suggested. “It’s only nine and...”
Her cautious words were drowned out by Felicia shouting, “Shots!” at the bar. Gabriela looked up to see a row of tequila shots—one for each bachelorette partygoer at the mahogany bar.
“Time for this mama to get her groove on,” Veronica joked and then headed to the bar.
“You coming?” Lola glanced at Gabriela, who hesitated. Lola shot Gabriela a sharp glance. “I know you don’t act like this in New York.”
“We’re not in New York,” Gabriela muttered. “And...you promised not to...”
“I’m not going to tell anybody what I know,” Lola said. “Not that they’d care. They might even like you more. And you know Veronica. She just had her second baby, so she’s looking to live vicariously.”
“Yeah,” Gabriela sighed as she looked at Felicia offering up her chest for a body shot for the tanned, hunky bartender. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Lola squeezed her hand. “If you want me to talk to Felicia, I will. I know she’s kind of crazy, but you know she’s been through a lot...what with her divorce...”
“Which was completely her fault.” What did she expect, sleeping with her brother-in-law?
“Yes, but...come on. We all make mistakes.” Lola gave her the wounded puppy dog look and Gabriela inwardly felt herself melting. Lola was the kindest, most generous, judgment-free friend, which was exactly why Gabriela loved her so much. It was also why she’d have to smile and put up with Felicia and her antics.
“True.” Even though Felicia seemed to make more than her share of them.
“Come on, have a shot with me,” Lola said, linking her arm through Gabriela’s and dragging her to the bar. “You’re more fun when you have tequila.”
“More dangerous, you mean,” Gabriela retorted, thinking about the last time Lola had come to visit her in New York and the trouble a few rounds of margaritas had gotten them into.
“Please?” Lola batted her thick, dark eyelashes and Gabriela knew she wouldn’t be able to tell her friend no. This was Lola’s weekend. She was marrying the man of her dreams in two days, and Gabriela’s job was to make sure everything about the cruise was perfect—even this bachelorette party.
“You know I’d do anything for you,” Gabriela said.
“Tequila!” cried Felicia and handed Lola a full-to-the-brim shot glass. Gabriela noticed Felicia didn’t bother handing her one, skipping right over her and giving one to Liv, her sister. Gabriela knew the snub was on purpose. She suspected Felicia had wanted to be the maid of honor and was put out a bit that Lola hadn’t picked her.
Gabriela helped herself to a shot and a slice of lime. Just ignore the toddler behavior, she told herself. Ignore Felicia. Do not, under any circumstances, scratch her eyes out. Not until this wedding is done, that is.
“Here’s to the bride!” cried Felicia, holding up her shot glass.
“To Lola!” the others chimed in and clinked their glasses. As Gabriela knocked hers back, the searing liquid burned down the back of her throat. She quickly quenched the fire by biting into the slice of lime. She felt the blanco tequila settle in her stomach, warming her. She was already starting to feel the tingle of a little buzz. With a little more tequila, even Felicia would be bearable.
“Now to important business,” Felicia declared, pulling down on the hem of her too-snug halter dress. “Lola, you’ve got your man meat all settled and Veronica...you’ve got yours...but the rest of us are single. We’ve got to decide dibs on groomsmen.”
“Is this really necessary?” Gabriela sighed.
“Of course it is,” Felicia snapped, annoyed. “We’ll avoid a lot of fights this way.” She gave a pointed look to Liv, her younger sister who was a lot like a mini Felicia, except with blue tinges to her blond hair.
“Well, you can have them all,” Veronica joked. “I’ve got one husband and that’s enough man to take care of for me. Lola, did I show you pictures of the she-shed he built for me? Seriously—a she-shed. From scratch.” Veronica pulled Lola to the side and began thumbing through the photos on her smartphone.
She-shed? Felicia mouthed then rolled her eyes.
“The groomsmen aren’t even here,” Gabriela pointed out. They were currently having their own stag party on Deck Ten, which was just fine by Gabriela. Handling the G Squad was enough trouble—and broken glasses.
“All the more reason to figure out who has dibs.” Felicia took a breath. “Not that you’d care about men.”
Gabriela’s phone dinged, more notifications from her Spark dating app. Sure, I don’t care about men. She almost wanted to laugh. How little you really know me.
“I want Marco’s younger brother,” Felicia declared.
Lola was so deep into Veronica’s slideshow about her she-shed that she was no longer paying attention. Ugh. Gabriela hated it when Lola wasn’t in the mix. Lola always calmed the Tyler sisters down in ways Gabriela never could.
“No way. I want him.” Liv’s lips curved down into a pout. Gabriela just stared at the two sisters, amazed. While she’d only had brothers, she couldn’t imagine why on earth two sisters would be plotting how to best divvy up the single guys on a cruise ship. Besides, how could they be thinking about hookups during Lola’s big wedding weekend? Then again, she knew the answer: the Tyler sisters thought about hookups all the time, so why would this weekend be any different? She was saddened yet not at all surprised that they’d grown so little since high school.
“What about Bill?” Felicia offered.
Gabriela still couldn’t believe they were talking about men like trading cards. This was what she didn’t miss about Miami.
“Bill is...okay,” Liv said.
“Bill is married,” Gabriela pointed out, not that it seemed to faze either Liv or Felicia. Gabriela felt like she’d dropped into the Harlot Twilight Zone.
“I’d rather have James,” Liv said, ignoring Gabriela altogether as she pushed the tray filled with empty shot glasses and signaled the bartender for another refill on her now-empty margarita.
“Or maybe we shouldn’t be planning hookups at all,” Gabriela offered, already feeling like she needed another shot of tequila to make it through the night.
“Says the woman who is allergic to fun.” Felicia rolled her eyes. “We all know you’re never hooking up with anyone, Gobstopper.” Gabriela cringed at the sound of her awful nickname from high school. She never knew how she had become Gobstopper, but the name had stuck. She hated it.
“You never do anything fun.”
Not true. Not that you need to know that.
“Come on, girls, let’s get along,” Lola pleaded just as the bartender brought a fresh round of margaritas and a new glass of malbec for Gabriela. Both Liv and Felicia instantly stopped. Gabriela inwardly sighed. She’d talked to Lola about them before, but Lola was loyal to a fault, and she had a habit of adopting strays. Once you were in her inner circle, she’d never kick you out. Her fierce loyalty inspired others, as well. Even though Gabriela didn’t like Felicia or Liv, she knew both women would take a bullet for Lola if asked. So be nice, Gabriela told herself. Don’t start anything. Don’t stoop to their level. Just let it go.
“Yeah, stop picking on her,” Veronica said, and Gabriela was happy for the defense. “We all know the lamest person here is me. I haven’t stayed up past ten o’clock in two years.”
“You have two kids under the age of four!” Lola cried.
“Exactly,” Veronica