Knitted Hearts - Amber Kelly Page 0,36

any sweet, single—”

“Slightly desperate,” Charlotte interrupts.

Elle slugs her arm. “I was going to say, nice. He’s handsome at least.”

Charlotte shrugs.

“He’s funny too. I’m sure life with him would never be boring,” I add.

“So, why don’t you go out with him?” Charlotte asks.

I’m taking a sip of my cider, but it goes down the wrong way, and I start to cough.

“Me?” I squeak.

“Yes, you. You’re sweet, single, and nice,” Charlotte says.

“Um, he’s too young for me,” I answer.

“I thought he graduated with you guys. No?” she says as she gestures between Elle and me.

“He did. But he seems younger. He still lives with his momma, and he has Walker mentoring him,” I say.

“She has a point,” Elle agrees.

“What about his big brother? His eyes have been focused in this direction most of the night.”

Charlotte gives a little wave over my head, and I glance over my shoulder to see Foster standing with the guys. He’s grinning in our direction, and he raises his glass in acknowledgment of Charlotte’s wave.

I turn back around and widen my eyes at Charlotte.

“See,” she says.

“Stop, please,” I say through gritted teeth.

“He’s not too young. He looks to me like he’s all kinds of grown up and experienced.”

I close my eyes and decide to share.

“We had dinner the other night,” I tell them.

“We who?” Elle asks.

“Foster and I. He took me to that new Italian restaurant in town.”

“What?! You went on a date and didn’t tell us?” Elle gasps.

“I knew,” Bells brags.

“What?” Elle exclaims before scowling at me.

“She only knows because he was at the clinic the other day, and we adopted puppies together.”

“You adopted puppies together?” Elle asks.

“Not together, together, but at the same time,” I clarify.

“Yep. He adopted a boy puppy and named him Sue when she got George. I knew something was going on between the two of them, so I interrogated her as soon as I got home that night. But don’t worry; she didn’t tell me anything more than they’d had dinner,” Bells gripes.

“I can’t believe you’ve been holding out,” Elle says.

“I was going to tell you guys, but I wanted to see how it went first,” I explain.

“Uh-uh, that’s not how it works. We don’t hold back info to see how it goes,” Elle insists.

“Like you told the whole world about you and Walker when you two started your fling,” I accuse.

“You knew all about that from the beginning,” she reminds me.

“Right, but I didn’t!” Bells gripes.

Elle looks at her.

“You were away at school. I filled you in as soon as you came home,” she defends.

“You could have called me,” Bells persists.

“Hello, ladies, focus on the current situation,” Charlotte interrupts.

“Oh, yes, you and Foster,” Elle says, as she brings her eyes back to me.

“So, how was it? Tell us everything,” Charlotte prompts.

“We had dinner and drinks. We talked; it was nice.”

“That’s it?” she asks, clearly disappointed with my tale.

“It was a first date, Charlotte,” I reply.

“Well, it was a boring first date. I hope the second date is a little spicier,” she grumbles.

“I’m not looking for spice.”

“Everyone is looking for spice. Spice is what flavors the world. It makes everything taste better, hotter,” she insists.

“Look, I’ve always been impulsive. I jump into every relationship—Bells and Elle will tell you. Ricky moved in with me within weeks of our meeting and I married him ten months later. I’m done with diving headfirst into the deep end. From now on, I’m cautiously tiptoeing into the shallow end first,” I explain.

“Nobody is talking about moving him in, Sonia. Just dip into the water a bit to cool off your loins,” Charlotte says.

“You really know how to take a metaphor and twist it to your benefit,” Bells praises.

“It’s a gift.”

“Well, I agree with you. He’s been circling her since before Christmas. I don’t understand why she doesn’t take that cowboy for a spin,” Elle chimes in.

“I’m not even divorced yet,” I tell them.

“Oh, that’s just paperwork. You’ve been a free woman for almost a year,” Elle states.

“Well, he was married too. And his ex is a real piece of work. I just got untangled from a mess, and the last thing I need is to get caught up in his,” I hiss.

“Excuses. You’re scared,” Elle pushes.

“So what if I am? I think I should be allowed to lick my wounds for a while longer.”

“Why lick your own wounds when that sexy hunk of a man would be all too happy to lick them for you?” Charlotte asks.

“Charlotte,” I gasp.

“You are blushing, Sonia! You like him.