“For one thing, Lukas and I already talked about Sadie. If you only have her side, then you don’t have the whole story. Full disclosure, you might not want all the details,” I say, making an awkward face. Julia laughs next to me as I continue, building a head of steam. “Second, I might come from a small town and maybe I seem sweet and a little too innocent, but I’m not. I can handle my shit and I can sure as hell handle Lukas and whatever he did in the past,” I finish, a little breathless, but still firm and rather proud of myself.
Julia applauds and hugs my head. “Yay! That’s my girl,” she says before releasing me. Lilah gives me a half-smile and shrugs one shoulder.
“Maybe I’ve been a little overprotective of you. I can… get that way.”
Olive laughs, “It’s true. She threatened Brooks with a knife once.”
“I did not! That was Luis,” Lilah argues, looking up toward the ceiling as she tries to remember the specifics. “I think I just threatened to bury him in a shallow grave if he hurt you. Weapons were implied but not present for that one. I’m sorry, Parker. I can ease up.”
“Thank you. I love that you’re worried about me. I really do.”
Lilah reaches out and squeezes my hand, and my heart aches with happiness. How did I get so lucky with my friends? Sonoma would be a very different, very lonely place without them.
“I got new books in yesterday, do you want to see?” I ask.
Olive squeals through a mouthful of sandwich and just like that, things feel almost normal again.
The girls hang out for almost an hour, passing around the new books and gossiping before Julia announces that she has to head to work.
“How’s it going with that doctor?” Olive asks her.
“What?” I gasp. “Are you dating a doctor? How did we not talk about this?”
Julia shrugs, looking bored. “I’m not. He asked, and I went to dinner with him once, but I’m really not interested. He’s certainly not worth bringing to family dinner.”
Olive gasps, her face lighting up with excitement as she smacks my arm.
“Ow! What—?”
“Family dinner,” she grins. “You have to come now.”
I think my blood pressure drops so low I could pass out. “I don’t know. Lukas didn’t bring it up and—”
“He will,” she says confidently. “And Gran will be thrilled.”
Lilah pokes Olive in the side. “You just want a buffer so Gran will stop asking when you’re going to pop out a baby.”
“Funny, you’d think someone else might speak up and save me from the Spanish Inquisition on that one,” Olive says, staring daggers at Lilah’s midsection.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lilah says before running out the door. “Nice try, Decaf!” Olive yells, shaking Lilah’s empty coffee cup at her back as she hustles across the street.
“I swear to god, she’s not fooling anyone,” Olive mutters, collecting the trash in one of the bags.
“Don’t be salty,” Julia chides. “This is perfect. The second she tells Gran, you and I are in the clear. That baby is going to buy us years of peace.”
“Months, at best,” Olive retorts with a snort. “We need a better distraction.”
“Oh, I have an idea,” I say to Julia. “Bring that doctor to your family dinner and pass him off to your gran. She’d enjoy getting handsy with the fresh meat, and I bet he’d stop hounding you. Win-win.”
Julia cackles, holding the door for Olive. “This is why I love you. You’re a little wicked under that cotton candy exterior.” She winks as she closes the door behind her.
“See you at dinner on Friday, Parker!” Olive calls as she crosses the street back to the bakery.
Friday? Crap. My birthday is on Friday. I haven’t told anyone, but maybe I should? They might feel bad if I spend the evening with them and don’t say anything, even if it’s just because I’m shy about my birthday. Maybe Lukas won’t bring up dinner and I can just spend a quiet night at home.
The store picks up after my lunch with the girls. A steady stream of tourists, fresh off their winery tours, keeps me on my feet. A trio of drunk women in pearls and polos asks me to pull the raunchiest books I can think of. They buy everything I put in front of them, hanging out until closing time, flipping through their purchases, and comparing notes on the dirtiest bits. I pretend not to notice the poorly concealed baby-pink flasks they keep drinking from.
I shoo them out the door one minute after closing time, pointing them in the right direction of their hotel before locking the door and flipping the closed sign. I’m dead on my feet and skip a lot of my usual dusting and straightening. I can do it in the morning.