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it
vanished as soon as I contemplated another possibility. “Are they friends with
benefits?”
    “How the hell would I know?” Nico said. “I don’t ask who she
sleeps with.”
    “Ask Lily. She’ll know.”
    Nico shook his head. “I will do no such thing. As far as I’m
concerned, the more distance between you and Ally, the better.”
    “And why is that?”
    “If you hurt her, that will come back to Lily, which will
come back to haunt me. All because you have a problem keeping your dick in your
pants.”
    My chest tightened at the idea of causing Allana pain. “Oh
come on, just because I’m interested in her doesn’t mean I plan to break her
heart.”
    John gave me a knowing look.
    Nico added, “Stay away from her, will ya? She has enough
going on right now.”
    “Like what?” I shifted in my seat. “Guy drama?”
    “If she didn’t tell you, it’s none of your business. She’s a
sweet girl. Helping Lily plan our New Year’s party.”
    A light bulb went off in my head. “So she’ll be at your
place next week?”
    “Oh no. I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” Nico said.
    “Looks like my New Year’s Eve plans have opened up.”
    “I thought the idea of New Year’s Eve horrified you, with
all the hype about a kiss at midnight.”
    That was true. The midnight kiss had so much associated with
it, it set up unfair expectations for the year ahead. But picturing kissing a
hot blonde at midnight made the venture far more enticing. “No, I will be a
charming guest with a megawatt smile at your party.”
    “I hope she brings a date.” Nico smirked.
    John laughed. “Then you’d be gaping open-mouthed.”
    “Laugh now, my friends.” If she showed up with a guy, that
would be a serious clink in my plan. “He’d be the one left gaping when he sees
her going home with me.”

Chapter Three
     
    Allana
    Lily and I stopped at a party goods store and I grabbed a
cart. Since Christmas just passed, we walked by a number of marked-down goods.
Thank God the holiday was over. At my parents’ house, I’d faced the usual
onslaught of inquiries from relatives about my love life, followed by a
boatload of questions about the studio. When I left the bag of gifts for my
nieces and nephews no longer weighed me down but my anxiety did. Nothing like
well-meaning relatives to add stress.
    I maneuvered the cart to where the New Year’s goods were
stocked.
    “Do you have a color theme in mind?” I asked Lily.
    She scrunched her nose. “Do I need one?”
    “We’ll go with basic black and white.”
    “Ah, yes. That works.”
    “How many people are you expecting?”
    “Oh, I don’t know. There’s the band and some of Nico’s coworkers,
you, a couple of people I worked with, my mom and her boyfriend, and a couple
of friends from the White Mountains. So I’d say no more than twenty.”
    Mike might show. A part of me glimmered inside at the
prospect, another part cringed. I forced him out of my head and did a quick
mental count for party goods. I grabbed enough packages of black paper plates,
white paper plates, black napkins with Happy New Year printed on them, and some
utensils. Spotting party packages of noisemakers and tiaras, I said, “Let’s get
a couple of these.”
    “You’re the boss.” She threw them in the cart. “Pretty soon
you’ll actually be your own boss.”
    “Don’t remind me,” I said as steered the cart to the cash
register. “I’m already terrified. Do you know how much paperwork is involved
with starting your own business?”
    Lily smiled. “Unfortunately, yes. I filed a ton to consult
on my own.”
    “Nice, you can lead the way. I have a folder of documents
from my accountant, which don’t make a grain of sense to me.”
    “Sure, once we finish Project New Year’s Party, we’ll switch
to Project Yoga Studio over takeout. How about Thai?”
    “Always.”
    I picked up some streamers, banners and balloons and threw
them into the cart.
    Lily asked, “Do we have