“Six inches would do me just right,” Mrs. Winslow said wistfully. “I wouldn’t know what to do with seven or eight.”

Try nine, Pru thought and clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from saying it out loud.

“Something you want to share with the class?” Haley asked.

Most definitely not, but the vultures had the scent of roadkill and were circling.

“Oh, she’ll talk,” Elle said, staring into Pru’s eyes. “She’ll talk over a loaded pie and a bottle of wine. Girls, let’s hit it.”

And she walked off.

“She’s so badass,” Willa whispered, staring after her. “I mean look at that dress. She’s badass, kickass, and she has a great ass. It’s really not fair.”

“I can hear you,” Elle called out over her shoulder without looking back. She snapped her fingers. “Put it in gear.”

And Pru, Haley, and Willa followed after her like puppies on a leash.

Chapter 24

#SuitUp

Pru had no idea how Elle did it, but by the time they got to the street, there was an Uber ride waiting on them.

“Lefty’s Pizza,” Elle said to the driver.

“I thought you were on a diet,” Haley said, climbing into the car.

“Some days you eat salads and go to the gym,” Elle said. “And some days you eat pizza and wear yoga pants. It’s called balance.”

“I always eat pizza and wear yoga pants,” Willa said. She gasped. “Does that make me unbalanced?”

“No, actually, it makes you smarter than me,” Elle said with a small smile.

Willa sighed. “Or maybe I’ve just given up on men.”

“That’s only because you dated a few frogs,” Elle said.

“That’s an extremely nice way of saying that I’m a loser magnet. And I couldn’t get rid of that one frog either. I still owe Archer for stepping in and pretending to be my boyfriend so he’d back off.”

“That’s not why he backed off,” Elle said. “He backed off because Archer threatened to castrate him if he contacted you again.”

Willa gaped. “He did? I was wondering at how easy he made it look.”

“And you can make it look easy too,” Elle told her. “Next time you want to lose a guy, just tell them ‘I love you, I want to marry you, and I want children right away.’ They’ll run so fast they’ll leave skid marks.”

Willa snorted. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Thirty minutes later they were in a booth, one bottle of wine down, another ready to go, and a large pizza on its way to being demolished. Pru’s stomach hurt, but that hadn’t slowed her down any.

Willa pulled a book from her purse. “Have either of you been to that new used bookstore down the street from our building?”

“I download my books right to my phone,” Elle said. “That way I can read while pretending to listen in on meetings.”

“Your boss doesn’t mind?” Pru asked.

“My boss knows everything,” Elle said. “And one of the things he also knows is that me doing my thing allows him to do his thing.”

Made sense.

“Plus, I know where the bodies are hidden,” she said. Probably she was kidding.

“Well, I like the feel of a book in my hand,” Willa said and looked at Pru.

“I go both ways,” Pru said and then blushed when they all laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“I do,” Willa said and handed her the book. “Which is why I bought this for you.”

Pru eyed the title and choked on a bite of pizza. Willa had to pound her on the back while Pru sucked a bunch of wine down to try and appease her burning throat. No go. “Orgasms For One?” she finally managed.

Willa nodded.

“Um . . . thank you?”

“I bought it after you told us that you hadn’t dated in a while but before I heard about the dumbwaiter, so . . .”

Pru sighed. “So everyone knows about the dumbwaiter.”

“Little bit,” Haley said. “What we don’t know are the deets.”

Elle pointed at Pru. “You. Finn. Go.”

“It’s . . . a long story.”

“I love long stories,” Willa said.

Elle just arched a brow. She didn’t like to be kept waiting.

“Might as well start talking,” Haley told Pru. “She’ll get her way eventually, she always does. I’ve found it’s best to give in earlier than later. Besides, I’m tired.” She accompanied this statement with a wide yawn.