“I can’t wait to make him suffer,” she says under her breath, a comment that makes me pause. I grab her hand, pushing it down by her side.

“Are you doing this to make me feel better about myself or to hurt Royce?” I ask. “You didn’t want me with him anyways.”

She moves the blush brush back up to my cheek and shrugs her shoulder. “Same difference,” she says nonchalantly.

I take the brush from her hand and step away. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but I think I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go out there. I don’t need to waste my time on a guy who had no intention of pursuing anything anyway.”

Her nose scrunches in misunderstanding. “What are you talking about? I thought you wanted to make him wish he were never born.”

“It’s his loss, but thanks.”

I hand her the blush brush and walk past her. I hear her throw it on the bathroom counter and she quickly follows behind me. Soon as we are walking toward the deck where the rest of our adult party-goers are. In the kitchen, we are met with warm welcomes, and of course, hugs from Vivian.

“Where have you been, ladies?” Casen asks before offering us both a beer.

“Oh, you know, just girl talk,” I say, accepting the cold bottle and taking a swig, trying to fade into the crowd. He gives Jen a knowing look and huffs with a smile. Jen narrows her eyes at him and shoos him away. Casen picks Ryker up from his high chair and takes him outside, leading the others to the back deck. When the doors open, I can hear the chatter and laughter of the kids playing in the backyard.

I turn my feet to follow the crowd when the doorbell rings. I look around the girls, and Jen states exactly what I’m thinking. “The douche patrol is here.” Well, not exactly what I’m thinking.

She briskly walks to the door and hastily pulls it open. “Welcome, come on in. The guys are out back,” she says, overly unenthusiastic and monotone. She immediately turns and leaves Royce and his guest on the steps.

“Well, thank you for that warm welcome, Jen,” I hear Royce say. “I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the day without seeing your friendly face.” The sarcasm drips from his voice.

He and his guest finally step into the house and my heart sinks. He is just as gorgeous as I remember him, and she is the perfect arm candy, adorable and tiny enough to fit in my pocket. Her brunette curls bounce just above her shoulders and her smile is bright and cheery. My jealousy spikes when I see him put his hand on her back to guide her further into the space, but I try to taper it down.

Jen notices my discomfort and grabs my arm, pulling me toward her. “I would offer to kick her in the cooch but I’m afraid I would lose a shoe, and I’m fairly attached to my strappy sandals,” Jen whispers in my ear.

“Stop it,” I hush back at her. “She looks really nice, like someone we would hang out with if the situation were different.”

Vivian rushes forward to offer a better greeting, shaking their hands and walking with them to our little group.

“Hi Royce, good to see you again,” I say when they finally reach us. I try my hardest to be pleasant, and when Royce returns my smile, I know I’ve pulled off the ruse.

“This is Hannah,” he says as she offers a shy wave.

“Sorry, I’m a little nervous meeting you all. Royce speaks so highly of everyone. I didn’t want to disappoint,” Hannah says.

Don’t I feel like a shit? I should be angry at Royce for never saying he was dating someone, not this poor girl who was just as clueless as I was.

“I thought you guys would get along wonderfully. I guess I didn’t take into account the Jen monster.” He points his thumb toward Jen.

I smile and, thankfully, Campbell steps in and offers Hannah a drink. Vivian folds an arm through hers and together they pull the sweet girl to the deck where the others are.

“Let’s go, Jen,” Campbell shouts from the kitchen.

“I’m watching you,” she tells Royce, backpedaling into the kitchen. “One wrong move and I’ll have you out on your ass.”

Royce doesn’t answer; he simply salutes her before bringing his attention back to me.

“What’s all this about?” he asks, waving his hands around my face. “You look…different. Good,” he stutters, “just different.”

“I made the mistake of allowing Jen to do my makeup,” I explain with an embarrassed smile. “Hannah seems nice,” I add, trying to change the subject.

He laughs and scratches the facial hair that lines his chin. “She’s a bit of a pain in my ass, but I’m kind of stuck with her,” he finally says. He pulls me close to him and rubs my cheek where Jen went a little wild with the blush. “I like Carly just the way she is, no additives needed,” he whispers in my ear before moving past me to meet the others outside.

What in the ever-loving hell?

We hit it off, hang out, and even kiss in Vegas. We’ve been texting and talking since we got back, then bam! He shows up with a date, but then tells me he likes plain old me.

No thank you, I’m too old to play games. High school love triangles lost their appeal in high school. I’m happy to be his friend, and if one day he was capable, maybe more. For right now, I don’t need what he’s offering in my life. I have enough complication and crazy for the whole group without groupie girl drama added to the mix.

I take another drink of my beer and follow the same path as the others to the backyard. My friends have made a circle in the grass and the guys have stationed themselves around the barbecue grill. The older kids are playing on the swing set while the babies crawl in the grass and play with a small pile of toys. This is what group get-togethers always look like. There’s only one major difference today; Royce and Hannah have joined us.

Instead of immediately joining my circle of girls, I hang back on the deck. Even though I’ve placed Royce in the friend column, I can’t help but still watch his interaction with Hannah. The two of them are friendly and close, but not touchy feely, not how I would imagine Royce would be with a girlfriend. I’ve had years of half-assed affection from Jack, I guess I dodged a bullet by not pursuing anything with Royce.

Then suddenly, Jen’s screams for Casen break through my stalking moment and all attention is focused on Jen’s panic as she picks up Ryker from the grass. Tears stream down her face as fear paralyzes her. The guys rush to them, Casen leading the pack, and as I get closer, I see what the commotion is about…Ryker is choking. His little eyes are watering from trying to expel whatever is stuck in his throat, and his red face is strained from the lack of oxygen.

Before Casen even has the opportunity do anything for Ryker, Royce grabs him from Jen’s arms. He turns the baby on his arm and pats hard on his back. I cringe watching, idle, useless to help. It feels like forever, but within seconds, Royce pulls him back up and swipes a finger through Ryker’s mouth.

There are gasps all around when Ryker’s cries pierce the silence of the moment. Royce then pulls the baby close and tenderly pats him on the back, whispering to him.

He hands him back to Jen who grabs ahold of him tightly and caresses his little head as she rocks him. He turns to Casen and hands him the small pebble that had been wedged in Ryker’s throat. Everyone’s jaws are hanging open in surprise. This was an extremely tense moment, and the last person anyone expected to save the day was Royce.

Casen shakes his hand. “Thank you, man,” he says. He pauses, looking down at the rock in his hand. “I don’t know what to say,” he stammers, emotion filling his voice. “Thank you.”

“I have a nephew who we lovingly refer to as the vacuum. From the age of six months to eighteen months, if it was on the floor, that kid was putting it in his mouth. My poor sister was constantly scanning the floor for anything he could get his hands on, but it didn’t matter; he would find it and choke on it.” Royce tries to make light of the situation, easing the tension. We all know, though, if he had not acted as fast as he had, this could have ended very badly.