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“Eavesdropper!” I chide him.
“I think about you, Georgia.” His voice is low and skates over my skin. Goose bumps rise. “I don’t know how I never realized just how much you mean to me. YouandOlivia. I like taking care of things around the house and making her breakfast. And I really, really like taking care of you, sunshine.”
“Gray.” My voice wobbles. “What about the friendship? I can’t lose you?” My throat is closing up with anxiety. He’s been my best friend since school, and to think we could ruin that all because we are compatible — very compatible — in bed terrifies me.
“I promise you that no matter how this ends, whether it be with us staying together or us deciding in the end it doesn’t work, I will be your friend. I will never look at you differently or treat you any less. I will hold nothing against you, and I will never stop being here for both of you.” He leans in and kisses me softly, stealing my breath. “I will never leave you.”
“So, we’re going to try this?” I hate how hopeful I sound, so desperate in that little question.
“I want to. Do you, Georgia Grace? Do you want to try this?”
His dark eyes are pulling me in, making me feel more comfortable than I have since Henry died. Maybe it’s finally time I really try for my own happiness again. And maybe it’s perfect that the person I’m ready to get back in the saddle with is my best friend. I already know I can trust him with Liv, and I can trust him as a friend. He’s loving, reliable, and kind.
So trusting him with my heart seems like the logical next step…right?
“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “Okay, yeah, let’s give it a go.”
His smile takes over his face, lighting up his eyes and crinkling the corners. Grabbing hold of my face, he tugs me in for a long, sweet kiss that makes my toes curl and my pulse kick.
“But we promise this will not ruin the friendship,” I say when he finally lets me break free. “And we have to keep Olivia’s feelings in mind. We have to be careful.”
“I’ll treat her heart just as gently as I intend to treat yours, sunshine. No one is going to hurt my girls, let alone me. I’ve got you both.”
I nod because words won’t come. I’m feeling too much.
“Trust me?” he asks, smiling wide.
I nod and smile back.
“Trust you.”
ABOUT IVY JACKSON
Ivy Jackson is a lover of quiet small towns, nights where you can see all the stars, and the smell of hay being cut (even though it sends her allergies into overdrive). She grew up in a small town along the Ohio River where there was nothing better to do than ride four-wheelers, go cow tippin’, and get into far too much trouble at Friday night football games.
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WATCH US BURN: A.D. MCCAMMON
ONE
BIRDIE
His presence looms over me like a dark cloud, and dread sits heavy on my chest as my gaze lands on him. My ex, however, is oblivious, his attention fixed on the blonde bombshell on his arm.
Hisfiancée.
The corpse of our relationship was barely even cold when Jacob asked her to marry him. The news spread like a wildfire through our small town. I spent weeks inundated with condolences and pity-filled stares. And I’ve done everything I can to avoid thehappy couplesince.
But it looks like my luck just ran out.
The air in my lungs stills as his eyes lift, his stare locking on mine. My teeth grind as he throws that infamous, boyish smile my way, as if he’s happy to see me. That smile used to melt me into a puddle, now I’d like nothing more than to punch him in his stupid face. It’s all for show, all to keep up his nice guy reputation. He wouldn’t want anyone finding out what an asshole he really is.
I twirl on my heel as Jacob continues to move toward me, my feet carrying me in the opposite direction as fast as they can. There’s no way I can face him, facethem, right now. Picking up single serve dinners at the market on a Friday night is embarrassing enough without the guy who broke your heart and the woman he replaced you with witnessing it.
My footsteps slow as I dip into an aisle a few rows down, trying to appear as if I’m just causally shopping instead of running from my ex like a crazy person. This isn’t the first time I’ve dodged Jacob out in public, it’s just the first time he’s seen me. Now that I’ve had a moment to catch my breath, I realize that probably wasn’t the best way to handle things. At this point, I would just like to escape this situation with my last shred of dignity intact.
“Are you alright?”
