Caroline

“You’re a life saver. Thank you so much,” Linda exclaims, taking the plate with quiche out of my hands.

“Only half is for you, by the way. The other is for Bing.”

Upon hearing his name, the golden retriever pokes his head through the open door.

“Bing, stay inside,” Linda commands. “You’re the best friend ever.”

Well, not so much. I feel like I’ve sort of abandoned Linda lately.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join our girls’ night in? At least for a bit?”

“Nah. I’m just gonna curl up in bed and sleep. Working on a Saturday sucks. How do you still have so much energy? You’ve been helping your dad all day and look at you. You’re practically radiant. You changed your skin toner? Or is it all the sexy time you’re getting lately?”

I tap my chin, pretending I’m thinking hard. “The vote goes unabashedly to sexy time.” 

Even though I am getting none tonight because Daniel is out of town, running the bachelorette event for Beatrix. But I’m looking forward to the estrogen-filled evening and catching up with Summer and Pippa. We didn’t get to talk too much on Halloween, so I’m expecting this to last until late in the night.

“Heard from Daniel today?” 

“Nah, he’s busy. He’ll call if he has time.”

Linda runs a hand through her hair, messing up her lovely curls. “Girl, if my man would spend the night with an ex, especially one who looks like that Beatrix chick, I’d be biting my nails, texting him every fifteen minutes.”

I sigh, not at all willing to open this can of worms with her. “She’s getting married—”

“How about the friends attending the party? I bet they’re single, and just as hot. Hot people are always surrounded by hot people.”

Damn! I hadn’t even given one thought to the other women there. Palms suddenly a little sweaty, I shift my weight from one leg to the other.

“For the love of all that is holy, Linda! You’ve got to stop being so pessimistic.”

She shrugs. “Maybe you’re too trusting. You’ve been back together what, a month? Men will be men, just saying. You flaunt so much perfection and beauty in their noses, they’ll fall for it.”

Isn’t she a ray of sunshine? To her defense, she does have chronic bad luck in the dating department. But maybe her expectation that all men are assholes actually attracts assholes.

As I move around my kitchen some ten minutes later, checking on the quiche, my insecurities kick in. Maybe I shouldn’t eat the quiche, but opt for a low-fat, tasteless alternative instead. And the wine is a bad idea. Alcohol has so many calories....

I wonder what models eat to stay so thin, to maintain that flawless beauty. Bet quiche isn’t on their approved meals list. Damn it, this is all Linda’s pessimism getting to me. I swear pessimism should be on the list of infectious diseases. It spreads like wildfire, sticks like a pest.

My heart grows a little heavy. Should I be more cautious? Is it too soon to be this trusting? Jesus, I’ll drive myself crazy if I keep on like this. As if on cue, I receive a text from Daniel.

Daniel: The girls started with the cocktails at lunch. Half can’t walk in a straight line already. Feel like a babysitter. Hope your day is better.

I laugh nervously, my heart growing heavier still. Damn it, I’ve got to stop this. Before I know it, I’ll be fearing an apocalypse coming. 

Caroline: Pippa and Summer will be here soon. I suspect in a few hours we’ll be needing a sitter too. Have fun!

By the time my doorbell rings, I’ve managed to push some of my worries to the back of my mind. A little quiche and a lot of wine should help push them out of my mind.

“Oooh, you didn’t have to bring anything,” I say, welcoming them inside. The Bennett sisters each carry a bag.

“This is the first proper girls’ evening in a long time,” Pippa says. “I’m not cutting corners. When you said quiche, I thought, you know what goes with so much fat? More fat. So I bought ice cream.”

Summer nods, holds up her bag. “I was in the mood for chips. But I also brought avocado and tomatoes to make guacamole. That should balance it out, right?”

I laugh. “Not really, but girls’ night isn’t for balance. It’s for fun.”

“That’s our girl.” Pippa shoves the ice cream in my freezer as I take the quiche out of the oven. The crème fraiche is the perfect shade of cream, and the crust is dark brown.

“Besides, isn’t it officially the cold season? The body needs more fat,” Pippa muses. Well, mid-November doesn’t quite qualify as the cold season, but I can see her point. 

Both girls are wearing jeans and casual shirts. Pippa’s blonde hair is braided, while Summer wears hers in a messy bun at the base of her head. Neither wears makeup. One thing I love about girls’ nights in? How casual we all are.

Summer finishes preparing the guacamole at the same time the quiche is cool enough to eat. Let the feast begin.

