Ed grinned back. “How about for you two troublemakers?” he winked at Gia and Joey.
Joey looked at Gia. “Well, Ed, my friend and I are in the market for something strong and mean.”
Ed ranged his long frame over the bar and winked. “I got just the thing.”
A minute later he passed a sexy looking martini to Julia and slid two rocks glasses full of something dangerous looking in front of Gia and Joey.
Gia picked hers up and sniffed it. The fumes were startlingly strong.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ed warned her. “These are Ed’s Erasers. Won me back-to-back awards at the Bartenders Beat Down in 2012 and 2013.”
“To Summer,” Gia announced, holding up her glass.
“To me.” Summer held up a greasy slice of cheese quesadilla.
They toasted their friend with spirit. The eraser burned on the way down and Gia liked it.
“Another one,” she gasped when she set the glass down.
“You got it, Red.” Gia flinched on the inside when Ed used Beckett’s nickname for her.
Summer squealed from two barstools down. She held up her phone. “It’s Niko! He’ll be here on Wednesday. Which means, Gia, he’ll want to shoot your yoga piece on Friday. I can art direct —”
Gia, bit her lip. “Summer, do you really want to art direct an all-day photo shoot the day after you get married?”
Summer’s face softened. She grinned dreamily. “You guys, I’m getting married!”
“You are getting married and having babies,” Gia corrected her.
“I really hit the jackpot, didn’t I?” she asked, stroking her belly.
The goofy grin on her friend’s face teased a smile out of Gia. “To Mrs. Pierce,” Gia said, holding up her fresh eraser.
“To Mrs. Pierce,” they echoed.
After two erasers, Gia decided to play it safe and switch to beer. She already felt kind of floaty.
“So spill,” Joey ordered. “What’s got you spitting fire all night?”
“Beckett Pierce.” Gia spat his name out like it was poison. She missed the look Joey shot Summer. “Not only did he break up with me and tell me to go back to my irresponsible ex-husband, but I walk in there tonight to drop Evan off and my dad —”
She stopped and looked around. “Look, I know that gossip is the lifeblood of this town, but is there any way we can never discuss what I’m about to tell you in case Beckett didn’t ruin it already and it actually happens?”
Julia frowned. “I think the Current Silence to Protect Future Events Code works here.”
“Perfect!” Gia said, slicing her finger wildly through the air. “So per the Current Silence uh … that code that Julia said, no one can say anything in case Beckett wasn’t an asshole and didn’t tell my dad he couldn’t propose to Phoebe.”
“Franklin’s going to propose?” Summer gasped.
“I don’t know! He had a ring and he was talking to Beckett and Beckett looked like he was staring into the abyss or something.” She mimicked his expression.
“We are so doing this again after the twins,” Summer announced, sipping her cranberry juice.
“So why was Franklin showing Beckett the ring?” Joey asked.
“My dad’s old-fashioned. He was probably asking them for their permission. Which, who knows if Beckett will give since he’s an ass!”
She punctuated the word by setting her beer bottle down hard.
“Oh, boy,” Joey said.
“Oh, boy is right,” Gia said, poking her friend in the shoulder. “What’s wrong with that guy, anyway?”
“Beckett’s a great guy,” Summer started.
“No! Don’t you do that, too,” Gia pouted. “All week everyone in town is ‘Oh, Beckett is the best ever and everything and we love him.’ No one cares that he sucks. He dumped me, he dumped my kids, and told me to get back with Paul I-sleep-around-and-don’t-remember-my-kids’-birthdays Decker.”
“Can we get a water over here, Ed?” Joey asked.
“Yeah, a water so I can throw it in Beckett’s dumb face,” Gia agreed. “Why’s his face all bruised, anyway?” she asked no one in particular. She’d noticed all three of the brothers had been sporting bruises and cuts tonight.
“We aren’t talking about that,” Summer said with uncustomary ire. “Those idiots are going to be wearing layers of makeup for the wedding pictures.”
“What if — and I’m just spit-balling here —” Julia said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “What if he realized he was an idiot and was really sorry?”
Gia frowned. “That would be moderately better.”
“And what if he gave you a really great apology?” Summer suggested.
Gia shook her head. “Oh no. I’ve heard too many apologies in my time. ‘I’m sorry’ means shit — sorry, crap — to me. It’s not the words that are important, it’s the actions. Beckett can say he’s sorry until he’s blue in his sexy, stupid face, but until he starts acting like a human being toward my dad, I don’t have time to listen to any I’m sorries.”
Summer, Julia, and Joey shared a long look.
34