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I barked out a laugh. What is it with everyone telling me about him hooking up?
“Oh, God. I take that back. Okay. Stay on topic.” She braced her hands in front of her as if to hold off my speech. “I know it’s weird, him and me having a child and being best friends.” She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head in smiling disbelief then met my eyes. “I’m fucking thankful I remember very little about that night. He is just as thankful. He and I have never been remotely romantically involved. It was a one-off. It was alcohol and affection and probably a good bit of loneliness. On my side. Not his.”
My Lord, she babbled worse than Willa and Ruby put together.
She dropped her face into her hands. When she looked back up at me, she was miserable.
“I can’t lose him,” she whispered. Tears came to her eyes. “I just can’t.”
I reached for her hand and held it between both of mine while I stared at the ground. Wondered if she was being one hundred per cent honest.
You’re in the way. This is not where you belong.
“I believe it best if we speak honestly, woman to woman. It will simplify the situation and clarify each of our paths moving forward.”
She gripped my hand tightly and felt her whole body move as she nodded.
I tipped my chin up. “I’m only going to say this once. You’ll never get this offer from me after today. Think carefully before you answer as it is quite possible that our collective peace and happiness hinges on your reply.”
Her gaze caught mine and she didn’t turn away even as she swiped her tears away with her other hand.
I stared into her beautiful eyes and my heart squeezed. “Do you want me to step aside and give you guys a chance to be a family?”
She froze for a moment, then flew into movement, sitting forward in her chair, her other hand clasping around both of mine.
“No. I want you to accept me as part of Lucky’s life. I need you to set the precedent that what we have is normal, give me hope that someday someone might want me enough to accept Lucky’s place in my life. I’d like to have a place in your life if you’re with him. I don’t want him romantically. I just love him so much. He’s more family than friend.” Her mouth twisted. “But I don’t, like, want to be a couple with him. I don’t want to be family in that way.” She waved her hand again. “I get that he’s attractive. I understand why you’d want to fuck him, but to me he’s just my friend. My best friend. The one person who has never ever walked away.”
She took a deep breath at the same time as I did but recovered from hers faster and yanked my hands, jerking me slightly forward in my seat.
“I can’t think about having sex with Lucky without gagging. It was practically incestuous. But. He is my oldest and closest friend. I don’t want to lose him. I’m trying to impress upon you the fact that I am not a threat. I will never be a threat. In fact. If you love Lucky, I love you. I’ll be your biggest fucking ally.”
She sat back and huffed out a breath. “There. That’s what I really wanted to say.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? That’s it?”
I smiled wryly, amusement and possibly the first faint embers of affection lighting my gaze. “I think you’ve said enough for both of us and possibly everyone else who’s here today, no?”
She barked out a laugh. “Good. Phew!” She reached for the bag of cookies. “Now that that’s settled, I’m having the peanut butter cookie.” She pulled it out of the bag and bit into it, rapture on her exquisite face. “Frig, that’s good.”
“There better be chocolate chunk in there,” I grumbled. “I was looking forward to that one.”
She held it up. “Noted. I’ll get doubles next time. Hey! These are really cool! I want to buy one of Brayleigh for my parents. Is that okay? You can take the picture. I trust you.”
“I’m really behind,” I warned. “When would you need it for?”
“Christmas?” she shrugged.
“That I can do.”
She finished chewing then indicated the cookie bag. “I’ll let you have the next pick.”
“Fair enough,” I laughed, reaching in.
“Lucky’s right. Your laugh is like music. You’re so refined and he’s so like me.” Her right eyebrow raised as she assessed me. “Your chemistry must be off the fucking charts.”
I held up a hand. “We are not going there.”
