“Books!” Felicity calls as I cross through the front door. “Are you hungry? We made Chinese tonight, and I made some vegan egg rolls. They smell a little like seaweed, but I’m hoping that’s just because of … well … you know.” She emerges from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She stops when she sees me, cocking her head to one side. “I could also serve you a liquid dinner. Wine? Martini? Dan’s special margarita?”

I sigh deeply. “I’m fine. I’m totally fine.”

“Oh, yeah? Is the sky also green?” She cocks an eyebrow.

“We need to work on your comebacks.”

She flips me off. “I have two kids.”

“Two and…” I gesture to her stomach. “Have you called your doctor yet? And have you told Dan? He’s going to hate me if he finds out I’ve known and you haven’t told him.”

“I want to know for sure before I tell him. You know Dan. He’ll want to pull out spreadsheets and start recalculating a new budget to ensure we’re saving enough money for college and braces and summer camps for those months mommy mysteriously needs to make a three-month business trip though she’s not employed.”

“Felicity. You. Need. To. Go. To. The. Doctor’s.”

“I will. I will.”

“Before you go into labor.”

She flips me off with both hands.

“I’ve noticed Theo likes to point with his middle finger. I wonder where he learned that from.”

Felicity laughs, her hands dropping to her sides. “It’s okay that I corrupt my own children because I can do it in small doses. This way they won’t become full-blown assholes one morning—they’ll be building up to it over years.”

“Great strategy.”

“I thought so. After all, my mentor is my best friend.” Felicity winks at me.

“Yeah. Yeah. Where are your offspring? Have I mentioned they’re my favorite thing about you these days?”

“They’re watching a movie, and you’re not going to do anything until you fess up and tell me why you look like you were hit by a bus.” She sniffs. “And why you smell like hot dogs.” She takes another long sniff. “I really want a hot dog now.” Absently, Felicity wipes her hands on the dish towel again. “I hate hot dogs.”

I lift my blouse to my nose and take a deep breath. I smell like stale cigarettes and a crowded train car. “I rode the L Train this afternoon.”

“That thing makes me grumpy, too,” she says.

I laugh. “That’s because you’re an elitist snob.”

“Someone has her claws out tonight. Come. I’ll give you wine so you can retract them.”

“It may sharpen them,” I warn.

She laughs. “Good. If it does, I’ll call Catherine and then take you to your old apartment so you can finally whack Gabe with the stupid stick he tripped over.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Work with me!” she cries.

I expel another deep breath and kick my heels to the corner behind the door before following her into the kitchen.

“So, really, what happened?”

“I hired a designer for Levi’s new bar, and she spent the entire time flirting with him and making me feel stupid.”

“How’d she make you feel stupid?”

“I don’t know,” I whine. “It’s probably all in my head. But then she asked him out.”

“Like on a date?”

“Kind of. Sort of. Maybe?”

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” she asks.

“She invited him as her date to some event on Friday, and it’s an event I declined and now wish I were attending.”

The doorbell rings as Felicity adds a round of egg rolls to the hot oil, and the scent of seaweed gets stronger with the flash of heat. “I’ll get it.” I snag a couple of pretzels from an open bag near Felicity and head to the foyer.

I swing the door open and freeze when I see Levi in front of me.

“How did you…? Did you follow me?” I ask.

He drops his chin, his eyes rounding with disbelief, as though my question is ridiculous. It seems completely valid to me.

“I asked my mother for your address.”

“She knew my address?” My eyebrows knit with confusion.

“She’s your employer.”

“But she doesn’t know who mows her lawn or cooks her food.”

Levi’s face remains aloof with mild hints of annoyance that have his jaw tense and eyes narrowed. “What was today?”

I stare at him, confusion arching my eyebrows. “Tuesday?”

He shakes his head. “Were you trying to set me up with that woman?”

“Set you up?”

“I already told you I’m fine being friends.”

“I didn’t… I never… What?”

“That woman today. The designer or whoever in the hell she was.”

“Chelsea?”

He nods, his eyes rounding.

“I wasn’t setting you up with her. You’re the one who accepted her invitation to go out. If you’ll recall, I offered you an out when I asked her how she was going to show you samples while at a fundraiser.” I stare at him pointedly.

“But you brought her. You’re friends with her.”

“Because I know nothing about bars or how to decorate them. I do weddings. Those are what I specialize in. The last time I was in a bar it was in a hotel. If you leave these decisions up to me, you’ll have taffeta and twinkle lights on the ceiling and giant bouquets of flowers at each table.”

He drops his chin again, but this time his lips purse, fighting the hints of a smile. “You’re going to put flowers in a bar?”

