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“Yep.” Kiersten held her breath. Now came the moment of truth. Would Brianna cry, yell, or be happy? “Say something.”
“Do you love him?”
Of course she would have to ask that. “We’re not together. We’re just going to live together and raise the baby as partners. That’s all.”
Brianna snorted. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Kiersten hesitated, turning left down her road. “All I know is we had one night together, and now I’m pregnant. And he’s ready to be here for me. For us.”
“He has feelings for you.” Brianna fidgeted with something that sounded like a chip bag. “You know that, right? Real feelings.”
Kiersten bit her lip. “He says he doesn’t anymore.”
“He can say it all he wants. But he cares about you. Just make sure…”
When Brianna didn’t finish, Kiersten prompted, “Yeah?”
“Don’t break his heart.”
Kiersten flinched. Even Brianna knew that they were doomed. Kiersten was no good for Garrett. Look what happened the last time she opened her heart to a man. Her fiancé slept with his secretary. No, Chris—and now her baby—were the only ones she could focus on. “I won’t. We’re keeping it platonic. No feelings involved.”
“That’s not possible.”
“It will be.”
Kiersten could practically hear Brianna rolling her eyes. “If you say so. But he likes you. And you don’t like him the same way.”
“I care about him,” she said, shifting in her seat.
“Those are two completely different things.”
Brianna said something to Thomas, something that sounded a lot like bed and ten minutes, and she heard Thomas’s responding chuckle. A small ping of jealousy shot through Kiersten. She wished that she could have that.
“How do you do it?”
Brianna didn’t even ask her what she meant. “Believe it or not, there are happy romantic relationships in this world. I’ve had two.” She sighed. “Thomas doesn’t just keep me satisfied in life. He makes me smile when I’m sad. He makes me laugh when I want to scream. And he’s there for me no matter what. I mean, I broke his nose the night he proposed to me—and he still wanted to marry me. That’s love.”
“That’s love,” Kiersten echoed. She choked on a laugh. She knew that story all too well. “Sometimes, late at night, I think I kind of want that. But then morning comes, and I remember why I don’t.”
Brianna made a small sound. “Maybe you already have it, minus the broken nose.”
“I doubt that.” Kiersten pulled into her driveway and looked in her rearview mirror. Garrett parked on the street and hopped out. She didn’t have any love in her life from anyone besides her family. If so…wouldn’t she know it? “Okay, I have to go.”
She could practically hear Brianna’s nod. “Promise me you’ll think about your feelings without fear? At least consider the possibility you might grow to love him someday?”
“I promise,” Kiersten whispered. “Bye.”
She hung up without waiting for a reply, and reached for the knob. Garrett beat her to it, opening the door and holding his hand out for her. “Who were you talking to?”
“Brianna.”
He nodded. “She knows?”
“She does.”
“And?”
“She took it well.” Kiersten slid her hand into his and stood. His fingers swept over hers gently, and she wanted to continue to hold his hand. Didn’t want to let go. But she slid her hand free and shoved it in her pocket. She tipped her head toward the house. “Now we just have to tell him.”
