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“The only way what?”
“It’s the only way the universe will know,” Jade replies.
“I love you, all of you, but you ladies have lost your damn minds.” I chuckle. They all stare at me with these creepy-ass, knowing smiles on their faces.
“Stop.”
“Pick,” Kennedy says softly.
“You.” I point at her. “I never once pressured you with Declan.”
She shrugs. “I chose. He’s now my husband.” She places her hand over her pregnant belly. That’s an entirely different story for another day. Let’s just say that she and Declan had a major curveball sent their way, but they are happier than they have ever been.
“I chose Declan.” Kennedy grins. “You didn’t have to pressure me.”
“Come on. Just between us. If you had to pick one of the single brothers, which would you choose?” Piper asks.
“You realize this is insane, right?” There is only one brother I would choose. My best friend is the greatest man I know. He’s more than just his looks. He’s a hard worker, he loves his family, and he’s my rock. There isn’t a single good memory in my life that Sterling hasn’t been a part of.
“Come on. Humor us.”
“Don’t we have more shopping to do?” I evade. I don’t care that it’s obvious. I can’t choose, and not just because I don’t want them to romanticize our relationship more than they already are. I don’t want to let my mind think that there might be a sliver of a chance. Teenage Alyssa struggled with that. Adult Alyssa knows better and has accepted that he will be in my life forever as my best friend. I’m good with that.
“We do,” Jade agrees.
“What do you have left to get?” Piper asks.
“I still want some new lingerie for the honeymoon,” Ramsey tells us.
“And I need to get something for Blakely,” Kennedy says. “Declan tells me that I’m spoiling her, but I feel bad that I didn’t bring her with me today.”
“You could have brought her,” Palmer tells her.
“I know, but I wanted some girl time. I love that little girl with everything I am, but Momma needed some adult time.”
“We should make that a thing. I know we have girls’ nights with Blakely, and I’m sure this little one too.” Palmer rubs at her belly. “The baby boys can come as well,” she assures Kennedy. She and Declan are having a boy, and Jade and Orrin haven’t found out what they’re having yet.
“However, we need to make sure that just because we’re all becoming moms, we don’t give up adult girls’ night. Daddys can pull kid duty.” Palmer nods as if she’s loving her own idea.
“Deal,” everyone but me speaks up. I’m the only one unattached. The others are pregnant or talking about marriage, and then there’s me.
“Do you have more shopping to do?” Kennedy asks me.
“Yeah. I need to get Sterling some new swim trunks. His ripped at the end of the season last year, and he never replaced them.” I stand from my chair and gather my trash. I’m not waiting for them to spout more nonsense about me pursuing something with my best friend.
Surprisingly, they stay quiet as we finish out our day of shopping.
* * *
“This is a nice surprise,” I tell Sterling as I pull into my driveway.
“I figured I’d help you carry in all your bags.”
“I didn’t buy that much. Besides, there were some great clearance deals. You know that I’m a bargain shopper. Oh, and I found you three pairs of trunks. Two were buy one get one. So, I figured, why not.”
“Thank you. You used my card, right?”
I nod. What I don’t tell him is that even though the girls didn’t comment directly when they found out I was using his card, they did all wear what I can only describe as knowing smiles.
