Best Laid Plans (The Best Girls 4)

“Well aren’t we just fortunate to have your company tonight?” remarked Josh with heavy sarcasm.

“Yeah!” Derek agreed, oblivious to his tone. “Finished until January. Practice Court was wicked.”

“I bet you could give me a lot of good advice,” said Charlie.

“Absolutely. It’s so lucky we ran into each other tonight.” Josh noted Derek’s gaze drifting downward toward the neck of her dress.

“Hey, buddy!” Josh snarled. “Her eyes are up on her face.”

Derek’s face reddened. “I haven’t done anything wrong. And what business is it of yours? Are you her father?”

“Ignore him, Derek.” Charlie glared at Josh. “He’s just afraid you’re going to make a move on his girl.”

Derek looked confused. “You and Josh?”

“No!” shouted Charlie and Josh in unison.

“Josh is in love with Olivia,” said Charlie, with an emphatic nod in her direction.

“Hey man, I’m not trying to take Olivia away from you,” said Derek.

“I wouldn’t worry about it if you were trying,” Venom spewed from Josh’s lips. “I just think you need to keep your eyes where they belong.”

Olivia sported a smug smile, while Spencer and Emily gaped in shock.

“Josh. You really should learn to control your temper,” Olivia said. “You aren’t very good at hiding your true feelings.” She gave him a wink.

“I’m not trying to hide my true feelings. You know my feelings for you. You know what you mean to me, sweetheart. You know exactly how important you are to my life.” He hoped he was getting his point across to her. “I couldn’t possibly make it without you.”

“Now, darling,” she said, batting her wide eyes. “I think we both know that’s not exactly true. But we’ll talk about it later. Right now I just want to hear what Derek has planned for his Christmas break.”

Derek pulled on his collar. “Uhmm... nothing special, really.”

“Maybe we could meet up again,” Olivia suggested.

“Olivia.” Josh tried to control his ire, even as he felt the blood pulsing in his head. “I think we’re going to be quite busy. Perhaps you’ve forgotten about... about our appointments.” His voice took on a pleading tone. “We are still in this together, aren’t we?”

Olivia patted his hand and gave him a sweet smile. “Don’t fret so much. You’ve got to learn to trust me.”

Charlie and Emily exchanged a bewildered look. But Spencer rose up from the table, saying, “Well, it’s time to get Olivia home so she can get some rest.”

“Why me? Why aren’t you worried about Hannah getting rest?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” asked Spencer.

“Yes, I do.” As Olivia spoke, she crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “You’ve been acting so weird. What on earth is wrong with you? And since when do you think you have a say in what I drink or what time I go to bed at night. You’re worse than Grace.”

“Well, you don’t seem to know how to take care of yourself.”

“Spencer,” Emily warned.

“What? She should know better. There’s no excuse. She was drinking alcohol tonight.”

“I can legally drink alcohol, and I only had one rum and coke,” Olivia retorted. “And I’m not on call tonight, and I’m not driving.”

“That’s fine for you,” declared Spencer, as the muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched. “But what about the baby?”

The silence was deafening.