Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“And yet you’re together now.”
I nodded. “We kept being in each other’s orbit, and she’s my person, Annie. I waited until graduation, but I wasn’t going to wait another day longer.”
“She’s a lucky woman,” Annie told me fondly.
“Nah, I’m the lucky one.”
Annie sighed. “Well, I suppose if you’re going to get punched for something, it might as well be love.”
“I actually think it’s because I’m sleeping with Jordan’s little sister and he hates me.”
She shot me a disgruntled look. “Thanks for that visual.”
I laughed and nudged her. “Hey, you’re with Jordan. I never want to think about that either.”
“Fair. So…where is Harley now?”
“Dealing with her brothers,” I said on a wince. “I wanted to go with her, but she insisted that she do it alone.”
“She can handle them. Give her some credit.”
“I give her all the credit,” I countered. “I just don’t want her to have to deal with them by herself.”
“My little romantic,” Annie said with a smile.
“You’re not mad?”
I didn’t know why I’d asked it. It didn’t matter what Annie thought about my relationship any more than what Harley’s brothers thought about the situation. It wasn’t going to change anything between us. I loved her. She was mine.
And yet…I wanted her approval. She was Annie. We’d been friends too long to not want things to be good between us.
“Mad that you didn’t tell me? Yes. Mad about you and Harley? Of course not. I love Harley. She’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met.” She pursed her lips and looked me up and down. “Actually, now that I think about it, you two make a lot of sense. The same family thing with your dads and your love of Halloween, and you listen to the same music.” Her eyes skipped to my immense record collection.
She’d never understood my obsession with classic rock music. She always went for country or pop. Harley and I loved all the same things.
“She’s strong. She’s smart. She’s funny. I bet she keeps you on your toes.”
I smirked. “She does.”
“Good. You need someone to challenge you. Anything too easy, and you’re bored. You’ve always been that way.”
“Thanks?” I said it more as a question.
“You’re welcome, ass,” she said with a laugh. “You need to be intellectually stimulated. You need constant competition. You need lots of interests. You’re nonstop all the time. You’ve never slowed down a day in your life. Anyone who can keep up—or even better yet, make you put in the work—is going to be good for you.”
“You’ve thought a lot about this.”
She shrugged. “I had a lot of reason to.”
Her smile was sincere and joyful, not tinged with sadness, as it had been for so long.
Annie had so many of those qualities that she had described. Still, we weren’t the match. Jordan, as much as I hated him, had proven himself time and again to be hers. Harley just happened to be mine.
“She’s the one,” I told her.
“I’m so glad.”
She pulled me in for a hug. My best friend. My longest friend. The person who understood me better than almost anyone. I’d put distance between us for so long because of our stupid pact and Jordan. It was nice to have her back. Back and better than ever because none of the tension remained. Just a strong friendship.
I released her, and she settled back onto her barstool. Then, I went to the kitchen and began making us breakfast. She was a French toast fan, and I remembered just how she liked them.
We were almost finished eating when the door opened, and Harley Wright stepped inside. She stopped for a second in the doorway, looking between us in confusion.
I’d given her a key last night.
I loved that she’d felt comfortable enough to use it.
A smile broke out on my face, but it was Annie who jumped up first. She stalked across the room and threw her arms around my girlfriend.
“Gah, I’m so fucking happy for you.”
Harley looked at me over Annie’s shoulder. Surprise was written into every line of her face. Then, she slowly put her arms around her sister-in-law and patted her twice.
“Hey, Annie. Didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Had to come and get the details from your boyfriend.”
Her smile went from wary to satisfied in the blink of an eye. The first person to call me her boyfriend to her face, and oh, I could see she liked that.
“And what did he tell you?”
“That you were nineteen when you first hooked up at my wedding, and the jerk never told me anything.” Annie stuck her tongue out at me.
“That’s true. We weren’t exactly advertising our non-relationship.”
“Well, advertise it now because if the way he talks about you is how it usually is, then it’s fucking adorable.”
Harley grinned. Her gaze met mine again, and I saw questions in the lines of her shoulders. As if she was wondering what exactly I’d said. I’d be happy to tell her everything.