Sweet Little Lies Part 27

"You can't just burn them out here!" Willa said. "Right, Pru?"

But Pru was feeling distracted. "I need food," she said. "Chips, cookies, cakes, and pies."

"And pizza," Willa said. "And chips."

"I already said chips."

"Double the chips!" Willa yelled to the courtyard like she was placing an order with an invisible waitress.

Pru laughed at her. "I'm not high as a kite. You are."

"No, you are."

"No," Pru said, poking Willa in the arm. "You are."

"You both are." This was from Archer, who'd appeared in front of them.

"Whoa," Willa said. "The police are here. Run!"

Archer reached out and snagged her hand to keep her at his side. Frowning down at her, he then turned and eyeballed Pru.

She did her best to look innocent even though she felt very guilty. Why, she had no idea.

"s.h.i.t," he said in disgust to Eddie. "You got them both stoned out of their minds. What the h.e.l.l did I tell you an hour ago?"

"You said you'd arrest me if I didn't put out the fire. I'm working on it. It's almost out, dude."

A muscle in Archer's jaw bunched. Willa set her head on his shoulder and looked up at him with a dreamy smile. "Elle's right," she murmured, batting her lashes. "You do look really hot when you're all worked up."

"I'm not worked up-" He broke off and slid her a speculative look. "Elle thinks I'm hot?"

"When you're worked up. When you're not, she thinks you're a stick in the mud."

Archer shook his head and pulled out his phone. "Elle, your girls need you in the courtyard. Now." He slid both Pru and Willa a long look and added, "You're going to want to feed them. Oh, and Elle? Remind me that we have something to discuss."

Willa smacked him. "You can't tell her that I told you that she thinks you're hot!" she hissed.

Archer lifted a finger in her direction and listened to something Elle said. He let out a rare smile. "Yes, that was Willa."

Willa smacked her own forehead. "She's gonna kill me."

Archer disconnected with Elle and pointed at them. "Don't either of you move until she comes and gets you. You hear me?"

"Hear you," Pru said, eyes locked on the pub. The doors were open to the street and the courtyard. The place was full and spilling out sounds of music and laughter.

Behind the bar, Sean and Finn were elbow to elbow, working hard. Finn was shaking a mixer and laughing at something a woman at the bar was saying to him.

Elle appeared in a siren red sheath dress that screamed serious business. Her black heels echoed the statement. "What's going on?" she demanded, hands on hips. "Archer pulled me out of a meeting with the building's board-"

"Was the owner there?" Willa asked. She looked at Pru. "None of us have ever met the owner. He's exclusive."

"Elusive," Elle corrected, narrowing her eyes on each of them, and then Eddie.

Who unlike when he'd been dealing with Archer, actually sunk in on himself a little, seemingly sheepish. "I didn't realize," he said.

"Oh for G.o.d's sake." Elle took a deep breath and looked a little less uptight. She took another and sighed. "I need pizza."

"Right?" Willa said, grinning.

"Count me in." This was Haley, who arrived from the elevator in her white doctor's coat, looking quite official.

"You're still doctoring," Willa said.

"Nope," Haley said, pulling off her lab coat. "The smoke and commotion drew me down here but I'm done for the day, thankfully. It was a busy one."

"Spence come in for gla.s.ses yet?" Elle asked.

Haley bit her lower lip. "I saw him, yes."

"And?" Elle asked. "His eyesight is bad, right?"

"I'm sorry, I can't say," Haley said. "Or HIPAA would drag me away in chains. He'll have to tell you himself."

Elle stared into her eyes and then smiled. "Yeah, he got gla.s.ses."

"d.a.m.n," Haley said. "I hate when you do that."

"She reads minds," Willa told Pru.

"Like magic?" Pru asked, awed.

"Not magic," Elle said. "You all just wear your every single thought on your sleeves."

"Oh, look at you, dear," Mrs. Winslow said to Pru, coming up to her with a wide smile. "You look amazing."

"Uh . . ." Pru looked down at herself. She was still in her usual work uniform of a stretchy white b.u.t.ton-down and navy trousers and boots. "Thanks?"

"Must be all the s.e.xual activity with Finn," the older woman said. "Intercourse does wonders for your skin."

Looking shocked, Willa nearly swallowed her tongue. She turned to Elle, who shrugged.

"You knew?" Willa asked.

"When are you going to get it? I always know," Elle said.

Pru admired a woman who always had the answers. She really hoped Elle shared some of them because she could really use a few right about now.

"Burgers and hot dogs!" a guy yelled walking through the courtyard. It was Jay. He owned the food truck that usually sat out front, but now he had a tray strapped on him and was making sales left and right like he was going up and down the rows at a baseball stadium. "I've got beef burgers and six inches of prime sausages here! Get 'em while they're hot!"

"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 cla.s.s?" 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. .h.i.t it."

And she walked off.

"She's so bada.s.s," Willa whispered, staring after her. "I mean look at that dress. She's bada.s.s, kicka.s.s, and she has a great a.s.s. 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 t.i.tle 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. "o.r.g.a.s.ms 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.

Pru rubbed her aching stomach. She was starting to feel sick. "Maybe we should postpone this for another day. When I haven't eaten my weight in pizza."

Elle didn't break eye contact with her. She didn't budge a muscle, not even to blink.