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Ashley’s smile faded. “No. You would’ve had it at your bachelorette party and never gotten married in the first place.”
Courtney sighed. “Can we not do this? I don’t want to hash out all the reasons you didn’t like Kyle.” They’d done this from the time Courtney had announced she was selling her van to marry Kyle and settle down in his hometown, until the day before she’d called to tell Ashley he’d died. Still, despite Ashley’s feelings about Courtney’s late husband, she’d dropped everything and caught the first flight to be by Courtney’s side as she entered widowhood.
“There was only one reason I didn’t like Kyle.” Coming around to face Courtney, Ashley leaned a hip on the vanity.
Courtney paused in combing her hair and turned her attention to her friend. “Go ahead. I know you want to get it out there. I’m listening.”
“He was a great guy,” Ashley conceded. “He was smart, handsome, and successful. He treated you well and took care of you. I think he honestly, purely loved you as well as he could.”
Tears stung Courtney’s eyes. “But,” she choked.
Ashley’s lips flattened and her own eyes took on a dewy look. “But you deserved more than that. He loved his version of you, Corey. He might’ve loved the real you, if he’d ever met her.”
Courtney didn’t argue. She had been someone different with Kyle. Looking back, she could see that, although he’d never asked, she’d changed herself for him.
“I think Seth’s good for you,” Ashley told her. “He likes you for you.”
“He doesn’t even know me,” she mumbled. Except she felt like he did. She couldn’t explain it but hanging out with Seth felt like talking to an old friend—one she’d just realized was super-hot.
Ashley eyed her before giving a slow shake of her head. “He knows you. I’ve spent years telling him about you. I never thought you two would actually meet, but now . . .” She pursed her lips. “It makes sense.”
“What?”
“You and Seth. He’s a nomad. You used to live in a van. He’s adventurous. You used to have fun.”
“Thanks for all the ‘used to’s’, Ash. They really make me feel good about myself.” She went back to combing her hair.
Ashley took the comb from her and began running it through Courtney’s hair. “Seth’s a good guy, Corey. He’s serious and sweet but also fun and adventurous. All the things I’ve always loved about you, I see in Seth. I was going to set the two of you up years ago, but then you got married.”
A small weight settled in Courtney’s chest.
“If I sleep with Seth.” She paused and waited until Ashley lifted the comb from her hair and met her stare in the mirror. “If. It will only be here on this cruise. Whether he’s all those things you say or not doesn’t matter. We have three nights left. After that, he’ll go back to traveling the country trying to kill himself with his jobs. And I’ll go back to my home and my classes and—”
“Your husband’s ghost.”
Courtney huffed. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Kyle. I think I’m ready to have sex with Seth, but I don’t think I’ll ever be interested in being serious with someone.”
Because if she were honest, she couldn’t be sure the joy of loving Kyle had ever been worth the pain of losing him. What if she got involved with someone and lost them again? How many times could a person survive that?
“You could change your mind for the right person,” Ashley coaxed.
“And you think Seth is the right person?”
Ashley shrugged. “You never know if you don’t try.”
Courtney shook her head. Trying could still hurt her, and she had no interest in getting hurt either by fate or bad decisions. She turned to the closet. “Not for me.”
“I know, I know.” Ashley waved her off. “That ship has sailed.”
Yes, it had, and she had no desire to be someone’s wife again. But someone’s lover, that might be a possibility.
* * *
“Hot damn.” Zack slapped Seth on the back. “Those girls clean up nice.”
Seth looked over his shoulder to find Courtney and Ashley prancing down the staircase behind him. He knew prance wasn’t the right word, but he didn’t know how to describe the graceful, yet sexy way they seemed to glide down the staircase, so prance it was. He wasn’t surprised that Ashley had gone all out for the night in her short pink dress and sky-high heels, but Courtney was a different story. A story that blew his fucking mind. The hem of the deep purple dress she wore swayed with each step, giving Seth glimpses of her toned thighs.
He cleared his throat. “They both look beautiful.”
