still mine in ways you’ll never understand. But now she and I can’t have the same last name because she’s becoming a Bailey, and that’s a hard no for me.”
Logan choked on a drink of his beer.
“You okay?” Asher asked.
“Yeah.” Logan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I was just momentarily horrified at the thought of Cara becoming a Bailey.”
“Not in your wildest dreams,” she said.
Logan winced. “That would be my nightmare.”
Cara lowered the pen, her eyes on Logan. “Where’s Levi tonight? I bet he could use some company.”
“You stay the fuck away from him.”
“Why?” Cara asked, her voice sugary sweet. “I think Levi and I could be great together.”
Logan’s jaw hitched and his nostrils flared. He stood abruptly. “I need another beer.”
I had no idea what was going on between the two of them, but they were as bad as Evan and Luke Haven. Cara blew a kiss at his back as he walked to the bar.
“Where was I?” Cara asked.
“Last names,” Grace said.
“Right. Since Grace and I can’t have the same last name, I’m thinking maybe I use her maiden name, Miles. It would be like a tribute to the Grace Miles I know and love. Or maybe hyphenate. Cara Goulding-Miles isn’t bad. What do you think?”
“Why do you want to change your name at all?” I asked.
“It’s symbolic.”
“But maybe you’ll wind up in a happy heterosexual marriage, with sex, and you’ll take his name,” Grace said. “Or hyphenate yours with his.”
Cara laughed while she wrote something on the napkin. “You’re so cute, but we both know I’m not wife material. Fiona, what’s your current last name?”
“Gallagher.”
She wrote something else, then slid the napkin over to Grace and handed her the pen. “Sign at the bottom.”
Grace held the napkin in place with one hand and signed her name.
Cara took it and ceremoniously laid it in front of me. “Fiona Gallagher, Grace and I hereby adopt you to be our non-lesbian platonic life partner child.”
I read the napkin. It reiterated what she’d said and had space at the bottom for me to sign.
“This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me,” I said, fighting back tears again. “I know you’re just being silly, but I’ve never had a lot of friends. And the one I did have was banging my dad.”
Cara put a hand on my arm and met my eyes, her expression completely serious. “I swear to you, I will never bang your dad. May my vagina wither up and die, never to be banged by a big dick again, should I ever betray you.”
Evan stopped next to his chair, eying Cara like he was trying to decide whether to sit back down or grab me and run out the door.
I took the pen and signed my name at the bottom. “Done. Do you want to keep this, or should I?”
“You hang onto it,” Cara said. “Just keep it safe.”
“I will.” And I meant it. Silly as it was, this really did mean a lot to me. I folded it gently and tucked it in my purse.
Had I just made two new girlfriends? Best day ever.
We hung out for a while longer, idly chatting, and I decided to have another beer. Instead of talking to his brother, Asher seemed to become increasingly preoccupied with Grace. He played with her hair and leaned in to gently kiss her neck. Eventually, they got up to leave and said goodbye. By the look in their eyes, I could tell exactly why they wanted to go home.
I was more than a little jealous.
Cara got up and dragged me to my feet so she could hug me. After making me promise I’d always wear a helmet when I rode with Evan on his motorcycle, she left.
“We can go if you’re ready,” I said.
Evan gestured to my half-empty beer bottle. “No hurry.”
I sat back down. “Asher and Grace sure are a cute couple. How long have they been together?”
“They were best friends as kids. Started dating in college, I guess.”
“They’ve been together since college? Why did they wait so long to get married?”
“It wasn’t by choice. Asher spent seven years in prison.”
“Oh my god. For what?”
“Manslaughter. A guy attacked Grace in a bar. Asher killed him.”
“Are you serious? But why did he go to prison for that? Wouldn’t that be considered self-defense or something?”
Evan looked away and I could tell this topic bothered him. Surprisingly, he didn’t shut down and change the subject. “It was bullshit. The