Page 34 of Time Served in New York
“And he’s out,” I said when his head fell back against the couch and he let out a loud snore. I looked over at Paula and realized she was blushing furiously. “Someone’s got a crush.”
“He’s always had a thing for Paula,” Frankie told us. “She broke his heart when she married that dumbass.”
“Let’s just keep that little conversation between us, shall we?” Paula suggested as she stared at Matteo. “Got that, youngster?”
“You know I’m not a kid, right?”
“Got that,youngster?” Paula said a little more forcefully.
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now.”
“Good job,” Bernadette said with a grin.
“I don’t need Hook starting an international incident and getting me on the wrong side of things again,” Paula admitted. “He’s a pretty easy going guy but finding out another man proposed to me might irritate him a little.”
“Just a tiny bit,” Jenn agreed as she held her hand up with her fingers a millimeter apart.
“Once all of you leave, I’m going to give him mountains of shit about it. Just saying,” Matteo slurred before he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m going to rest my eyes for a . . .”
“Another one bites the dust,” Bernadette said with a grin before she got up and pulled a few lightweight blankets off a nearby cart. She covered each man and tucked the blankets around them before she stepped back and pulled her phone from her pocket. “I think I’ll take a picture of this touching scene.”
“I’m going to go check on Enzo,” Maylee said as she stood up. She adjusted the tie on her robe and sighed. “God knows I owe him one after yesterday’s shopping adventure.”
“I think I’m going to cancel tonight’s festivities,” Frankie said as she walked around my chair with her purse in her hand.
“The ice skating or . . .”
Frankie interrupted Bernadette. “No, that’s still on, but I’m sure they’re going to be in no shape for a bachelor party, and I really don’t think my liver could handle another drink.”
“Do you think they’ll be sober by the time we go skating?” Jenn asked.
Paula laughed wickedly before she said, “God, I hope not. That would be hilarious.”
10.
FRANKIE
“This is going to be a shitshow,” Blue said as she laced up her skates.
“I’m so excited,” Hannah said as she sat between me and Blue and bent over to take off her shoes.
“That’s bullshit,” Blue said with disgust as she watched Hadley plop down on the floor at our feet. Harper was next and sat on the floor beside her sister. “They can just drop to the ground like it’s nothing. And just watch. They’ll hop up like they’re on a goddamn spring.”
“There’s no way I could sit down there without having help to get back up, and that’swithouthaving skates on,” Jenn said as she stopped lacing her skates and watched the girls. “Look at how they just bend their legs in half like it’s nothing.”
“You can put your chin on your knee without any problem, can’t you?” Paula asked.
All three girls rested their chins on their knees and laughed as we glared at them.
“I haven’t been able to do that without help since . . . Fuck, I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to do that,” Blue said with disgust.
“The boobs get in the way,” Paula said with a sigh.
“All of this gets in the way,” Blue said as she gestured towards her entire torso. “I bend over to tie my shoes and get winded.”
“I cross my foot over my knee to tie my shoes,” Brea explained as she was doing just that with her skate.
“I can do it,” August said as she demonstrated the same pose the girls had taken.
