Page 81 of Had to Be You

As if a genie granted her a wish, Laura’s phone rang, and Kennedy’s number appeared on the screen.

"Hey! Is everything okay?" Laura hadn’t expected to hear from her all week, and as badly as she needed to talk, she wanted to make sure that this phone call wasn’t because something was wrong.

"Your sister messaged me asking what was going on between you and Knox, so I figured I better check in."

Laura’s head fell back against the headrest. Of course, one of her sisters had reached out to Kennedy to try and get the tea. "Was it Luci?"

"No, it was Lori. She asked me if something was going on with you and Knox. So what’s up? Do they know about what’s going on between you two?"

Laura drove home and got her bestie up to speed. She told her about the kids being sick, him staying at the house, and her kicking him out after they had non-baby-making sexy time. The only thing she left out was that she’d fallen in love with him.

Somehow, she feared that if she said it out loud, it would become more real than it already was, like Beetlejuice or something.

"So let me get this straight: he stayed at your house, helped you babysit eight kids, made you dinner, did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, slow danced with you in the kitchen, gave you hot sexy time, let you sleep in while he made you chocolate chip pancakes, and you broke up with him?"

"No. I didn’t break up with him. We’re not together, remember? This was an arrangement."

"Whatever this started as, it’s obviously something more. For both of you. It’s very clear that you have strong feelings for him. And if he was just in this for the sex, why would he play Mr. Mom with you? That doesn’t make sense."

"He’s a good guy. He didn’t want to leave me on my own," Laura explained.

"That’s…"

Romantic? Yep. The sweetest thing she’d ever heard? Sure.

"...the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard."

"Why is that stupid?"

"Do you hear yourself?"

"Of course I hear myself."

"Okay, let’s Freaky Friday this. You’re me, and I’m you. A guy does all the same things for me that Knox is doing for you. Doesn’t blink an eye when I take him to a sperm bank on our first date. Offers, nay, insists on being my sperm donor. Spends a month and a half rocking my world every chance he gets. Then, stays over and helps me take care of eight kids.

"I get your point." Laura didn’t need it spelled out to her again. "He might care about me. And…you’re right. I do have feelings for him—realfeelings—but he doesn’t have those. He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t want to get married. He doesn’t even want kids."

Kennedy was quiet for a moment. Laura pulled into the driveway of her house and was about to end the call when Kennedy said, "So what’s your plan?"

"My plan?" Laura repeated.

"Yeah. He’s going to be in town for another month, right? So what’s your plan?"

"I’m just going to try and lay low until he leaves."

"So you’re just planning on avoiding him for four weeks?"

Laura didn’t respond to what she assumed was a rhetorical question. Although, in fairness to her, she’d been avoiding him this past week, and it had been working like a charm.

There was another beat of silence before Kennedy said, "You need to talk to him."

"No," Laura snapped back defensively. "I don’t."

"Yes, you do. Youlovehim, and he’s going to be gone in a few weeks. You can’t leave things how they are. You need to apologize for freaking out on him and tell him the real reason you don’t want to see him anymore. That is the only way you’re going to have any closure."

"I liked your advice a lot more before you started going to therapy." Pre-therapy, Kennedy would have agreed that Laura should just avoid him at all costs. They would have come up with escape routes if she saw him in town and even code words to text each other if there was danger of a possible run-in.

Pre-therapy, Kennedy was a lot more fun. But Laura knew post-therapy that Kennedy was right. She needed to talk to Knox.

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