Page 69 of Rekindle My Heart

Erica bit her lip. “I don’t want to impose.”

“You won’t. I’ll pick you up at five. Dress for dinner and drinks.” Liz’s smile lit the room. She picked up the box and headed to the back. “See you later.”

What had she gotten into? She didn’t go out to parties. She didn’t even really have girlfriends. Not unless you count the online gamer gals.

Gal pals. The concept was almost foreign to her. But then, maybe it was time she enlarged her circle of friends. She shot a glance back at Liz and gave a nod.

“This could be fun.” The words had barely passed her lips, and a vision of the women all huddled around her holding curling irons and mascara wands like weapons flashed in her mind like a PTSD episode. Maybe she should stay home. A slow shudder trickled down her back. Tiny drops of fear had her second-guessing her decision to attend the girly event.

They were all fashionable. Even Detective Larson had a style about her. It was sharp edges like a knife, but it was a fashionable knife. Then she thought about what she had for clothes. This might be the perfect occasion to wear one of the dresses her mother kept buying her.

As she pulled away from the community center, she did a mental rundown. If she did a quick walk for Karma before lunch, she might be able to get in a few hours of work on the files before she got ready for the bachelorette party.

Yeah, she could make it work. She could get ready for her shift in under twenty minutes.

Dress.Shit. That meant shaving her legs. She caught her reflection in the rearview mirror and cringed. Could she get away with her usual mascara only and braid?

The women had exchanged numbers the night of the gala. All she had to do was call Liz and cancel. Tell her she forgot some other plans… Or she was feeling sick… Or aliens had landed on her car.

She pushed the call button on her steering wheel. The screen flashed, waiting for her to give a prompt. She should cancel. She wasn’t equipped to do girly stuff. Not really. That was Sarah’s thing.

Liz’s name was on the tip of her tongue. Her gut tensed. Before she could change her mind, she spoke.

“Call Mom.”