Page 80 of Solomon’s Temple

The first thing I noticed when I walked through the door of the Airbnb was the smell of vanilla.

The second was the fact that my sisters had apparently decided my bachelorette party needed to look like the inside of a luxury hotel.

Brown and tan balloons floated along the walls in elegant clusters. Cream-colored flowers filled oversized vases. Candles flickered on every surface, casting a soft amber glow across the room. There were trays of chocolate-covered strawberries, charcuterie boards, gourmet popcorn, miniature desserts, and enough champagne to get six women into some serious trouble.

I smiled.

“Toni . . . Phire . . .”

Toni turned around, wearing tan silk pajamas and a grin that told me she was entirely too proud of what she’d done.

“I did my big one, huh?”

I nodded. “You did. I love it.”

Sapphire was sprawled across the sectional in chocolate-brown silk pajamas, already holding a champagne glass. “Girl, you better love it. We been planning this for weeks.”

“I can tell,” I replied. I looked around again.

Lessyn, Skylyn, Payton, and Jela were all dressed in different shades of brown and tan silk pajamas, and for a second, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“We look like a damn chocolate box.”

Skylyn looked down at herself. “A very expensive chocolate box.”

We all laughed.

“You ain’t wrong.”

That was the thing about tonight. It didn’t feel forced. It didn’t feel like one of those bachelorette parties where everyone was trying too hard to make sure the bride was having fun.

It just felt easy.

Comfortable.

Maybe because these women had somehow become my friends without me realizing how quickly it had happened.

They were technically my husband’s friends’ wives and girlfriend, women I’d only recently met, but somewhere between conversations, dinners, dress fittings, and all the craziness that came with falling in love and getting married so quickly, they’d become people I actually wanted around me.

Jodeci played softly from the Bluetooth speaker. I recognized the song immediately and sang while rolling my hips. “Come and talk to me, I really wanna meet you, girl!”

Skylyn gasped in excitement. “Oh, hell yes!”

She grabbed Lessyn’s hand and danced on her. Lessyn laughed as she followed her.

Payton nearly spilled her champagne. “Y’all are ridiculous.”

“And you’re just mad because you can’t dance,” Skylyn shouted.

“Girl, I dance better than you! You know I throw this ass in circles.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

I couldn’t stop laughing as Toni grabbed my hand. “Come on, bride.”

I shook my head. “I just got here.”

“And?”