“It’s a classic case of empty nest syndrome.”

Remi frowned at her best friend. “How can it be empty nest syndrome when I’m not even a parent?”

Delise waved a hand. “It’s the same thing. You’ve been raising those two kids for the last five years. No, actually you’ve been raising those kids since they were born. Your parents were hardly ever around. So it totally makes sense that you would feel depressed now that they’ve moved out.”

“I’m not depressed.” Remi slumped lower into the soft cushions of her couch.

Delise laughed and patted Remi’s knee. “Yes, you are. And you’re making the rest of us miserable too. Emily told us you stopped by her place to make sure she was okay the other day and interrupted her and Caleb…”

Remi pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. “She was sick.”

“That was a week ago.”

“I was worried about her.”

“She’s an adult.”

Remi regarded her friend glumly. “I know.”

“You just want someone to take care of. I know, hon. And you can’t keep dropping in on Jasmine and Ethan.”

Remi’s stomach tightened. “I’ve only visited them a few times.”

“She just moved out a couple of weeks ago.”

“You know I’m worried about her. I think she’s making a big mistake moving in with Ethan.” Remi pressed a hand to her fluttery stomach.

“She’s a big girl. She has to make her own mistakes.”

“I know, but…”

“I know what you think of her jerk-off boyfriend,” Delise said. “But she loves him. If they want to live together, fine. She’s twenty-one years old.”

Remi nodded. “But…”

“You’re just such a mother hen, you can’t help but worry about them.” Delise patted Remi’s knee again and Remi scowled. Was she being that much of a pain in the butt to her friends?

Sure, she’d been a little bit at loose ends since her brother and sister had moved out. Kyle had started college this year and Jasmine had just moved in with her boyfriend. She just had to adjust to things. Then she sighed. The truth was, she did feel lost and alone. Her whole life had been looking after her younger siblings and without them there always needing something, she almost felt like she didn’t really exist anymore. But she’d been trying to keep busy with work and after-school projects and…pestering her friends. She gave Delise a crooked smile. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize! We love you. We just hate seeing you so blue. Someday you’re going to be a great mother.”

Yeah, right. With no man in her life, motherhood seemed a sadly farfetched dream.

“But right now,” Delise continued, “you’re young and single and now totally free. You should be out having fun!”

“Sure.”

Delise grinned and stood. “Which is why we’re all going out tonight. You, me, Emily and Sarah.”

“We are?”

“We are. And I brought over something to get us started.” She walked out of the living room and Remi rose too and trailed her friend into the kitchen. Delise opened the refrigerator with easy familiarity and pulled out a bottle of champagne.

Remi’s eyes widened. “Where did that come from?”

Delise grinned, eyes dancing behind her funky eyeglasses. “I sneaked it in.” She peeled away foil and untwisted the wire cage, then pointed the bottle away from Remi as she eased the cork out. A satisfying pop and a wisp of smoke and the champagne fizzed out. “It’s time to celebrate, girl! You can finally have a life of your own! Glasses?”

Remi blinked, then moved automatically to the cupboard where the champagne flutes were. Champagne? What was she celebrating? Her little brother was barely making it through his freshman year of college and her younger sister had just moved in with a man she’d suspected more than once of cheating on her. Remi was pretty sure he had. The scumbag.

“I don’t exactly feel like celebrating,” she said glumly as she held out the glasses.

“Oh, come on! I know you’re worried about Jasmine, but you have to let go! You just need to change your attitude!”

“I’m living alone for the first time in my life.” It hit her then that she did in fact live alone. All alone. No more kids to worry about, to bail out of scrapes, to sacrifice sleep and money and a life of her own for.

Well, until they came running back out of money, broken-hearted or in trouble of some kind.

“But that can be a good thing! Just think—you’re free now to do whatever you want! Whenever you want.” Delise poured champagne carelessly and it frothed over the top and ran over Remi’s fingers in cold, foamy rivulets.

Delise was right. She did need to let go. But she couldn’t get rid of the worry that Jasmine was going to get hurt or that Kyle was going to flunk out of college and spend the rest of his life working at Burger King.

“I’ll try,” she said and clinked her glass against Delise’s. The sparkling bubbles nipped at Remi’s nose and throat as she drank and she laughed.

“So. Where should we go tonight?” Delise picked up the bottle to refill the glasses.

“I don’t know.” It had been a while since she’d been out with her girlfriends. A long while.

“We’ll go to Rouge,” Delise said, answering her own question. “It’s the hottest, most happening place in town. And you’re going to find the best-looking guy there, pick him up and bring him home for head-banging, screaming sex. And it won’t matter—because you live alone now!”

Remi laughed at the outrageous plans. Like that’d ever happen! But she supposed she was willing to go out. It would probably be good for her, to keep the worry about Kyle’s marks and Jasmine’s cheating boyfriend at bay.

“Okay!” She forced a smile, drained her glass and held it out for more.

“I’ll call Emily and Sarah and tell them where we’re going. They said they’d meet us there.”

“Wow. You guys have this all planned.”

Delise shrugged, mouth curved into a smug smile. She tossed her long, spirally auburn hair back over her shoulder. “I had to. If I left it up to you, you’d stay home marking papers or something. On a Saturday night!”

Remi grimaced. Yeah, that was usually what she did on Saturday nights. Or pretty much any night lately. “You’re so right,” she said with a sigh. “My life is boring. I need to have some fun.”

“True that.” Delise toasted her again. “Let’s go find your sexiest outfit for you to wear tonight.”

“Uh. That might be a problem. I don’t exactly have a sexy wardrobe.”

“Hmm.” Delise tapped her index finger against her lips. “Okay, then—let’s go shopping!”

“I can’t go shopping!” Remi glanced at her watch. “It’s nearly dinner time…”

“Remi. You don’t have to cook dinner for anyone. Time doesn’t matter. The stores are open for two more hours. Let’s go!”

Remi stared at her friend, fighting her reflexive resistance to anything spontaneous and carefree. A lifetime of being responsible, of being the dependable older sister, the mature, reliable one everyone counted on, had worn grooves in her that were too deep to disappear in an hour. A day. Maybe ever!

She drew in a long deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Okay. Let’s go shopping.”

Pulsing techno music wrapped around Remi and Delise as they descended a long red-carpeted staircase into the dark nightclub. Ornate lanterns on red walls provided discreet light and mirrored columns reflected it back around the room, creating light and shadow, glitter and darkness. Remi and Delise walked into the front area of the club where well-dressed patrons crowded around a long glass and stainless-steel bar. Emily and Sarah waved from a small table near the back, which led to a second level where more gorgeous people lounged on red leather banquettes.

When Sarah looked up at Remi, her jaw went slack. “Remi! Holy cow!”