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It’s on the tip of my tongue to remind Jake that she’s not yet his wife, but then I remember why I’m like a raging bull this morning. If I heard someone snapping at Beth, I’d snap their neck.
And she’s not even mine.
What is she doing to me?
“Fuck, you’re right. Sorry, Claire.”
“You’re worried. I get it. Now, put your penises away, gentlemen. The point I was getting to is that she invited you for dinner.”
Please hurry up and get to that point.
“Do you and Beth spend a lot of time together?”
“She’s my neighbor.”
I can almost see her rolling her eyes.
“Beth doesn’t trust people, especially men. And definitely not with her girls.”
“Claire, I know you said you had a point to make, but I’m failing to see it.”
“She trusts you,” she answers quickly. “And from what I’m hearing, she’s trusting you with the girls. That’s a big deal.”
I feel a pinch in my chest when I think of Hannah standing on my porch with her soccer ball under her arm on the evenings I’m home, or how Isabel likes to stick her face to my doors and scream, “Loggie” until I answer.
And how all at once I realize those kids have become a highlight in my days.
“Do you know what you’re doing, man?” Jake finally speaks.
I decide honesty is the best policy because I’m truly lost. “No fucking idea.”
“Nobody does,” he mutters.
I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make me feel better.
Claire speaks again. “Don’t focus too much on her reaction last night. That’s something Beth will have to process on her own. Be there for her. Speak to her like a normal human. Don’t treat her differently because of it. She’ll tell you if she wants to. And she might never speak about it. You have to accept that you might never know. Both are okay.”
“Both are okay,” I repeat under my breath, doing my best to convince myself because none of this feels okay.
“There’s a reason she’s trusting you. Focus on that. And please, don’t abuse it.”
The memory of her curled up last night haunts me when I close my eyes. “Never.”
“I need to ask because she’s my friend. Is there something going on with you two? Something romantic?”
“We’re friends.” I hate that word with a passion when it comes to Beth, but as much as it feels like poison on my lips, I’ll accept it. Being friends with her is enough.
When did I become so desperate just to be a woman’s friend?
She’s going to be the one that kills me. I’m sure of it.
“I’ll choose to believe that, because Logan?”
“Claire?”
“Hurt her, and I’ll break your balls.”
Twenty-Four
