Page 87 of A Love Like Candle Light

She loops her arm through mine and directs me to the lakeshore. Leaves crunch under our shoes, and Abby runs after one falling off the nearest tree. A thick layer of clouds hides the sun, and the cold breeze makes me yearn for snowy winter afternoons.

"Kieran's working, and while he did invite me to hang out, that's just weird."

"Why?" I give her a confused stare. "What does he work as?" She’s making it sound like he works in the porn industry.

Wait. Does he? Now that I think about it, we never talked about his job.

"Do you know those masked accounts on TikTok of hot guys who dance or make suggestive POV videos?"

"No." I gasp and stop, staring at her wide-eyed. Is she for real?

"Oh yes." Her lips curl up in amusement. "And honestly, good for him. He's super successful at it. I mean, he must be." She stares at his house. It’s definitely more of a mansion. At least more than mine. “But I don't need to watch him do it." She scrunches her nose. "I mean, the guy is like a brother to me at this point. That's just weird."

"I get it." Abby brings us a stick. I lean down to pick it up and throw it for her. Not that my girl needs to be prompted to zoom around, but she does love to play catch.

"Anyway, I didn't come to annoy you because Kieran didn’t have time." She nudges me with her elbow, and from the corner of my eye, I see a wide smile on her face. “You’re one of us now, expect unexpected visits for gossip and hanging out.”

“I’ll make a mental note.”

"Okay. Now, can we talk about how fucking smitten Erik is with you?"

"Or how fucking smitten I am with him?" I point out. We burst into giggles and everything feels light and great. "Holy shit, Lauren, I'm so in love."

"Yay!" she squeals and jumps up and down in excitement, not too unsimilar to Abby when I give her a piece of apple. She loves apples. "That's so exciting. I remember when Caleb and I first started dating. Oof, the butterflies. Don't get me wrong, they're still there, but the honeymoon phase just hits different."

"I know." I let out a deep sigh. "It’s actually what scares me about being with him the most."

"Why?"

"Because I let the honeymoon phase fool me once already." She throws her arm over my chest and makes me stop. With her hands on my shoulders, she turns me to face her.

"That's because you were married to a shitty dude, not because of the honeymoon phase."

"Well, the honeymoon phase made me tolerate the shitty dude," I mumble. "And for the record, he's not a shitty dude per se. He just had messed up priorities."

"Which was shitty to you," Lauren points out, and I shrug.

“Why do I have a feeling you’re about to hit me with an uncomfortable truth?”

"Because I am." She bumps my shoulder with a shit-eating grin. "That's what friends are for. He might not be a shitty dude, but he was shitty to you. Don't discount that."

"But-”

“No." She points a finger at me as if to scold me. "Don't protect him. It's okay. Every human makes mistakes. You likely made mistakes in your marriage, too. It doesn't change the fact that what he did was shitty."

"I guess you're right." I check my watch.

"Do you want to come over for a coffee? I'm done with work today and would love some company."

"Sure. I can get to know your ghost." She claps and jumps up and down, giggling.

"You are way too excited about my ghost." I shake my head at her.

"I don't know. Kieran and I are the only ones who apparently don't have haunted houses. I feel a little left out."

"Maybe, but trust me, girl, you're not missing out." I shudder and run my hand over my face. "Not Elizabeth's fault or anything, but she scares the crap out of me."

"I can imagine. Still, as someone who doesn’t experience it on the daily – fun!"