“Oh! We should make her profile pic a full body one with those heels,” Linda suggests, wiggling her eyebrows. She’s the biggest flirt in the group. I can never keep up with her dating life. I walk over, giving her a hug. She has a bad hip and stays seated as often as she can. Not that it slows down her dating life at all.
“Her picture is fine.” Marth kisses me on the cheek. “I made a bunch of sandwiches. Try this chicken salad on the croissant first. I got this recipe from that TikTok. I follow this Staten Island lady.” Marth looks to Betty to fill in the blank for her.
“Cecilia Manzo,” she supplies. Betty forgets nothing. Ever.
“That’s it. Do you follow her? Don’t, then my dishes won’t be a surprise,” Marth orders.
“I won’t follow her.” I laugh, taking one of the sandwiches she’s made.
Food covers a giant table. All of it looks delicious as usual. A few months ago I would have asked Marth who else was coming with a spread of food like this, but I’ve learned she always cooks this way. I’d promised that I’d have lunch today after the terrible date from last night. They want more details.
“So spill,” Linda demands.
“I did already.”
“Well, start over. From the start. We want all the details.” Marth grabs me a plate and piles more food onto it before shoving it into my hands. “After you eat. Have you lost weight? You should eat more.” She guides me to a chair.
Novak is crazy for wanting me to get friends my own age. I love these ladies. I don’t care how old they are. They are the best kind of friends I ever had. When I do end up spilling, I tell them all about Blake too.
CHAPTER 7
BLAKE
T he bell of the sewing room shop tinkles merrily as I step over the threshold. I make my way past baskets of yarn and bolts of fabric to a small open space occupied by four chairs and three disapproving faces.
“Betty, your hair looks especially pretty,” I say as I take a seat between her and Marth. Across from me, Linda bats her eyelashes.
“Blake Justice, as I live and breathe. What brings you to our little hideaway?”
“You, of course. Haven’t seen you in ages and my heart was feeling empty.” I grin, and she smiles back until Marth jabs her in the side to remind her that the Sew Be It ladies have an agenda for me, and flirtation is not a line item.
The jab does its job, though. Linda’s smile flattens out, and she shakes a finger at me. “We’ve a bone to pick with you.”
I fold my hands behind my neck and stretch out my legs. “I’m all ears.” I suspect this has something to do with Birdie and her fashion shows, although why they’re going to chirp in my ear and not Tucker’s, I don’t know. I figured I could come this way and walk past Reese’s office. Maybe get a peek inside. Not doing too great at staying away. I’m just not sure what I am going to do.
“The way you’re treating Reese isn’t right, boy. You weren’t raised that way.” Betty’s indignation has her blue hair quivering.
I drop my hands and straighten. “Reese?”
Marth rolls her eyes. “See. I told you,” she says to the other ladies. “He was raised out there on the Justice property eating God knows what and having not even one woman to guide him. I don’t think he’s good enough for our Reese. Let’s move on to a new candidate.”
“No. No. This is Nene’s son. We need to give him a chance.” Betty fixes her blue gaze on me. “Blake, living out there on the ranch with nothing but your cousins has likely rusted your people skills, so we brought you in for some kindly advice.”
I have rusty people skills? “I thought I was one of the better-liked Justices,” I half joke.
“You are,” Linda reassures me. “Calder is stiff as a board.”
“Tucker hates everyone,” Marth mutters.
“Sterling’s a sweet boy, though. I wonder if it’s because the princess got a hold of him so early,” Linda muses.
“Cane’s a darling now, but he was a pill before Astor agreed to marry him. Why, he broke her heart for years.” Marth sniffs in disgust.
“She shouldn’t have taken him back,” Betty declares with her nose in the air.
I rub my temple and wonder why I’m suffering through the Sew Be It club airing out their feelings for all my cousins. I get that the Justices might be rough around the edges, but in the last year, all of them have bagged their women. There’s so much estrogen at the ranch these days that women are getting pregnant from just stepping foot on the property.
“They do make a good-looking couple,” sighs Linda. “And he’s come around nicely. At their wedding, he noticed my bad hip and came to give me a pillow straight away.”