LITMIR.BIZ

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will be no throwing up tonight. We’re too old for that nonsense.”

      “Yeah,” Hope agreed. “Hangovers have completely lost their charm.”

      “I’ve got an announcement,” Emily said. But she must have said it very softly, because no one looked at her. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’ve got an announcement!”

      That quieted the room. All eyes were upon her, and she felt her face heat up. She hated blushing, but that was yet another thing she had no control over.

      “Well?” Sam said.

      “Scott Dillon is coming back to town.”

      Silence.

      A really long stretch of silence.

      Hope looked at Sam. Lily looked at Julia. Zoey looked at Emily, then looked away.

      “When?” Lily asked.

      “Oh, um, tomorrow.”

      “What!” shouted the chorus.

      “I’m fine,” Emily assured them. “It’s no big deal.”

      “My behind,” Zoey said, bounding to her feet. “Why did you wait so long to say anything?”

      “I just found out.”

      “In the last five seconds?”

      “No. This morning.”

      Zoey grabbed a small water bottle from the side table then settled her gaze on Emily. “What’s the story?”

      “Kelly told me, since his father died, Scott’s mom is having a tough time running the store. So Scott’s coming home to help until they figure out what to do.”

      “Kelly?” Hope turned to Lily. “Isn’t she Jeff Whaley’s girlfriend?”

      “Yeah. She’s the one that got that boob job.”

      Julia shook her head at the two gossips. “That’s not the main item on the agenda, ladies.”

      The miscreants focused on Emily. She wished they’d go on talking about boob jobs. Scott Dillon wasn’t her favorite topic, outside of her daydreams, that is. But at least she didn’t have to go into any lengthy explanations. They all knew she’d been crazy about him since tenth grade. That he’d played Romeo to her Juliet in drama class, which turned the crush into mad, passionate love. And that he’d broken her heart when he’d taken Cathy Turner to the prom.

      Her friends even had the decency not to mention that she’d never stood a chance with Scott. A gorgeous guy like him, football captain, president of the class, would never consider a girl like her in a romantic sense. That was not the way the world worked. She was the friend, the sounding board, the one who’d find out if the Cathy Turners of the world were interested in the Scott Dillons. But she’d never be the date. The love interest. Not with her chubby cheeks and her large economy-size hips.

      “So, are you going to do something about it?” Zoey asked.

      “Like what?”

      “Like ask him out.”

      Emily burst out laughing. “Yeah, right.”

      “I’m not kidding. He’s always liked you, Emily. I mean he still calls you, right?”

      “Once. He called once a hundred years ago. As a friend. Nothing more.”

      “He’s older now. More mature.”

      “And dating older, more mature supermodels. Not one chance in hell he’d ever go for me that way.”

      “You don’t know that.”

      Emily lifted her right brow.

      Zoey’s shoulders sagged. “It could happen,” she said weakly.

      “No, it couldn’t,” Emily said with a sigh. “But it sure would have been nice, huh?”

      “What?”

      “One night. One perfect night. Champagne, a full moon, music, flowers. I would have been happy with that, you know? With the memory.”

      No one spoke for a moment and, just as startling, no one ate anything for a moment. Emily guessed they were all thinking of their own secret dreams. Those heartfelt wishes for things that could never be.

      She’d be fine. She would. She was a champ at landing on her feet. “Okay,” she said, climbing off the bed again, more than ready to change the subject. “I say we all get into our jammies and start some serious gossip.”

      “HUH?”

      “Shh.”

      Sam blinked, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. It was too dark to see, and what the—

      “Come on,” Hope whispered. “And don’t make any noise.”

      Sam threw back her covers and climbed out of the cot she’d won playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. It wasn’t the bed, but it wasn’t the floor, either. She followed Hope toward the bathroom, and when she saw that it was nearly four in the morning, she almost turned right around and went back to bed.

      Hope anticipated the move, however, and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward whatever the heck was going on.

      They reached the bathroom, and Hope shoved Sam inside, then Hope joined her. Once the door was closed, the light came on. Everyone was there. Except Emily.

      Zoey had on her Bugs Bunny pajamas. Lily wore a nightshirt that advertised a Stephen King novel. Julia had on a cropped T-shirt that showed off her perfectly flat tummy and boxers that showed off her perfectly gorgeous legs. And Hope? She had on men’s pajamas. Both the top and bottom. Sam’s conservative white nightgown seemed hideously dull.

      “Okay, so here’s what I propose,” Hope said, hopping up on the sink counter with far too much energy for four a.m. “I say we give Emily what she wants.”

      “A good night’s sleep?” Zoey suggested.

      Hope gave her a look. “No. One night with Scott Dillon. One perfect night.”

      Sam’s mouth hung open, and she wasn’t alone in her bewilderment. All the girlfriends except Hope, of course, looked stunned.

      “Are you nuts?” Lily asked.

      Zoey nodded. “She’d kill us.”

      Julia sat down on the commode seat. “What are we supposed to do? Hypnotize him into dating her? Buy him for her?”

      Hope smiled. “I don’t think it will come to that. I think, if we do our jobs correctly, Scott Dillon will ask Emily Proctor out of his own accord.”

      “And why would he,” Lily asked, “when he’s never been interested in her before?”

      “Because we’re going to take our little Emily, and turn her into the sexiest, most gorgeous creature he’s ever laid eyes on. That’s why.”

      No one spoke. Someone, Zoey probably, hiccuped. They exchanged glances. Finally Hope threw her arms into the air, accidentally sending Emily’s toothbrush flying into the bathtub. “Well? Are we or are we not The Girlfriends?”

      “We are,” Zoey said.

      “And do we or don’t we help one another?”

      “We do,” Sam agreed. “But—”

      “But nothing.” Hope leaned forward. “We can do this, guys. And you know what’s going to happen? Emily’s going to come away from this with so much self-confidence, with so much pride, that she’ll be able to get any man she wants. Scott Dillon, George Clooney. Whoever.”

      “Little optimistic there, aren’t you, Hope?” Julia asked.

      Hope nodded. “I’d agree if it was just me working on Emily. But it’s us. All

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