“No, but we had nothing better to do today and whatever is going on between you and Jake has obviously gotten more interesting,” Hilary said, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. She was sitting cross-legged and currently pulling her honey-blonde hair to the back of her head so she could reform the messy bun she was keeping it in.

Lexie nodded, smirking at Sharon. Her gaze was a little heavier than the others - which wasn’t surprising since they were talking about her family. She was obviously going to have a more vested interest than the others. “There’s no way my brother is taking you to a wedding out of the goodness of his heart or to keep you from ‘having to ask’ your ex. A month ago, he wouldn’t have cared about any of that... so what changed? And when?”

Stubbornly, Sharon just took a swig of her drink rather than answering.

“He did get all weird about her talking to Kincaid last week,” Maria pointed out, looking around at everyone else.

“Plus chased her out to her car to ‘apologize’ and then didn’t come back,” Kate murmured.

Jessica smirked and eyed Sharon thoughtfully. “Must have been some apology.”

Despite herself, Sharon felt a little blush rise in her cheeks.

“Oh! Oh! Bingo! She’s blushing!” Kate poked her in the side. On the computer screen, both Angel and Leigh were leaning forward, as though trying to see the pink.

“Stop it,” Sharon said, batting Kate’s hand away and leaning into Ellie to get away from the pokey-finger. “You all are making a big deal out of nothing, and it’s just weird being the center of everyone’s attention. That’s all.”

“So, nothing has been going on between you and Jake? And that’s why you both left Stronghold at the same time last weekend, and last night, and he insisted you take him instead of Brian to your cousin’s wedding?” Kate asked in disbelief, clearly not buying a word of it.

Sharon rolled her eyes, trying to think of something that sounded more believable than the total bullshit Jake had been shoveling last night.

“I don’t know if you all have noticed, but we’re kind of the only two single people left in this group of friends,” she said dryly. “We’ve ended up talking to each other a little more because of that. Obviously, he’s finally started to realize how freaking awesome I am and so we’re getting along better. It was nice of him to offer to come to the wedding so I that didn’t have to show up with an ex and face all the awkward questions that come with that.”

“As opposed to all the awkward questions now?” Leigh asked, making Angel snort with laughter and Kate’s living room fill with giggles.

“New Year’s Eve.” Olivia’s voice cut through the laughter.