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I shrugged. “Does it really matter? I mean, we’re gonna get married, so why argue over when?”
Kye ran his hand over his head and stared at me with those blue eyes of his, full of so many emotions that I didn’t know which one he was actually feeling. “I can’t believe you’re gonna marry him, Baby Doll.”
“Why?”
“Because … because you have me. Why do you need him?”
I laughed then. Kye really believed that too. He didn’t seem to think I needed anything more from a man than what his friendship provided. Explaining relationships to him was pointless. We’d had that conversation over tequila before, and he hadn’t gotten the point. To Kye, sex was a fun time, nothing more. He didn’t see intimacy as something required to fulfill a relationship.
His exact words had been, “Sex and love don’t mix. It just complicates shit.”
I reached over and took his hand in mine. “Kye, you are and will always be my best friend. I know you don’t think I need more than what we have, but I need the other stuff too.”
He flipped his hand over and threaded his fingers through mine. “He’s gonna take you away from me.”
“No, he’s not.”
He stared down at our hands. “Do you swear?”
“I swear.”
The doorbell rang, and his head snapped up, looking angry again. “Is that him?”
I laughed and gave his hand one more squeeze before letting go. “Yes.”
“He’s early. You didn’t save him pancakes too, did you?”
“Is someone gonna get that?” Mom called from the living room. “Theo is asleep. I don’t want it to ring again. He needs his rest.”
“Yeah! I am,” I replied and glanced back at Kye. “Be nice. Please. For me.”
He sighed and gave me a nod before I went to let Bowie in.
This would be a first for us. Sharing a holiday. I was excited and nervous about it. Fitting Bowie into my life with Kye hadn’t been easy so far. Neither of them seemed to want to rekindle the friendship they’d once had. Deep down, I had hoped that they would find that again. But the more we were all together, the more they seemed like strangers. Almost ignoring the other’s presence.
Opening the door to Bowie smiling with a bouquet of yellow and orange roses, I put aside my worries about Kye and took the flowers before leaning in to kiss him as he stepped inside.
“I missed you,” I told him.
“I missed you too,” he replied, then nodded his head toward the outside. “Kye’s motorcycle?”
“Yep. He’s in the kitchen. Come on,” I replied, refusing to let him make this awkward.
He had known that Kye was going to be here. I wasn’t sure if he had stated it as if he shouldn’t be here or just pointing it out. Either way, it seemed odd.
I took the roses into the kitchen, and Kye looked at them, then me before raising his eyebrows.
“Roses?” he asked with a touch of amusement in his voice.
“Yes,” I replied tightly, hoping he wasn’t going to say what he was thinking.
Kye swung his gaze to Bowie. “Since you’re marrying her, you should probably know her favorite flowers.”
“Kye,” I warned.
I could feel Bowie’s eyes on me, and I was very close to strangling Kye.
“What?” he said, shrugging. “I was just gonna help a guy out. He needs to know you don’t like roses and find them basic and overrated.”
My face felt hot as I glared at Kye. “That isn’t true.”
Bowie had bought me so many roses since we’d started dating. I didn’t want him to know that I didn’t like them.
Kye let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, it fucking is true. You’ve said that for years.”
Shut up, Kye. Shut up, I mentally yelled at him.
He didn’t care. Instead, he looked back at Bowie. “Her favorite flower is a Persian buttercup. The brighter pink, the better. If you can’t find those, then dahlias are her second favorite. She really likes those in orange. You should have gone with orange dahlias if you were trying for a fall bouquet.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was not how I’d wanted to start off our first holiday meal together. Kye reminding Bowie how well he knew me wouldn’t warm him up to this.
When I opened my eyes, I forced a smile and turned to Bowie. “I’ve changed my mind about that,” I told him. “Orange roses are now my favorite. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
Bowie didn’t look convinced. “You’re welcome,” he replied.
“Oh, would you look at those roses! They will look beautiful in my centerpiece,” Mom exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen. Then, she smiled brightly at Kye and Bowie. “It sure is good to have you two boys in this house together again. Now, Kye, please get me the cornucopia out of the attic. And, Bowie, would you go to the basement and get the two extra chairs for the dining room table?”
