Page 16 of Rumours and Romance
Paige sits down on a stool and sets the piece of paper she’s holding down on the counter. Then she peers at me through her glasses. “You forgot, didn’t you?”
I wince. “Sorry. I guess I’ve just been so distracted with everything.”
“You mean like the new vet? There certainly is a lot of gossip around town about you two.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. That.”
Paige taps the paper. “Review the questions. And be prepared for questions about you as well. Serena is not happy that she had to hear about you and Doctor Holt from Annabelle at the grocery store.”
Ah crap. “Yeah, sorry. It’s…new. I was going to tell you guys soon, I promise.”
“You’ll have a chance to fill us in tonight. Bring cookies.”
Always one to get straight to the point, Paige stands up, picks up a scone from where they’re cooling on the counter, and waves as she leaves, heading next door to her bookstore.
Dammit. I completely forgot tonight is book club night. That means I need to figure out what I’m going to say to my friends about Jackson and I, and fast. Those girls are nosy and Paige is particularly perceptive.
And I am not a good liar.
This should be interesting.
We’re meeting at Paige’s house again tonight, and she’s not as big a fan of dogs as Summer and I are. Which means I don’t have Milo by my side as I walk the two blocks over to her house with a bottle of wine in one hand and a container of cookies in the other.
When I push open the front door, the conversation inside stops. Apparently, I’m the last one to arrive out of the four of us, and I’m also the center of all of their attention.
“I knew it!” Serena cries out, leaping to her feet and dancing across the room to take the wine from my hand. “I knew you two had something going on when I saw you at the bar the other night.” She pirouettes on her feet as she heads for the kitchen and glares at me. “You know, you could have told me.”
I ignore the looks Paige and Summer are giving me and follow Serena, mostly for the wine. “What are you talking about? We weren’t together at the bar.” That, at least, is the truth. “We, umm, started dating after.” God, this is awful. I hate lying.
“Seriously? Well, it was inevitable then. The way he was looking at you? Oh man, I thought I would get electrocuted from the sparks flying. And I saw you mooning over him.”
“Mooning? I do not moon.”
“There was that one time in kindergarten,” Summer pipes up with a mischievous smile.
“Oh my God, we were five.” I say, my voice laden with exasperation. “Is tonight just going to be tease Mila night? Because I’ll take my wine and leave if it is.”
Summer and Serena crowd me in the kitchen, wrapping their arms around me while Paige walks past us to take something out of the oven.
“Sorry, Mila. We’re just excited for you,” Summer says gently.
“And pissed you didn’t tell us. Not that I blame you, he is one sexy vet.”
“Serena. Not helping,” Summer chides.
I disentangle myself from their arms and go back to pouring a healthy glass of wine. “I get it guys, I should have told you. But it’s new, and kinda weird because he’s Milo’s vet.”
Paige sets down a platter with some sort of appetizer on it. I don’t even care that they’re store bought, I’m just grateful to have something to hopefully distract everyone from the interrogation. I should have known better, not even food will get these girls to lose focus. I pick one up and take a small bite. Serena grabs one and shoves the whole thing in her mouth before fixing me with a stare.
“Mmmduninkma’er.”
“What the hell did you just say?” I ask, watching as crumbs fall out of her mouth. For a dance teacher who is meant to personify elegance and grace, she is a hot mess sometimes.
She swallows and takes a sip of wine before replying. “I said, I don’t think that matters. It’s not like human doctors and patients, where there’s a power imbalance. He’s your dog’s doctor, not yours. You’re fine.”
Paige lifts her glass of wine and a small plate with some food on it, and gestures to the living room.
“Agreed. There is no impropriety in the two of you pursuing a relationship. Now, shall we move to the living room and begin our discussion of this month’s book?”
