“Jodie, delivery,” he calls teasingly before footsteps head our way.
“Aw thanks, baby,” she breathes, jumping into his arms and slamming her lips down on his.
“Ugh, I don’t fucking need this,” I mutter, turning my back on them and walking deeper into the flat.
I see the bottles of alcohol lining the kitchen counter long before I get to that part of Toby’s flat. Kicking off my shoes, I dump my handbag onto the counter and set to work.
By the time Jodie returns with swollen lips and flushed cheeks, I have two mojitos ready to go.
“Your day went well then, I take it,” she guesses as I drain the rest of my cocktail.
“It was good until…”
“Until?”
“Until the last lesson of the day. Year thirteen English lit revision class.”
“Oh fuck.”
“Yeah, oh fuck indeed.”
“Was he in it?” she asks, ignoring her drink in favour of studying my reaction.
“He was meant to be. He never showed.”
“What a relief.”
“Oh yeah, because waiting for him to blow his lid when he finds out is so much better.”
“Still think you’re overreacting. That dress looks hot on you, by the way. Totally worth the price tag.” She winks before sipping her drink and groaning appreciatively.
Yeah, my new wardrobe. Something else I need to confess to.
* * *
“Tell me Nico didn’t pay for this one as well,” I groan, looking down at the top Jodie holds up against me.
“Don’t be silly, you’ve still got his card. I just saw this earlier after I visited Sara and it had your name written all over it.”
Her words make my chest ache in the best way.
I love it. The sequin-covered loose tank with spaghetti straps is right up my street. And the fact Jodie stopped for it makes it all that special. Also makes me feel guilty as hell.
“Jojo, you shouldn’t be spending your—”
“Stop,” she demands, rolling her eyes as if we haven’t had this argument a bazillion times. “The words you’re looking for are ‘thank you, Jodie. I love it and I can’t wait to knock Nico on his ass while wearing it later.’ I also grabbed these to go with it.” My lips part to argue before realisation hits me. “Don’t have a cow, you already own these. I stopped by your flat and got everything you could possibly need tonight.”
“Thank you,” I finally say, desperately trying to ignore all the other comments that are on the tip of my tongue.
“Good. Now throw that back and get dressed. I’m ready to party.”
I watch my best friend as she pulls out a dress from her wardrobe and holds it up against herself, and I can’t help but smile. Happiness literally pours from her. It’s the best sight in the world after everything she’s been through recently. It gives me hope that everything will work out, that Nico will find his way again, and that the guys will win this war with the Italians without any more loss. And I think about Daemon and Calli, about their little secret. About a future that no one else around us knows exists yet. The next generation of Cirillos. It makes me wonder who’ll be next. Hell knows they’re all at it enough to have made a million babies between them by now.
It’s thoughts of Calli and Daemon that stop me from arguing about attending this party tonight.
I’m the only one out of the group who knows the truth—well, as far as I’m aware, I am. And that means Calli is going to need some backup tonight if she has any intention of continuing to keep her pregnancy a secret.
“Bathroom’s all yours, bitch,” Jodie teases. “Steal whatever you want in there.”