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“Do you think I’m too much of a peacekeeper?” I blurted.
Brooklyn’s frown turned into a scowl. “Did Nathan say something to you?” she demanded. “We can call him up right now, and I’ll give him a piece of my mind—”
“No, he didn’t say anything,” I assured her. “Or more like, he didn’t say anything about this. It’s my question. Do you think I am?”
“No,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “I don’t.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “Good.”
We were quiet for a moment before I turned to her again. “But are you sure?” I insisted.
Brooklyn sighed, putting down the cranberries that she was measuring. “What is this about, Cici?” she asked. “This is coming out of the blue.”
“It’s not out of the blue,” I countered. “Nathan said something that made me wonder.”
“So hedidsay something.”
“But not about me being too much of a peacekeeper.”
“What did he say, then?”
“Well.” I paused, resuming my fiddling. I couldn’t meet Brooklyn’s eyes. “He thanked me for sticking up for him with you. And he seemed surprised. So it made me wonder if he was expecting me to just let you be mean to him in front of me without saying anything. And it makes me feel sad, like maybe other people think I will allow mistreatment to happen in front of me and not say or do anything about it.”
Brooklyn nodded, biting her lip. “I see now,” she said. “Look, I really am sorry about the way I came at Nathan. I was just so thrown off by the whole situation—you being engaged so quickly, and your fiancé being the son of the town’s founding family… Anyway, that’s not the point. You’re so kind-hearted that when it comes to things that only impact you, yes, sometimes people take advantage of that. But when it comes to others, you do stand up for what is right—even if it means shaking some things up.”
Her look was so sympathetic, I had to look away for a different reason. Even though she denied that I kept the peace at all costs, something still didn’t sit right with me. It was as if I had a neon sign flashing over my head, letting people know my weakness for wanting to smooth things over to keep people close. Where before, I found it to be something I liked about myself, now…it just seemed like a glaring flaw. Like something that left me vulnerable.
But doesn’t it, though?a tiny voice asked in my head. The truth of the matter was that Ididjust go with things most of the time. I was always thinking about what was best for others, not wanting to be a nuisance or have a contentious opinion on something, not wanting to make waves. A person like that is likely to get thrown about by the tides rather than calm the stormy seas.
“I know that it’s not what you wanna hear,” Brooklyn said. I looked up at her, and she smiled. “But it’s not all bad. Like I said, you’re the most kind-hearted person I know. Anyone would be lucky to have you—especially a hoity-toity like Nathan Hemingway.” She scowled again.
I opened the bag of flour and started measuring it out. “He’s not so bad,” I said, smiling. “He’s not what you think. He’s much more…real. For instance, he gets all awkward in text if it takes me a while to respond as if he thinks he offended me. He’s respectful, a true gentleman. And even though his proposal left a lot to be desired, he made up for it in the most romantic way—a cooking class and cartoons at his place.” I sighed, grinning at her. “It’s been magical.”
Brooklyn raised her eyebrow, returning to her task. “Sounds like you really do love him.”
I started to shake my head, then stopped when I realized what I was doing. “Of course I do,” I said instead. I cracked an egg into the empty bowl. “Love at first sight.”
Brooklyn snorted. “I don’t believe in love at first sight. Maybe lust at first sight. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” she said quickly, glancing at me. “But people are controlled by this notion of falling in love with someone the first time they meet them, or their hormones when they’re instantly attracted to them. It doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I don’t know, I think it’s kinda nice,” I said, beating the eggs with a fork. I had done this so many times that the movement was instinctual, my fingers light on the fork and my wrist movements quick. “Having this level of knowing makes me feel sure, grounded in a way. I don’t have to worry about not finding The One anymore, and the feeling is mutual. And it’s easy to be with Nathan.”
“I guess,” Brooklyn grumbled. She glanced at me, her concern apparent in her big, brown eyes. “But you’re comfortable with him? Really? And he treats you well?”
“Very well,” I assured her. When Brooklyn raised an eyebrow, I blushed. “Not like that.”
“Nowthisis what I wanna talk about,” she said, turning fully toward me. “Is he good in bed?”
I blushed even harder. “We haven’t had sex yet…”
“For real? You’re gonna marry this guy without knowing what the sex is like?” She huffed, shaking her head. “I couldn’t do it.”
I shrugged. “We have a connection that runs deeper than our physical attraction.”
“Sure, okay.” Brooklyn turned back to the counter, bumping her hip with mine. “When he kissed you in the car, was there tongue, at least? A boob grab?”
I laughed. “Lyn…”
“What? Give mesomething.I’ve been on the longest dry spell I’ve had since I started having sex. And Nathan’s…attractive,” she added begrudgingly.
