If We Lived Here Read Online Free Page B

also creating AB and XU vertically.
    “Thirty points, not bad.”
    When three of the next five of Emma’s words were diner-related—FRIES, SHAKE, and CHEESE—Nick said, “Any chance you’re hungry?”
    “Affirmative.” Emma liked to send messages via Scrabble moves. Nick preferred a more straightforward mode of play, laying down a boring but strategic two- or three-letter word and cleaning up in points. “Let’s do takeout from the Meatball Shop.”
    “Em, you’re averaging once a day there. Soon you might turn into a meatball.”
    “I’m just trying to enjoy as much meat as possible before I’m sentenced to a life of seitan and portobellos.” It was one of Emma’s concessions for the move-in, that she’d respect Nick’s preference for a meat-free apartment. “Although I am looking forward to the slimming results of tofu and kale. Five or six veggie balls for you?”
    “Five’s good.”
    Emma swiped open her phone, but heard no dial tone. “Hello?”
    “Ems, thank God you’re there.”
    “Annie?” It was her best friend, sounding more frantic than usual. “What, do you live in my phone now?”
    “Huh? Listen, I just found out there’s a weight limit for my suitcase, and I need you to help me figure out which shoes to ditch: hiking boots, wedges, or kitten heels?”
    “I thought you guys were going on an African safari.”
    “We are, but there’s supposed to be this big banquet at the end. I want to look cute! I’ve spent months putting together my honeymoon wardrobe, and only now do I find out I can’t bring it all. This is a disaster.”
    “Annie, this is not a disaster. Tomorrow we’ll go over it together, okay? I’m with Nick tonight.”
    “Hey, remind him to bring a flask this weekend. I don’t know what the guys have planned, but Eli said a flask was imperative.”
    “The flask?” Nick whispered. “She’s already e-mailed me twice about it.”
    “Flask packed, check! Anything else?” Emma’s stomach was growling.
    “Yeah, about a million things. I’m only getting married in seventy-two hours!”
    “Put a pin in those concerns and we’ll deal with every little thing in the morning.”
    “You’re the best maid of honor ever.”
    “I know I am. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Emma hung up, called in the dinner order, then flopped onto the couch.
    “How’s she holding it together?” Nick asked.
    “Just barely. But who expected anything other than Annie Bridezilla Blum?”
    “She’s why you’re so good at your job, you know. You can deal with all those crazy parents because you’ve had a lifetime of practice with Annie.”
    “You’re right. Prepping for a dozen college interviews is nothing compared to what Annie used to put me through before a middle school Snowball Dance.”
    “Yeesh, Annie as a preteen.” Nick shook his head. “It’s your turn.”
    Emma switched her theme: She laid down the words VEIL and SPEECH, then cleaned up with BOUQUETS, right through the triple-word score for 116 points.
    “Think it’s safe to say I won?” Emma asked.
    “I do.”
    “I do, too.”
    “You set me up for that,” Nick said.
    “I did. Just like you set me up for the triple-word score, and the win. Boo-ya!”
    “And now, you may kiss your poor opponent.” And they did, until it was time to pick up their food.
    On Emma’s way to the Meatball Shop, Annie called again. “I didn’t know you found an apartment!” Her shrieking made Emma jerk the phone away from her ear.
    “You have a lot going on, Annie. I didn’t want to add—”
    “Thanks for listing me as a reference, by the way. It’s an honor and a privilege. And the place sounds unreal! I know you were worried about having enough space to breathe with Nick, and what did she say, eight hundred square feet? Wow! With hardwood floors and a skylight? Killer! I’m a little concerned that the bathroom hasn’t been redone since the eighties, but we can re-grout and spruce it right up. Have you thought about