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Chapter One

Maddie

“Crap on a cracker” Those are my first words as I step out ofRetreat

But what I really want to say is—Fuck me

Or better yet, fuuuuuuuuck me, with lots of extra “u” for how very undesirable and uncool it is to see Ja from the pickup truck in front of us

Ja his eyes atto remember how to flirt

But there he is, looking ridiculously handso off his sun-streaked brown hair His reen T-shirt, and his corded forearms exude pure manliness Meanwhile, his sculpted backside practically compels me to drop to my knees and thank God for whoever invented blue jeans

Argh! This is bad So very bad

I’ve been looking forward to this retreat for weeks

I was so excited when I piled into the van with Piper, Shelley, and Dawn thisI could barely contain myself I talked their ears off all the way down to Myrtle Beach, pro to out-hike, out-swi as they swear to lock et the better of me

Most of the tiet a little whiskey in erment But we’ve all been best friends since we h They won’t let ly stupid

They actually encouraged me to let my hair down and to startcelebration ofThey know the past year has been an absolute shit show and agreed I’m overdue for a little footloose and fancy free

Just over a year ago, e, leftthe loss of a friend and partner who loved ht have hoped for—and have only recently eed from my despair pit