“Well, no, but you know what I’m saying. I’m not … I shouldn’t be handling your grand opening. In addition to knowing nothing about bars, I know nothing about grand openings.”

“You’re being dramatic.” A grin tugs one corner of his mouth into an uneven smile.

I close my eyes for a moment and then open them slowly. “This is not dramatic. I know because I work with a dozen dramatic people every single day. I’m being realistic.”

“If you were going to be a detriment, my mother wouldn’t have assigned you this responsibility. If there’s anyone who hates failure, it’s her.”

“Your mom has a sink-or-swim theory. You either rise above or you flounder and sink. She’s gambling on this. She knows it, and I know it.”

“I don’t want to work with an interior designer. I’m already spending enough on this place and have little hope that it will ever recoup costs.”

“If you don’t like Chelsea, we can find you someone else, but this isn’t a line item you want to avoid. The look and feel of your bar could make or break it.”

“Then let it break.” He starts to turn, and it’s then I notice a black sports car in the driveway. It’s flashy and precocious and completely ridiculous.

“Hi, Levi!” Felicity appears behind me, smoothing a section of hair down as she waves to him, shooting me a glare.

He pauses, turning back to face her, and his lips spread into a wide smile—one he didn’t bestow upon me. “How are you, Felicity?”

I hate how much I like that he remembers her name.

“I’m well. How are you?”

His eyes flit to me before bouncing back to her. “It’s been a day.”

“That’s what I keep hearing. Why don’t you come inside? I just opened a bottle of wine, and I’m cooking some Chinese for dinner. Do you like Chinese food? Of course you do. Who doesn’t love Chinese food?” She steps back from the door as though expecting him to come inside.

“I actually need to get back to the office,” he says.

Felicity raises a hand and swings it forward, waving away his refusal. “You came all this way. What’s another hour?”

Hour?

I glance at my best friend, my eyes wide as I work to telepathically scream at her to shut up and close the door.

“You know, Brooke’s not exaggerating. She pretty much eats, breathes, and sleeps her work. She really hasn’t been out to many bars. Maybe you guys should go out this weekend and check some out.” She bobs her head, drawing out the last few words. “That way you guys can be on the same page and Brooke can get a better understanding of what she’s working with. She’s brilliant, by the way. She’s totally selling herself short. She actually planned my entire wedding.”

I slide my hand from my eyes, over my forehead, and into my hair. “This is really unprofessional.”

“She’s just embarrassed,” Felicity continues. “She doesn’t know how to receive a compliment.”

I glare at her. “Will you stop?”

“Get Levi to come inside, and I will.” She smiles brightly, as though he can’t hear our conversation.

“I really can’t,” Levi says, smiling widely, like he’s loving the attention. “But I think your idea is valid. We should go and check out some locations. Check out the local flavor of the different areas of town so we can capture the right vibe.” His arms cross over his chest, drawing my attention to the tattoos peeking out beneath his long-sleeved shirt. “We don’t have a lot of time, so we should probably go a few nights this week so that if we need to go see more, we have time.”

“That’s a great idea,” Felicity says.

My cheeks heat. I want to blame it on anger, but it’s embarrassment that has me wishing it were cooler outside. “I have a bar mitzvah on Saturday afternoon, but aside from that, I’m free. What nights would work best for you?” I attempt to sound casual and make this sound like a business proposition rather than the date I know my best friend is working to accomplish.

“Why don’t we go tomorrow and Friday? That way, if you’re tired Saturday, you don’t have another obligation.”

I shake my head. “I’ll be fine. We can go Saturday as well.”

Levi cocks an eyebrow, and I kick myself for extending the invitation. I should have accepted his offer. “Okay. We’ll go see some Saturday, too.” He turns and heads down the driveway. “Call or text me tomorrow, and we can go out after you get off work.”

“She will!” Felicity calls before I can respond.

I glare at her. “You’re making me look pathetic,” I hiss.

“You needed me,” she says quietly in a singsong voice as she smiles and waves to Levi. “Drive safely!” she calls.

He turns around when he reaches the driver’s side door and smiles before placing two fingers next to his brow and saluting me.

Felicity elbows me. “Wave,” she whispers, jabbing me again.

I lift a hand and halfheartedly oblige. Felicity makes up for my lack of enthusiasm, giving another friendly wave before closing the door and facing me. “I think he really likes you.”

“I think pregnancy hormones have caused you to lose your mind.”

The door opens behind us, and Dan appears, laptop bag in hand, his dress shirt unbuttoned around the neck. He looks between us and grins. “How are my wife and my wife’s wife?” he asks.

“Welcome home, husband-in-law. She’s now yours.” I turn Felicity by the shoulders in the direction of Dan, and head upstairs to my guest room.