“Well, I don’t want you to get your hopes up, Harlow. I’m broken. And I don’t anticipate being fixed anytime soon. And I sure as hell don’t expect Blake Morgan to be my cure. Nor do I want him to be. I’m comfortable where I am in my life,” I say walking into my office. “I don’t want to hear anything else about Blake Morgan. Ever!” I shout at Harlow, slamming my door.

I swear I hear her laughing, but I choose to not acknowledge it. I sit down at my desk and look at my phone. Shit, he left a voice mail.

After staring at my phone for five minutes, I delete the message without even listening to it. There’s nothing Blake has to say that I want to hear. Now or ever.

Well…it seems my gut feeling was spot on, as usual, about Harlow and her new potential man, Trace. He calls while I’m deleting my unheard message from Blake. Harlow excitedly rushes into my office and demands that I accompany her on Friday to meet Trace. He got the job with Synergy and wants to meet for drinks to celebrate. Evidently this is some kind of girl code I’m unaware of….number one, because I haven’t been on the dating scene in a ridiculously long time. And two, because Harlow never bothers to “date” anyone.

Very interesting.

I accept because, while I do love Harlow, I really just need a good girl’s night out. So, if nothing else, it will be an enjoyable evening with my friend. With a little bit of Trace thrown in...

Friday “day” comes and goes, and now I find myself in my bathroom, putting make-up on with my mother-in-law Nancy, aka the babysitter – also aka Derek’s mother, sitting on the bathtub behind me discussing the schedule for this evening.

“We’re meeting Trace at George’s Bar at seven. After that, I have no idea.” I chuckle as I look at Nancy in the mirror. “You have met Harlow right?”

Smiling back, Nancy nods her head. “Yes, I have. I’ll stay however long you need me. Actually, I’ll probably just take the girls to my house for the night so there’s no need to hurry back. You girls enjoy your evening. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be just fine.”

After a few second of silence, Nancy speaks again. “I heard Blake Morgan’s in town.”

“What? Blake Morgan?” I ask innocently. Seriously, is there a Blake Morgan convention going on that I don’t know about? “Yeah, I ran into him earlier this week. How do you know Blake?”

“Alex, he and Derek were friends, don’t you remember? He used to come over to our house with Derek after the football games. Very sweet boy as I remember,” she says as though lost in a memory.

“Yeah, well he may have been sweet, but Derek was the only one for me. You know that. I didn’t really notice anyone else in high school. I don’t really think he would have appreciated that much.”

I shoot her a smug smile. I really don’t want to get into this with her before my much needed girls’ night.

“I know. I was just thinking that maybe –”

“Um, no. Don’t start. I’ve already gone into this with Harlow and I don’t feel like rehashing it with you. I’m still in love with Derek, Nancy. It wouldn’t be fair to start something with someone else. I would think that you, especially, would appreciate that.” I apply the second coat of mascara to my lashes.

Leaning forward and placing both hands on the counter, I will myself to meet her eyes in the mirror. I’m so sick and tired of this conversation.

She shakes her head disapprovingly. “It’s not about me, dear. It’s about you. It’s about how you’re choosing to live out the remainder of your own life. I still love Derek too, honey. But honestly, Alex, my son loved you more than anything. And I know that he would not have wanted this life for you. Just because you move on with someone else doesn’t mean you love him any less, sweetheart. Your happiness was the most important thing to him and he would be heartbroken to see you living this shell of a life you are living now.”

Well, shit. Use of the Derek guilt card by one Nancy Meyer.

“Nancy, I’m not ready. When I am, I’ll be sure to let everyone know, since my love life has become everyone’s favorite past time and talking point. Until then, I don’t want to hear anymore about it. And I don’t want to hear any more about Blake. I wasn’t interested in him then and I’m not interested in him now. Actually, I would’ve preferred that he’d never come back here, honestly. Just thinking about him makes me angry and I think it’s better that we don’t discuss him right now. Okay?” Nancy drops her eyes to the floor.

“Alright, sweetie. In your own time I guess. But just keep in mind what I said. It’s okay for you to let go, when you’re ready,” she replies.

I soften my voice and walk over to where she’s sitting. She stands up and I take her hand gently into mine.

“Nancy, I don’t mean to be short with you. It’s just been a rough couple of days. I’m really sorry. I love you, you know that don’t you?”

Bringing me into a tight embrace, she quietly says, “Yes, dear, and I love you as though you’re my own daughter.” She steps back and gives me a once over. “You look beautiful, Alex. You really do. You just go have fun tonight, and forget all this grown up stuff for a while. You deserve the break.” She gives me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving me alone to finish getting ready.

Ten minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. “Girls! Go get the door, please. It’s Harlow.”

“Yay, Harlow!” they all scream in unison.

Before I leave my bathroom, I take note of my appearance in the mirror. Hair down, naturally wavy and kind of messy, but cute. Silky champagne colored halter top…very simple but tight in all the right places. Black short shorts, a must for girls’ night. And my favorite six inch T-strap champagne heels. Being 5’1”, high heeled shoes are my weakness. I never have to worry about being too tall, so the higher the better. Plus, they make my legs look fantastic. Not that I’m trying to pick anyone up, but it’s always nice to just feel sexy and with three kids, feeling sexy is something that doesn’t happen too often.

Putting in my silver chandelier earrings, I take one last look, nod to myself in approval, and turn off the light.

Standing in front of the bar, Harlow runs her hands down the front of her outfit smoothing the non-existent wrinkles. “Do I look okay, Alex? I’m kind of nervous,” she giggles.

I look at my best friend with her red curly hair flowing down to the middle of her back. She looks amazing. She’s wearing a pale pink off the shoulder dress, which goes perfectly with her complexion, that hits her about three inches above her knees. It fits her like a glove. It’s definitely tighter than my halter top. With her “hippie” wedge heels to round out the outfit, the kind with the tweed bottom, she looks absolutely beautiful. I’m pretty sure the nervous flush in her cheeks also adds to her beauty factor.

“You look gorgeous, Harlow. Trace is gonna pee himself when he sees you!” We giggle a little too loudly in the parking lot.

With a wicked smile playing on her lips, she replies. “Well, I hope not. Incontinence isn’t really my forte.”

God, I love this girl.

Once we finalize our appearances, we open the door and enter the bar. I yell to Harlow over the loud music coming from the deck. “How long has it been since we’ve been out here? It seems like forever!”

“It’s been too long that’s for sure! Let’s grab some beers and then make the rounds to look for Trace,” she yells back.

I nod my head and we make our way to the bar. Grabbing our beers we find an empty table, set our purses down and take our seats.

“Do you see him, Harlow?”

I watch her eyes move around the crowd. “No. Not yet. He should be here by now, though. Let me go check the other part of the bar. I’ll be back. You stay here and guard the table.”