“What blind date?” Abby asked as I stopped in the doorway. The three of them were so focused on the current conversation that they didn’t notice I had walked in.
“Nothing,” Bree stated. “We’re not talking about him.”
“Oh. My. Gawd. Something happened. Greer, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Who’s us? And who are we not talking about?” Abby inquired in a confused voice.
Greer rapid-fire responded, “Lacy—Willa’s sister—and me. The partner at Bree’s old law firm made her agree to attend the firm’s Christmas party with his son! What was his name? Was he cute? Did you kiss him? Did you sleep with him? Did you guys go out on a date?”
Bree sighed.
Greer wasn’t letting up. “Was he ugly? Divorced, like you said?”
When Bree saw me, she rushed over. “You look hot as hell!”
“Oh, Arabella, you look beautiful,” Abby said as she walked up and gave me a quick hug. “I’m so glad to see you going out, and especially with Hunter.”
I felt my cheeks heat.
Greer waved her hand in front of her face. “Wow, I think only you could make a white button-up shirt look sexy, Arabella.”
“Thank you, guys, but it was all Brighton. She put the whole outfit together.”
Bree shook her head. “I simply picked out the outfit. It’s your hot body it’s on.”
“And did my makeup and hair,” I added with a smile.
With a wide grin, Bree looked me up and down. “Hunter just may come in his pants at the first sight of you.”
“Oh Lord, Bree,” Greer said with a laugh.
“Whoa, holy shit! Arabella Adams. Girl, you are looking hot!” Candace said as she walked into the kitchen. Candace was the one who looked hot in a form-fitting dress that hugged her curvy body in all the right ways.
Bree whistled. “I thought you had a boyfriend now, Candace?”
She nodded and reached for a piece of cheddar on the cheese board Greer had made. She popped it into her mouth, then moaned in delight before she answered Bree. “I do. That doesn’t mean I can’t dress up when I’m going out. I say if you have a body that makes a man’s cock hard simply from one look, then you flaunt it. It’s your prerogative.”
Bree lifted her hands. “Amen to that.”
I cleared my throat and looked at Brighton. “So, what happened with the blind date?”
“Blind date? What blind date?” Candace asked, tapping her fingertips together in front of her and wiggling her brows. “You had a blind date, Bree?”
Bree shot Greer a dirty look. “That was over a year ago. It’s not important.”
“Who was the guy?” Candace asked.
Abby got Candace caught up while Greer kept pushing Bree to give us more answers.
“Fine!” Bree yelled out. “He was fine as hell, we slept together that night, his name is—” She stopped for a moment, then went on. “His name is Luke. Yes, we dated, things didn’t work out, and that’s the end of the story.”
All of us gaped at her.
“Wait, you dated him, Bree? Why didn’t you say anything?” Greer asked.
For the first time since I’d become friends with Brighton, I saw uncertainty in her eyes. Or maybe it was heartbreak. I walked up to her and took her hand in mine. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Bree.”
She blinked quickly, and the mood in the kitchen suddenly became serious.
“What happened?” Greer asked softly.
Bree let out a humorless laugh. “Let’s see…I fell in love with someone I can’t be with.”
Gasps echoed throughout the kitchen.
“You fell in love with him?” Abby asked. “How long did you guys date?”
Bree looked away for a moment before her gaze focused back on the four of us staring at her. “Since the Christmas party the year before last, up until a couple of months ago.”
“What?!” Greer shouted. “And you never told us?”
“It’s complicated, and I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“Does this have anything to do with the wedding dress you gave Willa?”
Candace nearly choked. “Whoa, whoa, hold the fucking phone. Wedding dress?”
Bree let out a growl from the back of her throat. “You’re on a roll tonight, Greer, and no, I met him after the wedding, remember?”
Greer frowned. “Oh shoot. That’s right.”
“I’m so confused right now,” Abby mumbled, and I nodded my head in agreement.
At that moment, the doorbell rang and Hudson called out, “Hunter’s here!”
Candace slowly shook her head and popped another piece of cheese into her month. “This convo is not over. I’m planning another girls’ night as soon as possible.”
“ASAP,” Abby agreed.
Greer and Bree exchanged a look, with Greer smiling and Bree shooting her daggers.
“Come on, I’m dying to see what Hunter does when he sees you in that outfit,” Candace stated. She linked her arm with mine and we strolled out of the kitchen. I glanced back over my shoulder and couldn’t help but notice that Greer and Bree had stayed behind.