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“I agree.” Lyric pulled her legs into a perfect butterfly pose. “You two sure seemed intense when you rushed off to have that private discussion before the meeting at the café. You hadn’t even finished your margarita yet.”
Kyra’s mouth popped open. “That’s right! And I’ll tell you another thing… when Brad Kline stopped by our table at the café the other morning and mentioned he was on his way to Tess’s house, Silas got all agitated.”
Hold on just one second.Tess scooted closer to Kyra. “When were you at the café with Silas?” How was it that he could manage to find time to spend with everyone else but then hide from her?
“It was no big deal,” Kyra said. “I just wanted to get Aiden and Silas together to talk about their issues. And it worked. They’re besties again and Aiden finally asked those two to be in our wedding.”
“Just now?” Lyric stretched her long legs out in front of her. The woman could never sit still. Tess had always envied her flexibility. “You asked us like two months ago.”
“What did Silas say?” Tess’s heart had started to hum. “What do you mean he acted agitated?”
“I don’t know.” Kyra’s eyes narrowed as she studied Tess’s face. “His cheeks got a little red—kind of like yours are now. And he asked a lot of questions.”
“Interesting.” Now Lyric studied Tess too.
In fact, both of her friends stared at her as though trying to read her innermost thoughts.
“What are you looking at me like that for?” she squawked. “I don’t know why Silas would’ve gotten all upset about Brad coming over to see me.” He couldn’t be jealous. Because in order to be jealous he would have to have real feelings for her. And he didn’t. Did he?
“How was the visit with Brad anyway?” Lyric asked in a singsong tone.
“It was good.” That was the best way to describe their time together. Good. Nice. Amiable. And a whole host of other mild adjectives. “He’s a really nice guy.”
“A nice guy you’d like to spend more time with?” Kyra asked.
“How do you feel about starting to date again?” Lyric added.
That was the best thing about her friends. They didn’t have any preconceived notions about how she should be living or when she should be dating. They didn’t judge or project. They asked questions that helped her explore her own feelings.
Tess lay back down on her mat and stared up at the swirled clouds painted on the ceiling. “I think I could be ready to date.” For so long she’d been hollow and numb, but now she’d started to feel things again. Deep things. Powerful things. The problem was, she felt them for the wrong man.
“So youareattracted to Brad?” Lyric lay down next to her. “He’s so handsome. And he does appear to be a good person.”
“He seems like a good option if you’re ready,” Kyra added, crawling past her to lie on her other side.
“I’m not attracted to Brad. At all,” she admitted. “But he asked me to go out for dinner. As friends. Kind of a parent hangout night so we can talk about the girls.”
“Sounds pretty boring if you ask me,” Lyric muttered, pulling her leg into a hamstring stretch.
“I think it will be refreshing.” At least she wouldn’t have to worry about what he was thinking or feeling or not thinking or not feeling, the way she constantly did with a certain cowboy. “Dating again feels like a big step.” More like a big, terrifying leap. “But dinner with a friend is the perfect way for me to get back out there with no pressure.” Spending time with Brad felt easy because she wasn’t interested in anything more than a friendship with him. “Not every encounter with a man has to be passionate and high velocity and fiery and intense.” Memories of the night with Silas stirred up her pulse.
“No, but some encounters are definitely that way.” Kyra’s stare turned thoughtful. “Your face got pretty red earlier when we were talking about Silas. And you seemed flustered.”
“That’s true,” Lyric mused.
“No, it’s not,” Tess said quickly. “My face didn’t get red.” Her cheeks turned molten right then. Geez, why didn’t Lyric have the air conditioner on in this place? It was an exercise studio for crying out loud.
“Oh, you definitely blushed all right.” Kyra shared a perceptive look with Lyric. “I’d say your face got fiery even. Kind of like it is right now.”
“Mmm. Good description.” Lyric elbowed her in the ribs. “Tess… are you holding out on us? Is there something going on between you and Silas?”
These two! They were like high school girls with all their snickering and wide eyes and questions. They were never going to let this go. “It was one night,” she blurted. “Only one night.”
“I knew it!” Kyra sat up and raised her arms in victory. “That’s why he acted so weird with the Brad Kline thing. Because he totally has the hots for you.”
“No.” Tess hugged her knees into her chest. “He doesn’t have feelings for me. We don’t have feelings for each other. Not real feelings.” That she would admit to anyway. “It was only sex.”
“Only sexhas led to many life-changing relationships,” Kyra said knowingly.
