“No. No, we cannot.” I can’t be sure of what she was going to say, but my guess is it’s about Sterling, and I don’t want to get into that today.
“Yoo-hoo,” a voice calls out, and I roll my eyes.
“Um, that expression tells me we don’t like the owner of that greeting,” Kennedy whispers.
“Not a huge fan,” I confess. “We all went to school together.”
“You’re going to have to fill me in,” she replies with a whisper as Mindy comes strolling into the kitchen.
“Thanks for the invite, Alyssa,” Mindy says, even though we both know I didn’t invite her. “I just wanted to come in and say hi, but I’m going to head out back and see if Sterling needs help.” She waves and scurries past us out the back door. “Sterling, hi!” I hear her say loudly.
“She’s got a thing for our boy?” Kennedy asks.
“She always has, and she’s not selective. She’d take any of them. That’s how she is.”
“A chaser?”
“Opportunist.” I repeat my earlier words to Kristy.
“Why did you invite her?” Kennedy inquires.
“I didn’t.” I glare at Kristy.
“I’m sorry, okay. I was just excited, and she had a book in her hands at the store, and the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.”
“It’s fine.” I sigh.
“We’ll make sure none of the guys are anywhere near us the next time we meet. She’ll give up eventually.”
“Wow. Is she that bad?” Kennedy asks.
“Worse,” Kristy and I say in unison.
“I really shouldn’t have invited her.” Kristy winces as Mindy’s fake laughter reaches us inside the house.
Kennedy’s phone beeps. She pulls it out of her purse. “The gang’s all here,” she tells me.
“Great, just tell them to meet us in the backyard.”
“On it.” She walks out of the room, her fingers flying across the screen of her phone. “Blakely, your aunts are here,” she tells her daughter.
“Yay!” Blakely cheers, and I hear her little feet pound against the floor before the front door opens and closes.
“Ready?” I ask Kristy.
“Yep. Book club, here we come.” She grabs the bowl of chips and the matching bowl of dip, while I grab the tray of brownies, which is the last of the food that we need to carry outside. I might have gone overboard with the snacks, but I knew two of the ladies in attendance were pregnant, and their cravings are all over the place to hear them tell it. I want to have something for everyone.
Sterling sees me and heads my way. “Thank you for the extra chairs,” I tell him.
“You’re welcome. What time is this thing over?” He holds my gaze, not once looking away.
I shrug. I have no idea how long this is going to take. “I don’t know, a couple of hours? Why?”
“Dinner.” He rubs what I know are ripples of abs beneath his T-shirt. “What are we having?”
“Do you want to go out?” I ask.
“Nah, let’s just toss something on the grill. Text me, and I’ll head back over with everything that we need. That way, I’ll be here to help you clean up. I’d also like to talk to you about something, and we still have yet to talk about whatever it was you wanted to run by me the night I went to be with Ryder and my brothers.”