Page 95 of I Wish He Would

His eyes find mine again, accompanied by that dopey grin, before he heads to the buffet tables.

When I glance back at my sister, she’s got one brow raised in her signature told-you-so look.

I sigh. “You don’t have to say it.”

She shakes her head. “I think he said it all.”

But if Austin’s looking at me like that, then what is holding him back from telling me that he loves me too?

I walk through the unlocked front door and drop my suitcases off to the side. “Honey, I’m home,” I shout and instantly hear footsteps pounding through our old Victorian house. My four best friends come running into the foyer, and I’m crushed in a group hug.

My shoulders sag in relief. I love vacations and the beach, but there’s something about that feeling of coming home—to a person or a place—that is unbeatable.

We move into the living room, and I fall onto the couch, tucking my legs under me. “I missed y’all. Catch me up on what I missed.”

Winston pads over and jumps up, landing with his front paws on my lap. I’m definitely going to have a bruise there later. I scratch his head and run my hands over his ears. “I missed you, too, boy.”

“Catch you up?” Mallory tilts her head. “Girl, catch us up.”

Shayna grabs a pillow and sets it on her lap. “Start from the beginning—and don’t leave out a single detail.”

“It’s girls’ night.” I look around. “Shouldn’t we dive into happies and crappies first?”

“Uh, not when you have boy tea to spill.” Kelsey pets Winston, who is now lying dutifully at her feet.

I look to Tess—my former baddies-before-baby-daddies member—for backup. She shrugs. “We’ve been waiting all week for this.”

“Two days,” I deadpan. “It’s only been two days since I told y’all we were a thing now.”

This statement earns me a collective eye roll.

“You’re out of your mind if you don’t know we’ve been waiting for this for much longer than that.” Mallory shoots me a look.

“Yeah, try three years.” Kelsey presses her lips into a thin line.

“And we had to find out over”—Mallory holds her hands out in a wait-for-it gesture—“text message that you two made out the night you met before he casually friend-zoned you. Like, are we even besties with all these secrets?” She gestures to Shayna. “Shay loved my brother from the beginning and never told us.” She turns her pointed gaze back to me. “And now you’ve been hiding this from us for years.” She crosses her arms with a huff. “Does anyone else have anything they’d like to reveal?”

I guess it’s now or never. “I used your toothbrush at a sleepover in tenth grade when I forgot mine at home.”

Her nose wrinkles and her mouth pulls down in disgust. “I really wish I didn’t know that.”

“You’re the one who asked.”

Mallory shudders before setting her attention on Tess. “Anything we should know about your love life?”

“Nope.” Tess smooths her hands along her jean shorts. “I sometimes dream of the love story I was robbed of by my ex, but I can’t imagine anyone else intruding on what I have with Evie. Dating would change things, and I like everything how it is. I’m officially off the market. Even if Evie tries to find me a husband every time we’re out in public.”

“See? No secrets.” Mallory nods, satisfied with the answer.

“Okay, we’ve waited long enough, Lyss,” Tess says. “Tell us everything about the trip.”

“About your man.” Shayna does a little shoulder shimmy.

I jump right into the story, telling them everything from what really happened the night we met to how I tried to go on dates to get over my feelings for Austin. How I was terrified to invite him to the wedding and internally freaked out when I realized there was only one hotel room and bed. The way Bianca and Bradley treated me throughout the wedding week. How Austin stood up for me, and how I finally stood up to Bianca and Patrice. Our make out in the ocean and how I thought he did it just for B-squared to see.

“He cleared it up and said his feelings for me were real—that he wanted us to be together—and I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.” I smile, thinking back on our conversation in the pool. “Then yesterday, he was being all cute at the wedding. He carried me through the sand, because I was struggling in my heels, and we were slow dancing to ‘Lover’ and everything felt right.”

“But?” Tess asks, like she can sense it coming.