“I thought about it. In fact, I went to check on flights.”
Kayla’s heart dropped. If bad flight schedules were the only thing that kept Mack here, she’d take it. “But you didn’t book one?”
Mack glanced into her eyes, then away again. It was long enough to see the steel in the pale green. “It didn’t feel fair. I was pissed, but if I’d left, you wouldn’t know where I was, and you’d worry. That felt cruel.”
Kayla’s heart clenched. How could she ever deserve this woman? Mack had stayed because she didn’t want to make Kayla worry, even though Kayla had been a complete ass. “Thank you for that. It was a kindness I didn’t earn.”
Mack’s eyes were steel again, and they pinned her to the sand. “You don’t have to earn kindness. That’s not how it works.”
Whether there was annoyance in Mack’s eyes or not, Kayla was happy to just look into them. Every time she looked at Mack these days, she saw something different. Or maybe she just finally saw the Mack who had always been there. She suspected Mack had said something very similar to her in the past, but she hadn’t absorbed it. Now she heard the words, and she took them in, much like she had with Dr. Frost earlier. Yet again, she felt the new, better person emerging from the shell of who she had been.
Kayla said, “You’re right, but I still appreciate it.”
“I didn’t want to run away. I just needed some time alone to think.”
“I know. I’m glad I had the time, too. It gave me time to think. To figure out why it took us so long to share our first kiss.”
Mack’s throat contracted as she swallowed, and her voice was a gravelly whisper. “Why?”
“I’m an idiot.”
Mack laughed, and this time it was the old sound that made Kayla’s heart soar. “No argument here.”
“Hey! Rude.” She took the final step that put her body flush against Mack’s. It felt so right. They were a perfect match in every way. “But it’s true. You know what else is true?”
“What?”
“I’ve been in love with you for years, I’ve just been too thick to realize it wasn’t best friend love.”
“What kind of love was it?”
Kayla didn’t answer with words. She pushed up onto her toes and angled her face. Before their lips could meet, Mack said, “Wait.” Kayla stood back down on her heels, but she didn’t look away. Mack held her gaze, and after a long moment she whispered, “Don’t kiss me unless you mean it.”
Kayla leaned in because she had never meant anything more in her life. She pressed her lips against Mack’s. She kissed her with all the tenderness she knew Mack needed in that moment. Even though her body roared with desire, she didn’t deepen the kiss. She wanted to show Mack how she felt, but there was so much more talking to do.
Much sooner than she would have liked, Mack gently pulled back. It took her eyes a long time to flutter open, but her voice was steady when she spoke. “Wanting to kiss your best friend isn’t a new concept, LaLa.”
“I don’t want to kiss my best friend. I want to spend my life with her.” With difficulty, Kayla stepped out of Mack’s arms so she could explain without the haze of need clouding her mind. “I knew a long time ago that I loved you, but I didn’t think romantic love felt like this.”
“Like what?”
Kayla shrugged. “Good.”
“I’m going to need a little more of an explanation than that.”
“It doesn’t hurt to love you.”
Mack’s eyebrows came together, and her eyes flashed with anger. “Are you saying…did Skye hit you? Because that is definitely not okay.”
“No. No, not at all. That’s not what I meant.” Kayla took a deep breath. This was harder than she thought it would be to explain. “You know how there are a million movies and TV shows and books about people who weep and pull out their hair over love? The ones where the couple is always fighting and then making up in bed? Relationships ruled by passion that always seem on the brink of collapse.”
“Sure. You used to lap that stuff up when we were kids. Drove Mom crazy.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I should’ve listened to her because I’ve always thought that’s how love was supposed to be. Love that was so all-consuming it was almost physically painful. That makes your heart ache every day.”
The right side of Mack’s lips twitched up in a bittersweet smile. “I’ve never had a relationship like that.”
“That’s because you don’t love that way. You are sweet and caring and gentle.” Kayla’s mind reeled back to watching Mack with some of her girlfriends. The way they always leaned close because they craved being inside the protective circle of her arms. She understood that all too well now, even as she quietly thanked them all for not being right for Mack. “I’ve never had a relationship like yours. My heart always ached with Skye because it was bruised, not from her hurting me, but from me wanting so much from her that she couldn’t give. Almost every night was either a fight or a make-up.”
