Page 36 of Last Night Was Fun

Why? Are you being tortured at the hands of your insufferable relatives too?

Not today. I’m actually on my way to the ball game.

Emmy sat at attention. A fleeting thought of heading to the ballpark and somehow geolocating him in the sea of fans by his cell phone ping swept through her mind. But that only happened in movies, right? Shedidhave someone in IT who owed her a favor but cashing it in on this might lead to too many questions.

The thought of telling Axe Murderer she worked at the park and could get him all sorts of special access if he wanted flashed throughher mind too, but that would bewaytoo revealing. All he’d have to do was look up the front office directory and narrow down the list of the few dozen women among the hundreds of employees to find her.

Butdidshe want him to find her? Was it time?

“Oh my god, are you working?” Piper scolded and interrupted her thoughts.

“What? No,” Emmy jerked her head up and said too quickly.

Piper suspiciously eyed her reaction and then grinned. “Then you’re texting him again, aren’t you?”

Emmy reddened. She had reluctantly widened her circle of trust about Axe Murderer to include her sister and was suddenly regretting it based on the mischievous look on Piper’s face.

“No, I’m not,” Emmy said.

Piper gave her a dismissive eye roll and turned to Ben as if their pending marriage meant the circle by default included him too. “Babe, Em met this guy because someone fake numbered him at a bar, and the number happened to be hers. Now they’ve been texting for, like, over a week because they areperfectfor each other. Isn’t that weird but also really cool?”

Ben tore his eyes from his fiancée’s face for the first time all brunch and smiled at Emmy. “No way! What are the odds?”

“Actually, they’re—” Emmy started to say because she had run the numbers again and had something slightly more precise thanastronomicalto report now, but Piper cut her off.

“Isn’t it sweet? I’mobsessed.” She suddenly gasped and bounced in her seat. “Ooh, Em! Invitehimto the wedding!”

Ben’s smile widened. They looked at her like a pair of golden retrievers, tails practically wagging.

Emmy set her phone on the table with a sigh. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Ben said with a tilt of his head in perfect golden retriever fashion. His sandy hair even flipped over like an ear.

“Because it’s... complicated.”

“What’s complicated about it?” Piper said. “You need a date and you’reclearlyinto this guy based on the look on your face every time you text him. Sounds simple to me!”

“I agree,” Ben said with a nod. “I think you should go for it, Em.”

Emmy glared at him, for once not appreciating his reflex to appease his future wife. “You’re just saying that to keep her happy.”

He leaned back in his chair and threw an arm around Piper’s tanned shoulders left bare by her sundress. “Yes, as is my duty.”

Piper squealed a joyful little sound and leaned in to rub his nose with hers again.

Emmy thought she might choke on the syrupy emotion gushing out of them at lethal levels. “You guys need to dial it back. Seriously. I know you’re getting married in two weeks, but the sweetest thing in here should be the crullers.” She picked up the sticky pastry on her plate and took a bite. The glaze was called something pretentious likeAmalfi lemon zest, but it was divine. She washed it down with another gulp of mimosa and did almost choke when her sister snapped out her hand and grabbed her phone.

“Fine.I’llinvite him for you.”

It might have been the fastest Emmy had ever moved in her life. She dropped her mimosa flute, knocking it over into Ben’s lap, and reached for her phone in Piper’s hands. Her nimble fingers had already started typing by the time Emmy ripped it away.

“Piper! No!” Her shrill cry turned a few heads as Piper jerked back.

Ben popped out of his seat to deal with the spilled drink and politely waved at the guests of his same ilk looking on as if he’d brought two heathens to brunch. Surely his parents would hear about their abhorrent behavior.

“Jeez, Em. Chill out!” Piper said. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

Emmy’s heart was pounding so hard her hands shook. Adrenaline shot through her body like lightning as she assessed her sister’s damage. The message to Axe Murderer had at least been cut off, but what did exist of it would be hard to explain.