Davis, Keyonna - Faceless Enemy [Pine Valley 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Keyonna Davis

Cane and Ali because they could only order juice or soda, but she had no such restrictions and planned to make the most of her night. She turned from the waitress to find Cane, Ali, and Jessica all staring at her with open mouths.
    “What?” she asked, feeling a little self-conscious.
    “Where do you plan to put all of that?” Jessica asked.
    Kerri laughed. “Don’t worry, it will take me all night to drink that, and I doubt if I could finish all of it. I would probably have to be carried out of here if I did.”
    The waitress returned with their drinks and sat what looked like a fishbowl down in front of Kerri. Her eyes bugged at the size of the drink.
    Ali giggled. “You should see the look on your face right now.”
    “Now I know why you guys were staring at me like I was crazy earlier. This thing is freaking huge!” Kerri took a sip and moaned, “Oh man I needed that.” She took a few more sips before she slid the glass away and asked, “So ladies, what do you what to talk about?”
    “I have an idea,” Cane said as she adjusted in her chair. “Why don’t you tell us what is going on between you and Chase.”
    “You get straight to the point,” Kerri said, smiling to show that she wasn’t angry that her privacy was being invaded. She had been warned by Chase that Cane was playing matchmaker. Cane felt that everyone should be as happy as she and her husbands were and had made it her mission to get the last two Matthews men hitched.
    “Well, I think I am in love with him, but don’t say anything to him because I haven’t told him yet. I want to wait until all this trouble is behind us before I do.”
    Cane clapped and bounced in her seat like a seven-year-old girl. “Oh, this is so good. I’m so happy for you and Chase, and I can tell that he is head over heels for you, too.” Kerri blushed. If Chase felt a fraction of what she felt for him, it would make Kerri’s day.
    They all sat and talked and filled Kerri in on everyone’s stories. She’d already heard Ali’s but was shocked to hear about what happened to Cane about eight months back. She was glad that Cane had moved on with her life and found love. Kerri also found out that Jessica was a secret erotic romance writer. With her pure, innocent looks, Kerri would have never guessed that about her. From what she observed, Jessica was quiet and reserved. She sat back and listened to the conversations, only joining in when she was asked a direct question. It’s always the quiet ones that you have to watch out for, Kerri thought. She was fascinated by Jessica and saw her watching Riley throughout the night.
    She didn’t want to get into Jessica’s business, but Kerri just had to ask, “You do know that he is just as into you as you are into him, right?” Conversation at the table immediately stopped, and she watched the blush creep up Jessica’s neck into her face.
    Jessica sighed. “I just get so nervous when he is around. I get tongue-tied and don’t know what to say. Usually I just end up making a fool of myself.”
    Kerri looked over at Cane and Ali to see if they were all on the same page. Being housebound with these two women for so long, she felt that she knew what they were thinking. It seemed they were going to have to help this relationship along. They all three nodded at each other as if silently communicating.
    Ali spoke first. “Okay, here is what you are going to have to do. You order a few drinks, and we all make sure that it looks like you drank all of them. When it is time to go home, we will say that we don’t think you should go alone and need an escort. Of course Riley will volunteer in a heartbeat, but the only downside is that if things do turn out good, you won’t be getting any tonight. He will be a perfect gentleman and not take advantage of you while he thinks you are drunk. It will give you the chance though to tell him exactly how you feel, though, and if you make a fool of yourself, then you can wake up in