Her words were carefully phrased, but there was a genuineness that seeped out with them.
“That’s really nice of you. Thank you. I may need to take you up on that offer,” I told her.
She smiled. “The entire town is really excited by the prospect of the diner reopening, especially with the hotel going in across the street. The whole intention of the Fairview Street Restoration Project is to mesh the old with the new. A cohesive fusion of the past and present, and I’d personally love to see this diner become a part of that.”
Pride lifted in her expression when she looked over her shoulder and out the window at the construction taking place directly on the other side of the street.
Nikki almost rolled her eyes. She dropped her voice as if she were whispering conspiratorially, though not low enough that Lillith couldn’t hear. “You’ll have to excuse her. Her fiancé’s company has the hotel going in, and this one right here is kind of pathetically in love.”
Lillith swatted at her. “Shut it.” She looked at me, grinning. “Nikki is the one who pretty much insisted I give him a chance, and now that we’re together, she won’t stop giving me crap about it. I think she might be jealous.”
“Hey, don’t act like you don’t want to kiss my feet for bringing the two of you together. That was nothing but pure matchmaking skill. Think of all the orgasms I earned you.”
“Nikki, what is wrong with you?” Lillith smacked her again.
Nikki set her hand over her heart. “I’m just a speaker of the truth. And yes, for the record, I am very, very jealous of all the orgasms. I mean, not that I want Broderick to be the one giving them to me. That would be kind of gross and wrong.”
Nikki sent me a wink. “You know, considering we’re best friends and all. I’m just envious of the sheer number of them.”
She feigned a sad shake of her head. “It’s a little greedy if you ask me. No one person needs that many orgasms.”
“Oh, believe me, I need them all.” Lillith was both fighting a grin and the redness on her cheeks when she said it, once again looking behind her to the construction site.
It was a large section of land cordoned off by a chain-link fence, the frame of a massive building just starting to take form.
I smiled at her dreamy look. It was impossible not to like them. They seemed polar opposites; yet, I was unable to imagine one without the other.
Lillith turned back to me almost reluctantly. “We’d better get out of your way so you can get back to work, but we wanted to stop in and introduce ourselves. Honestly, if you need anything, let us know.”
“I’m glad you did, and I definitely will.”
“Oh.” Nikki’s eyes lit up. “It’s Friday!”
My brow rose in question.
She looked at me as if it should be obvious. “Um . . . hello? Friday Funday? That means you totally have to come out with us tonight.”
“Really?”
Okay, maybe I was a little overenthusiastic. But I missed Macy like crazy and the truth was, I needed that—companionship and friendship. The true kind. The feeling of belonging when the last couple of days had made me feel as if I’d stepped out of bounds, directly into a place I knew so intimately but still so far removed.
Lillith nodded. “Oh, good idea.”
“Of course it’s a good idea,” Nikki shot back.
Lillith widened her eyes at me. “For the record, if you say no, chances are Nikki will just come drag you out anyway. It’s best to just concede and go along for the ride. God knows, I do.” It was all soft, playful affection.
“At least you know what is good for you,” Nikki tossed at her before she grabbed me by the wrist and shook my arm around. “Come with us. Please! I already feel like I know you, and . . . well, I think that you might be the missing three in our amigo. You complete us.”
With both index fingers, she drew a heart in the air.
“See?” Lillith asked. “Just go with the crazy.”
I grinned. I was totally going with the crazy. Forget the fears. It’d been eleven years. Who would even recognize me? And if they did, why would they even still care?
A shiver trembled through me.
What if they did?
Shaking it off, I smiled. I could do this. I wanted to do this. “That sounds like fun. Where should I meet you and at what time?”
Nikki slung her arm around my shoulder, and I walked with them toward the entrance. “Eight at Olive’s. It’s on the corner of Macaber and 5th.”
“Why do I get the feeling you know this place well?”
Lillith widened telling eyes. “That’s because Ollie owns it. This one can’t stay away.”