My laughter booms, echoing the same way our cries did. I can only imagine the ribbing Jeb and the guys are going to give me about this later.
Worth. Every. Fucking. Second.
“Come on, baby. Let’s get you cleaned up and go home. We’ll order in steaks. God knows, I could eat a damn cow.”
Scarlett presses a kiss to my lips. “That sounds perfect too.”
Twenty-Four
Scarlett
I’m shockedto see Harlow and Monroe when Pat parks the SUV in front of Dolly’s on Saturday morning.
“You’re both early!” I dodge a few pedestrians on the sidewalk and rush forward into their open arms.
“I told you she’d be shocked,” Monroe says to Harlow with a giggle as they both hug me.
“More like I thought I was being punked.” I pull back and scan Monroe’s face. She looks a million times better than she did at my kitchen table, freaking out about losing Nate. “Are things better?” I ask quietly.
I’ve only heard from Monroe once since she came to my place—after I checked in with a text. She replied with a simple,I’m okay. We talked. I’ll fill you in later.
With all the craziness going on in my life and Gabriel’s, I haven’t had a chance to talk to her and get caught up, so I was thrilled when Harlow suggested brunch this weekend to our group chat. I need some quality time with my girls.
“I am, actually. I’ll tell you everything that went down when Kelsey gets here,” Monroe replies with a genuine smile that calms some of the anxiety I’ve been carrying for her.
“Fair enough. Flynn should be here soon too. I’m glad you girls are welcoming her into the fold. I know she’s young, but—”
“Psh. That girl is more mature than I am,” Monroe says, waving off my comment.
Harlow squeezes my hand. “We love the little firecracker too, you know. If she wants to roll with our squad, then she’s more than welcome.”
“Here she comes! Hey, street racer.” Monroe waves Flynn over to us. “We were just talking about you, Little Miss Badass. Did you win any cool cars last night?”
Flynn stops next to me, and I throw an arm over her shoulder to pull her into my side for a quick embrace.
“No to winning a car. Someone tipped off the cops about the race. We heard it on the scanner and bolted. Total letdown. I was supposed to be going up against some guy with a beast of a Chevelle, and I’vealwayswanted one of those.”
I lean my head against hers. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to listen to you say stuff like that without telling you to be careful, and maybe consider racing at tracks where it’s legal from now on so you’ll be safe?”
Flynn rolls her eyes my way and smiles at a guy about her age in a suit as he passes by us on the sidewalk. “Since you just told me that anyway, I’m assuming it’s incredibly hard. Likely impossible.”
“She’s right, kid. That shit is dangerous. You need to be careful,” Harlow says with concern in her voice.
“Who needs to be careful about what?” Kelsey asks as she comes up the walkway from our right.
Flynn and I spin around to face her. “This one. Running from the cops last night.”
“To be fair, I didn’t run from the cops. I simply drove away like I wasn’t there for a street race. It’s not as if any cop who pulled me over would even think I was part of that scene. I’m a college student, out late, grabbing more coffee to study for a test.”
Kelsey looks her up and down. “You might look like that right now, but not when you’re dressed in black leather from head to toe.”
“Can we move this inside? I’m starving,” Harlow says, patting her belly. “I’m practicing eating for two, because Jimmy and I decided we want to try to get pregnant.”
“Oh my God!” Monroe squeals.
“Holy shit.” Kelsey gasps. “That’s like ... serious shit.”
Warmth floods my system, and my cheeks hurt from how wide my smile stretches as I stare at Harlow in wonder. “That is officially the best news of the entire day. I am so excited for you both.”