scooted closer to her and whispered, “What are we talking here? Just ogling, or making a move to take someone home?”

Val smiled sheepishly. “Ogling.”

“What are you girls talking about?” Hailey said. I motioned with my head toward Val’s guy. Hailey followed my direction and whistled.

“He’s hot. And so is his friend.” She tilted her head. “Hey, Val, what are your top five qualities you look for in a guy?”

Val looked in the distance, giving the question serious consideration. 

“So... he should be smart and charming,” Val said, enumerating on her fingers. “Also, he should be tall. Taller than me so I can wear heels without looking like a giraffe next to him. Six-pack would be a nice bonus, but I’m more of a biceps type of girl. Strong arms that can just hold you, you know?” she finished dreamily. 

“Strong arms are important.” I nodded, thinking about Will and already missing him. I surreptitiously pulled my phone out of my bag, holding it under the table so the girls wouldn’t see.

Shit, I saw my screen double. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again. Now I saw it triple. I closed one eye, and I was back at seeing double. Right. No way could I text like this. I’d have to wait for the dirty talking until I saw Will in person. I slipped the phone back in my purse.

Hailey propped her head in her palm. “Smart comes first for me too. I’m attracted to intelligent men. But I’m also a six-pack type of girl. Washboard abs... yummm. But I’m willing to bend that rule. The only hard rule is that he must be good in bed. Sexy-time skills are important.”

Val smacked her forehead. “How did I forget that? You’re right. That’s high on the list. Life is too short for crappy sex.” 

We ordered another round of cocktails and drank to that. Then we launched into the most serious debate of the evening: choosing the best shoe designer. Once we had enough alcohol on board, we felt like dancing, which meant we were a danger to anyone in a radius of two feet. We were drunk and full of energy, and we burned it off on the dance floor.

“When I’m drunk dancing, I don’t know if I’m rocking it just in my head or not,” Val said. Yeah, probably the former, but why spoil our fun? Midway through the dancing spree, the guys Val and Hailey had eyed the entire evening approached and danced with the girls.

“Who here had the least to drink?” Val asked when we plopped back in our chairs, all sweaty and thirsty.

Maddie piped up. “I’m sober. No alcohol for me, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. So... you’ll make sure we’re all going home, right?”

Maddie nodded once.

Hailey smiled at her older sister. “Val, I think the only time you actually let loose is during our girls’ nights out.”

Val grinned. We ordered just water from that point on, and sometime later, I thought I caught a glimpse of Will in the crowd. Huh? Was I imagining things because I was missing him? As he came closer, I had my answer. That was 100 percent my bragworthy boyfriend. Flanked by Landon, Jace, and Graham.

“How did the boys know where to find us?” Val asked in wonder. 

I felt so proud. So proud. I’d managed to send that text message after all. I was just suffering from alcoholic amnesia and couldn’t remember doing it. Then Maddie stomped all over my pride when she said, “I texted Landon earlier with the address.”

The guys made it to our table, and because there were no extra chairs, each pulled his girl in his lap. Jace was the only one standing. Val looked from Will to Landon and Graham, and said, “You’re all so cute.” There was so much melancholy and affection in her tone that I had the strangest urge to hug her.

I leaned into Will, seeking as much body contact as possible... while remaining decent. Was it weird that I’d missed him?

“Hello, handsome,” I whispered. Will whispered back hello, but his voice was so rough, and his hand slid so low on my back that I surmised that what he really wanted to do was to kiss me silly... preferably against a wall with my legs wrapped around him.

Jace was still standing, watching the guys with a shit-eating grin. The next second, our party was crashed by a gang of girls. They surrounded Jace, asking for autographs and pictures. He obliged them, but I thought his smile looked too practiced.

The bar manager did bring a chair for Jace eventually, but he was barely sitting because groups of fans popped up every few minutes.

“Well, this is annoying,” he said after one such group had left, running a hand through his hair.

“Should we move the party somewhere else?” I suggested.

“Good idea. Somewhere where I’m not recognized.”

Hailey patted his shoulder. “That would require a paper bag over your head.”

“Or we could call it a night. It’s late,” Will suggested. To anyone else, it would seem like an innocent suggestion. But I was sitting on Will, so I had some insider information. Sleeping wasn’t what he had in mind.

“We could do that,” Val said. There was a general buzz of agreement, and everyone rose from the table. Jace headed out first, and the rest followed. 

“Hey, have you noticed that Jace didn’t flirt with even one fan?” Hailey whispered to Val. The girls were walking in front of Will and me.

Val nodded. “Yep. I’d take it as a sign that he’s serious about that girl he’s been seeing lately, but—”

“That’s not it,” Will interrupted. “Things didn’t work out between them... at all. He just told us that over beers. He’s been off all evening.” 

Hailey pinched the bridge of her nose. “Val, we need to stage an intervention.”

“Shit. I’m tipsy. I need all my neurons for an intervention.”

Hailey waved her hand. “Nah, just go on instinct.”

Outside the bar, every couple ordered an Uber, and Hailey proclaimed she and Val were kidnapping Jace for a few more hours, going for drinks at his house. I could barely hold back my laughter at Jace’s panicked expression when Val and Hailey each took him by the elbow and slid into a car with him.

“You think he knows he’s about to be ambushed?” I asked Will. 

“Did you see the look on his face? Course he does.”

We were the only ones left because our Uber hadn’t yet arrived. Will wrapped his arms around my waist, keeping me close to him. 

“You were the prettiest girl in there tonight.”

“I think you’re biased.” I aligned my hips to his. “Your little friend is clouding your judgment.”

Will blinked, and I immediately rectified my joke.

“I mean your very big and very hard friend.”

Will slid his hands to my hips. God, I loved feeling those big, roughened hands on my hips. Or my back. Or my breasts. I didn’t mind feeling them anywhere, really.

“Paige....”

I didn’t understand the warning tone in his voice until the man immobilized my wrists with his hands. Whoops... my palms were roaming over the expanse of his chest. I tried to bat my eyelashes innocently.

“I have no clue how that happened. I’m blaming all those cocktails.”

“Maybe I’m just irresistible.”

“Pfft....” I feigned nonchalance, but I could feel myself failing. It was hard to keep up the pretense when all I wanted was to lift up his shirt and count those little squares on his washboard abs. I wiggled my hands out of his grip (to be noted: he could have stopped me, but he let go, so... he totally wanted to be mauled), and this time, I did slide my fingers under his shirt.

“Hmm... I wonder if I’d see a twelve-pack if I looked now. I’m already seeing double biceps.”

“You’ll look when we’re alone.” Will’s voice was a delicious growl.

“Oh, once we’re alone I’ll do more than look. I’ll trace them with my tongue, just to show my appreciation, of course.”