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“I respect the promise you made to yourself, and I understand better than most people would why you made it.”
“But?”
“I’m not trying to change your mind. I swear I’m not. But… I’ll just point out that almost three years later, the future and all its many possibilities might look different to you now than they did in those first early days of horrible grief when you probably made the promise to yourself.”
“Everything looks different than it did then, when I was quite certain I wouldn’t survive losing them.”
“I don’t know how you did. I really don’t.”
“The same way you survived losing Mike. One day at a time.”
“I guess.”
“We’re all stronger than we think we are until life tests us and shows us just how strong we can be when needed.”
“You’re very wise.”
I snort out a laugh. “If you say so.”
“Everyone says so. Just look at your Instagram followers and what they have to say about you.”
“I don’t have a million TikTok followers hanging on my every word.”
“My stuff is silly compared to what you’re doing.”
“It’s not silly, Iris. It’s very cool.”
She lifts her head off my chest and looks into my eyes. I love how her hair is a mass of messy curls and her mascara is smudged, but she’s still gorgeous. “I want you to know that I have no regrets about what happened last weekend or what’s happened since, but if you’re not up for it being more than friends with benefits, I’m okay with that.”
I curl a strand of her hair around my finger. “I want to be up for it, which is a huge thing for me to admit, but my primary concern is the kids.”
Her brows furrow. “What about them?”
“I worry about them becoming invested in us before we’re sure it’s going to stick.”
“Gage…” Her smile makes her lovely eyes dance with amusement. “If I wasn’t sure, I never would’ve ended up naked in your bed.”
“Is that a confession that your attack was intentional?”
“Not at all,” she says, her grin turning sly. “I’m just saying I never would’ve taken such a big risk with such an important friend if I wasn’t sure about how I felt.”
“And how do you feel?”
“That you and I could be epic.”
14
IRIS
What’s the point of holding back? Being a widow is a daily reminder to live life to the fullest because you never know when it might end.
“You really think so?”
“I know so, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to me or the kids. This isn’t about me finding them a new daddy. They have Rob and their grandfathers and other good men in their lives.”
“What’s it about?”
“You and me, first and foremost. It’s about two people who’ve been to hell and back and found each other along the way and who give each other something new and sweet and wonderful to focus on amid all the heartache.”
