As juniors, Connor and Brody crashed the senior prom, got caught drinking, and were suspended from school. (To their credit, they did not and were not planning to drive.) Later, they were also both suspended for stealing the giant stallion statue from the entrance to the football field and putting it in the principal’s office.

Then there was the incident where Connor and his friends laid down bubble wrap on all the high school floors, but by that time, Brody had dropped out.

It’s actually kind of a miracle Connor graduated, but he managed it.

She smiles. “He and Brody kept things interesting.”

Amanda asks Jill about her boyfriend, a guy named Matt who is on the verge of proposing to her but hasn’t yet. Jill is getting impatient with him.

“Send yourself flowers from another guy,” Amanda advises.

“Does that shit actually work?” Hanna scrunches up her forehead so her eyebrows disappear under her short bangs. That pixie cut is so adorable on her, although I imagine she’d kick my butt if I said so out loud.

“I don’t know if it works.” Amanda tilts her head. “I’ve never tried it. Maybe I should.”

Jill laughs. “I think I just need to be patient. Knowing Matt, he’s waiting for the right moment. One of my rings went missing for a couple of weeks, so that’s a good sign, right?”

“Definitely,” Amanda says.

Jill takes my drink order and asks us what appetizers we want. When she tucks her notebook away, Amanda tells her our fingers are crossed for her and that we want to know as soon as he pops the question.

“Okay,” says Amanda, when she’s gone. “Thing one is, when are you going to do a party for us?”

“Whenever you want me to,” I say. “Pick a date and we’ll do it.”

“Thing number two is, how on earth did you convince Brody to still do the party on his boat once he realized what Real Romance sells?”

I’ve been waiting to give her crap about this. “I can’t believe you knew he didn’t know, and you didn’t tell him.”

It’s Amanda’s turn to get wide-eyed. “Gabe was going to tell him,” she says slowly.

I stare at her. She stares back.

“He didn’t, did he,” she says. It’s not a question.

I shake my head.

We both look at Lucy, who is legitimately irate. “He told me he told Brody!”

Amanda’s mouth is open. “Brothers.” Her voice is thick with disgust.

“Are you surprised?” Hanna crosses her arms. “A Wilder brother had a chance to mess with another Wilder brother, and he took it. It would be much more surprising if Gabe had told Brody and ruined all the fun.”

Amanda rolls her eyes. “So you’re telling me that Brody showed up, not knowing you were going to whip out dildos?”