Like some kind of turret gun, Gabe’s attention, which had been on Easton, swivels to me. He strides across the room and, when I refuse to hand him Lucy’s phone because lit firecracker, takes out his own and starts scrolling.

Lucy is ecstatic. “There are so many amazing lines from here we can use!” she says. “I’m going to do a whole campaign around this. Seriously. How many of these parties can Rachel do? Find out. Really. We can fill them all.” She smiles at me. “You’re a super genius!”

I realize that Lucy knew what Rachel was selling. Lucy knew, which means Amanda knew, which means she stood there and let me have that conversation with Rachel at Gabe’s party and didn’t try to stop me.

I’m going to kill her.

“It was Connor’s idea,” I say, because I hate taking credit for other people’s shit. “And Amanda’s, too, I guess.”

“I appreciate your shout out,” Lucy says, “but you still get to take credit for recognizing a brilliant idea when someone brings it to you. You’re the business owner.”

Lucy has a way of making everyone feel great about what they’re doing, which is one of the many reasons it’s impossible not to love her, despite the havoc she’s wreaked. Plus, obviously, she’s a great complement to Gabe, since heaping praise on us is not one of his strong points.

I start to say I didn’t know the merchandise was sex toys when I agreed to host the parties, but I decide to shut the fuck up. After all, I did agree to let Rachel and her mom sell stuff I knew women loved. So maybe Lucy’s right. Maybe I deserve some of the credit.

If we’re giving credit, that is, which I’m pretty sure Gabe won’t be doing. Sure enough, when I look up, Gabe has an eyebrow raised. “Sex toys, huh?”

“Yeah,” I say, in a you-want-to-make-something-of-it? tone.

“Congratulations on the good reviews.”

I know him too well to get excited about the compliment. Plus, he’s still frowning.

“But a few good reviews are not a business model.”

And here we go.

“I have a lot of questions.”

“I’m sure you do,” I mutter.

“Is this sustainable? Can you keep bringing in attendees, or will the market get saturated? What if Rachel or her mother decide parties on boats don’t work for their business, then what? Can you convert these customers into ones who’ll pay for other experiences?”

“Gabe,” Lucy says.

“You know these are real questions,” he tells her, in a way gentler tone. “Along with, will there be some customers who don’t like the fact that we’re peddling sex toys?”