We carry the food and the wine to the living room, and the girls make themselves comfortable on the couch. I sit on the ottoman so I can look at them. An hour later and three glasses of wine down each, we sit on the floor, scooping guacamole with the chips, reminiscing about that one time six years ago when we wanted to have an extended girls’ weekend in LA where their cousin, Valentina Connor, lives, but the car’s navigation system wasn’t working, and we ended up getting lost.

“Lesson learned: we never let Pippa drive again,” Summer exclaims.

Her sister elbows her playfully.

“Oy! You could’ve pointed out I was heading to the Pampas before I drove a hundred miles in the wrong direction.”

Summer grins. “True, but I was too busy gossiping with Caroline.”

We’re soul sisters, Summer and I. Gossiping with the girls is one of my favorite activities to relax, along with discovering a great TV show and binge-watching it, lying in a hot bath, and spoiling Daniel. Not necessarily in that order. The three of us burst into giggles, and I laugh until every limb in my body feels lighter.

Once we’ve calmed down somewhat, we all talk about our jobs. I always had a secret crush on Pippa’s job as designer at Bennett Enterprises. The jewelry she makes is just breathtaking. I might lead a low-key lifestyle, but a girl can feast her eyes.

Summer works at an art gallery and paints as well. I have one of her paintings hanging in my bedroom—sunlight reflecting on a tranquil sea. It’s a brilliant sight to wake up to.

As we down the last of the chips and the quiche—which goes amazingly with guacamole, as it turns out—Summer says, “Caroline, we haven’t officially talked about you and Daniel at Halloween, but this means you’ve got two more weeks of information to share. We’re all ears.”

Pippa holds up a finger. “I’ll bring the ice cream first.”

“And teaspoons. They’re in the drawer to the left of the oven,” I instruct. 

Once we’re armed with teaspoons, we eat the ice cream directly out of the carton, and I launch into a detailed account.

“Damn girl,” Pippa exclaims when I stop to catch my breath. “You’re on a roll.” 

I’m basking in this moment. Ah, how I have wished for this day—when Dan and I would be together again, and his sisters would poke their noses into our business, dissecting every little thing.

“Well, how can you overanalyze everything with me if you don’t know all the details? So, I demand honest honesty—”

“Honest honesty? This wine is strong,” Summer interjects, inspecting the label on the empty bottle.

“Shh, don’t interrupt or I’ll lose my nerve. Do you think Linda’s right and I’m too trusting? I keep saying that I’m taking this one day at a time, but I’m doing the opposite. I’m jumping in with both feet. But I’ve wanted Daniel to be mine again so badly for so long that I’m not even sure how to do things differently.”

Ugh, now I’ve done it. I hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud.

“Wow. This is the first time you admit you’ve wanted to be back with him all along,” Summer says, absently moving her teaspoon around in the ice cream carton.

I could try to downplay it, but they’d see right through me. “I didn’t want to admit it even to myself. I knew how pathetic I’d sound.”

“Wanting to be back with someone you love doesn’t make you pathetic. It makes you human.” Pippa straightens up, crossing her legs in a yoga pose. “And back to your question, no, you’re not too trusting. You know better than anyone what you have with Daniel. Linda is your friend, but I don’t like how she talks about men. I bet even if she had a perfect partner, she’d still find something to complain about. Daniel’s not an asshole. And I’m not saying this just because he’s my brother.”

Summer snickers. “Yeah, you are. Admit it, you’re biased.”

“Of course, I’m biased. But my bias comes from thirty years of studying my brother. It’s rooted in observation.”

“Because poking your nose in someone else’s business is foolproof scientific evidence,” Summer says.

Pippa clumsily climbs back on the couch, rubbing her hip. “Floor’s too hard. I can’t feel my ass anymore.”

“That might be the wine’s doing,” I inform her solemnly.

Pippa tilts her head, as if considering this. “You’re such a great friend. And you make my brother happy. You should be a Bennett already.”

Oh man, oh man, that sounds so good. So, so good. 

“I dreamed about this the first time around,” I admit. “Caroline Bennett has such a nice ring to it.”

“Speaking of rings, I already have the one for you in my mind.” She wiggles her eyebrows, rubbing her hands excitedly. “Just need the word.”

This escalated quickly.

“No more talk of rings. I said I dreamed about this the last time. Now—”

“You’re taking it one step at a time.” Summer winks, taking the carton of ice cream in her lap, monopolizing it. 

“I’m usually a happy drunk. What’s wrong with me?” I’m disgusted with my own negativity.

“Nothing wrong. Doubts and fears are normal. You’re in love with a man you lost once, and you’re afraid of losing him again,” Pippa says. 

I pull my knees to my chest, suddenly feeling exposed. “I didn’t say anything about love.”

The girls smile, exchanging glances.

“We can read between the lines,” Summer informs me.