AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Katrina swallowed back the worry and sat upright. “This is Simon. He’s been around forever. He knows that I want that job. He knows what I would do if I got it.”
“And what if he wants you to stay here?”
She huffed. “That would never happen. He respects me too much. Besides, he keeps telling me he just wants me to be happy. He’s the perfect guy.”
“There is no such thing,” Brianne murmured.
“Are you going to celebrate with me? Or am I going to have to shove all my joy down your throat before I leave?”
There was an edge to her voice she hadn’t expected to come through. Clearly, Brianne heard it as well and it caught her off guard.
The smile she forced on her face couldn’t have been more obviously done to placate Katrina, which seemed to put an even bigger damper on the conversation. Still, she played her part as best friend the exact way she needed to. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. Tell me everything.”
Katrina eyed Brianne for a moment, then took a deep breath to soothe every thought of discontent that had materialized. She allowed herself to feel the joy from the night before at full power and grinned. “He came over and demanded to see me…”
Throughout the whole story, she watched her friend carefully. Brianne made all the right comments. She played her role just as well as could be expected given her obvious disdain for the relationship Katrina was developing.
They steered clear of her job hunt and Katrina asked Brianne about the guy she was spending time with.
“Kurt is the sweetest. But he’s not from around here.” Brianne took a sip of her drink, the usual shine returning to her eyes as she spilled the information she had on the guy she liked.
“That shouldn’t matter. He lives by Jackson, right?”
Brianne shook her head. “Actually, he lives in Texas.”
Katrina sucked in sharply. “You’re joking. How did I not know that?”
“Well, did Jackson talk about him?”
She shook her head. “He talked mostly about himself—well, until he realized that I wasn’t interested in just hearing about him. Then he tried to get to know me better.”
“Are you one hundred percent sure you don’t just?—”
Katrina held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there. Simon has been there for me longer than anyone. We’ve been friends since before you and I were friends. If a relationship with anyone can work, it will be between us.” She’d repeat those words until she was blue in the face because her happiness depended on it.
And being with Simon made her happy.
Brianne leaned over and touched Katrina’s knee. “Then I’m glad it’s working out.” Her eyes turned serious—so much so that Katrina shivered. “And if he ever hurts you, then I know where some heavy machinery is and there’s a lot out back behind my mom’s jewelry store where we can bury the body.”
Katrina gasped then laughed out loud. “Brianne! He’s your friend, too!”
“Yeah, but you’re my best friend and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She leaned forward and gave Brianne a tight hug. “I don’t know how I got to be so lucky to find two people who care about me as much as you guys do.”
Brianne pulled back first and wiped at a tear Katrina hadn’t realized had slipped down her cheek. “I know, right? You’re pretty darn lucky.”
Katrina laughed.
“But in all seriousness, you know we love you, right? We’d do anything for you.”
“And I’d do anything for you guys.”
Brianne nodded. “We know.”
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Simon had beenon this porch step more times than he could count. He’d lost track of how many times he’d sat here and let Katrina cry over something devastating, or how often he’d celebrated with her over a win.
