Page 49 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
“I say we finish this wall.” She lets me go. “We are so close; I think we could be done in an hour.” She starts to unroll some more of the paper, so I stir the glue and start to paint it in even strokes across the white back like the directions suggested. Once I have an even coat, I go back up the ladder, because apparently my best friend is now afraid of heights. After I reach the top, she hands me the top edge of the paper, and we both work to get it lined up with the edge of the last sheet we hung. Just as we start to get it in place, a cool gust of wind floats into the room, and I turn to find Everly and Margret coming inside. I smile at the two of them.
“Please tell me that you guys came to help,” I say in lieu of a greeting.
“We didn’t, but we can,” Margret says, taking off her coat, and Everly does the same, the two of them dropping them where Cybil and I left ours on the floor. Then they come to where we are.
“We actually came to talk to you guys about my bachelorette party,” Everly says, looking up at me, then asks, “How can I help?”
“Can you grab the roller and hand it to me?” I ask, and she looks around until she finds it, then brings it over and places it in my open hand.
“Are you having a party?” Cybil asks Everly when I finish rolling out the top and hand the roller down to her.
“She is,” Margret answers for her. “She wanted us to just get our nails done and have a late lunch, but I told her that’s unacceptable. She needs a proper party, so I’ve decided to take over the planning myself.”
“Should we be worried?” Cybil asks, and Margret rolls her eyes.
“I’ve already promised my brother that I wouldn’t do anything that could lead to any one of us spending the night in jail, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“Is ending up in jail something that happens regularly when people go out with you?” I ask Margret, and she looks up at me and smiles wide.
“No, that’s normally something I do when I’m on my own,” she says, and I smile back, then grab the sponge when Cybil hands it to me. Darn, with Margret and Everly here, we are already doing better than we were.
When I’m done smoothing out the top, I get down off the ladder and roll out the next piece of paper and start to paint it with the sticky glue as Cybil trims the bottom edge.
“Well, you know I’ll be there,” Cybil says, then looks at me, and I shift back to rest my bottom on my heels.
“I’ll be there if you want me to be.”
“Of course I want you to be there,” Everly says, helping me lift the paper up off the ground. The truth is, I’m still trying to get used to how quickly everyone has accepted me. I know that it’s because of Cybil, but I appreciate how they have all welcomed me in as a part of the group.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Margret says as I head up the ladder once more. “I’m going to plan a whole day of pampering, then a night out on the town that I’m sure we will all remember.”
“A night to remember without any of us ending up in jail,” Everly clarifies.
“Will you stop saying that like I’m going to get us all arrested,” Margret grouches. “I mean, jeez. A girl ends up in the back of a police cruiser one time, and all the sudden she can’t be trusted.”
“Okay, so when are we doing this?” Cybil asks.
“The Saturday after next, since the following weekend we will all be headed to the lake house for the wedding,” Margret tells her, and I make a mental note so that I can make sure I’m not working on Sunday in case I’m hungover. Not that I really work weekends, since Tony and Katie tend to take those days.
“You’re going to come to the wedding, right, Jade?” Everly asks, and I look down at her.
“I didn’t plan on it,” I say. Then I add, “Not that I don’t want to be there. I just don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding. We would love for you to come.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” She smiles as I grab the roller from Cybil. “You could bring a date if you’d like.”
My stomach bottoms out at that offer, and I glance quickly to Cybil. I still haven’t admitted to her that Maverick and I have been seeing each other, and the more time goes by, the more I feel like a horrible friend. For once in my life, I feel like I have it all. But the truth is I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I keep waiting for something to happen that will knock me off my high horse of happiness. And I’m honestly afraid that the thing that I’m going to lose is Maverick; even with him making plans for future dates, I worry that he’s going to realize what a mess I am and decide that he and I don’t work.
