She wasn’t one of Cassidy’s “women.” She was a simple yard girl who barely knew which fork to use at dinner. She rolled her eyes. Okay, so that was an exaggeration but still…as she’d told Cassidy last weekend, she wasn’t sophisticated, she wasn’t worldly. She ran in a whole different circle from the women—and friends—that Cassidy surrounded herself with. Laura simply didn’t fit in. She didn’t want to fit in.

So, in order to maintain the friendship she and Cassidy had between them, she would dismiss this silly attraction—for both of them—and hopefully, it would go away—for both of them.

She stood now on the patio, the plate of deviled eggs in her hand. Should she go over already? She could hear voices at the pool, but if Cassidy’s company had just gotten there, should she wait a respectable amount of time before joining them. What was a respectable amount of time?

“You’re being ridiculous,” she murmured.

She stepped off the patio, then paused. What if she was dressed wrong? Was walking over in her swimsuit and a cover-up too little? She had her bag over her shoulder with dry clothes for later…should she wear them now and change into the swimsuit later?

“Hey…you out there?”

She smiled at the fence. “Yes.”

“Well, come on over already.”

She walked closer to the fence. “I don’t know if I’m dressed properly.”

She heard Cassidy walk closer too. “I’m in a swimsuit, shorts, and flip-flops.”

“Bikini?” she asked hopefully, the question out before she could stop it.

A pause. “No,” she said slowly. “Would you like me to be in one?”

Damn. Laura cleared her throat. “Never mind. I’ll be right over.”

She heard Cassidy’s quiet laugh as she turned away.

“Idiot!” she muttered as she rolled her eyes. Yeah, she was doing a great job of pushing her attraction away. A great job.

When she walked around the back to the pool, Cassidy was chatting with an attractive dark-haired man, so she went directly to the outdoor kitchen and fridge, putting her eggs inside.

“You must be Laura.”

She turned, finding a petite woman with sandy brown hair coming out of the house. Laura nodded. “Yes, Laura Fry.”

The woman held her hand out with a smile. “I’m Tanya Grayson. Good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Laura’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”

Tanya smiled. “All good, I assure you. I’m Cassidy’s assistant, but we’re also friends.” She motioned to where Cassidy was. “That’s my husband, Derrick. Cassidy actually introduced us. She knew Derrick from college.”

“Oh, so you go way back then.”

“Yes, twenty years or more. We’ve been married seventeen.” She leaned closer. “Cassidy was in our wedding, if you can picture that.”

Laura laughed. “Bridesmaid dress? Oh, I’ve got to see a picture of that.”