Excerpt:

Anita lived in a condo on the bay, where you could sit on the deck in the summer with a cold beer in your hand and take in some of the most amazing sunsets you’ve ever seen in your life. This was the perfect place for the girls to gather because in addition to the warm and relaxing environment, Anita was divorced and didn’t have a husband or children hanging around and the girls could talk, share their stories and laugh without worrying about anyone else hearing or seeing anything that they did. Not that they did anything wrong. No, this was their chance to let down all of their defenses and they all had the chance to let their inner wild woman come out to play. They would potluck their gatherings and eat delicious food, with chocolate always at the center of whatever their dessert might be.

Maddie’s group of best girlfriends affectionately referred to themselves as the Hos. They weren’t really “ho”s, as in prostitutes; these were all women who led fairly ordinary lives - some with children, most in relationships or married, both straight and lesbian – but they were all women who gave a damn. They gave a damn about each other and they gave a damn about making a difference in the world through their choices in their daily lives. They were the furthest thing from the vision that appears in your mind when you hear the word “ho”, and that’s why they loved it so much. Because when they were all together, they could let go and be someone that they didn’t appear to be in their everyday world – irreverent, sexy bitches. There were eight of them and they got together every few months for an evening of fun. They saw each other all of the time outside of their gatherings and they all played very special parts in each other’s lives, but the exclusive evenings were reserved for relaxing together and for coming out of their day-to-day shells, checking in and filling each other in on the joys and sorrows of their lives.