I took a deep breath, leaning against the counter. Everything Eric said was right. Per usual. Eric always had the read on people and knew someone’s intentions before they even shared introductions. He’d called out Franky from the moment I brought him around, saying that there was an off-putting energy around him. I ignored the warnings and red flags so that I could dive headfirst into a messy yearlong relationship instead that left me with some heavy-duty emotional scars and a heaping of shitty memories. From being cheated on (multiple times) to being left stranded in Cabo after an explosive argument on vacation, I didn’t really have much to fondly look back on.

But I had stayed with him. The brief moments of bliss I experienced with him were enough to keep me coming back for more. That trip to Cabo started with him renting out an entire villa for the two of us, the outdoor bathtub already full and covered in rose petals when we arrived, my name spelled out in ruby-red petals on the floor.

Little did I know he had a similar setup two streets down for the other guy he was flying in that same day.

“You’re going to find your prince,” Eric said, hand falling onto my shoulder. He smiled, dazzling me with that trademark grin of his.

“I’m fine with a duke. Hell, I’ll even take a viscount. A court jester? Who-the-fuck-ever, so long as they have a penis and a pulse.”

Eric snorted, shaking his head. “We gotta work on your standards.”

“Yeah, clearly,” I replied, laughing with Eric as I opened the fridge to grab the most important ingredients for a successful book club meeting: the wine… shit. Where was the wine? I moved aside the half-drank milk carton on the brink of expiring, hoping bottles of chardonnay would magically appear in between an empty bottle of orange juice and a stack of peach yogurts.

None did.

“Fack,” I said, closing the fridge. “I’m out of wine.”

“Want me to text Yvette or Jess? See if they can grab some on their way here?”

“No, that’s fine. I’ll run over to the grocery store real quick.” I grabbed my keys from the crystal bowl on the counter and slipped on a pair of sandals. Tristan looked up from his phone, arching a recently plucked and shaped brow.

“Aren’t we starting soon?” he asked.

“I’m just grabbing some wine real quick. I’ll be back. If the girls get here before me, you all can start.”