the dressy boutique here in the building for a while before she sold it. She was wild and fun and gregarious, and she was good for Finn. At first. Until—”
“Willa.” Elle gave her a long look. “You’re telling tales. He’s going to kill you.”
“Only if you tattle,” Willa said. “Pru needs to know what she’s up against.”
“What am I up against?” Pru whispered in spite of herself, needing to know.
“Mellie and Sean got drunk one night. And they . . .” She grimaced.
Pru gasped. “No,” she breathed. “She slept with his brother?”
“Well, apparently when Finn walked in on them they hadn’t quite gotten to home plate but it was close enough.”
“Finn walked in on them?” Pru asked, horrified, trying to imagine. She didn’t have a sibling, but in her fantasies, if she’d had a sister or brother, they would stand at her back, always. “How awful.”
Willa nodded. “It caused a big fight, but they’ve always fought. Sean had had way too much to drink that night, he was really out of it, and later he kept saying he’d never have made a move on her if he’d been in his right mind. But Mellie wasn’t drunk. She knew exactly what she was doing.”
“But why would she do that to Finn?” Pru asked.
“Because she’d been after him for a commitment. At that time, he was still finishing up his business degree. She hated that he went to classes early in the morning, studied after that, then handled the business side of O’Riley’s, and then often had to work the pub all night on top of that. When he wasn’t working his ass off on any of those things, he was dead asleep. He was giving everything one hundred percent, even her, but it wasn’t enough. She was bored and lonely, two things that didn’t agree with her.”
Elle slid Willa a look. “You think he’s going to thank you for airing his dirty laundry when he finds out?”
“No, I think he’ll put out a hit on me,” Willa said. “But he’s not going to find out. I’m doing our girl a service here, explaining some things about her man that he’s certainly not going to explain to her.”
“He’s not my man,” Pru said.
“He’s not going to explain,” Willa said to Elle as if Pru hadn’t spoken, “because he thinks the past should stay in the past.”
“He’s not my man,” Pru repeated, holding her stomach, which was killing her now.
“The past should absolutely stay in the past,” Elle said to Willa, something in her voice saying she believed that to the depths of her very soul.
Willa closed her eyes briefly and covered Elle’s hand with her own, the two of them sharing a moment that Pru didn’t understood. They had history. She got that. They were close friends, and clearly there was a lot about them that she didn’t know. Such as what had happened to Elle to make her want her past to stay buried.
Pru didn’t have many people in her life. Her own fault. She didn’t let many in. It didn’t take a shrink to get why. She’d lost her parents early. Her only other living relative often mistook her for devil spawn. There were some school friends she kept in occasional contact with, and she had her coworkers. And Jake.
But it would be really nice to have Willa and Elle as well.
Her stomach cramped painfully again, which she ignored when Willa took her hand.
“I’m trusting you with this, Pru,” she said. “Do you know why?”
Unable to imagine, Pru shook her head.
“Because you’re one of us now,” she said and looked at Elle. “Right?”
Elle turned her head and met Pru’s gaze, studying her solemnly for a long beat before slowly nodding.
Willa smiled. “Look at that.” She looked at Pru again. “Here’s something you might not know. Elle doesn’t like very many people.”
Elle snorted.
“It’s because she’s scary as shit,” Haley said, drinking the last of her wine.
“Sitting right here,” Elle said calmly, glancing at her nails.
Which were, of course, perfect.
Not appearing scared in the slightest, Willa just smiled. “But one thing about her, she never says anything she doesn’t mean. And once you’re a friend, you’re a friend for life.” She paused and glanced at Elle, brow raised.
Elle shrugged.
Willa gave her a long look.
Elle rolled her eyes but she did smile. “Friends for life,” she said. “Or until you piss me off. Don’t piss me off.”
A new warmth filled Pru and her throat tightened. “Thanks,” she whispered.
Elle narrowed her eyes. “You’re not