“Well, ithasonly been a few weeks,” Lila murmured but shut up when Rachel glared at her.
“The point is you’re not committing to anything but seeing where this goes. Yeah, you and Daniel got hurt. Badly. But you both learned from that. It’s not the last time Daniel’s going to be disappointed or heartsick.”
“Because women can be such bitches.” Lila nodded. “But we’ll be there when his first girlfriend breaks his heart.”
Kenzie smiled through tears. “Yeah, we’ll all be there.”
“And we’ll be here for you if Evan breaks your heart.”
“Just thinking about it stresses me out.” She wasn’t kidding. Her stomach cramped, and she felt a headache creeping on.
“Don’t borrow trouble, as my mom likes to say,” Lila said. “Stop worrying about what you can’t control. Sure, you can dump Evan now. Be a pussy and ghost him.” Kenzie knew Lila hated that disappearing-breakup practice. “But you might be throwing away a guy you’ll be sharing morning breath and bad hair with fifty years from now.”
“You’re so romantic.” Rachel grinned. “She’s right, though. If I had ditched Will at the beginning, I’d be missing out on an amazing man. I was so man-hater-mad back when Bryce broke it off with you. I tried to make Will leave in so many ways. But he stuck to me.”
Lila nodded. “Like a bad rash.”
Rachel ignored her. “It’s really up to you. We’ll support you either way, but by not even giving yourself a chance to love Evan, you’re kind of hurting yourself. Not just him.”
“And Daniel,” Lila pointed out. “Don’t teach him it’s okay to be scared and retreat from life. He’s finally starting to show signs of his old self again. Show him you might be afraid, but you’re still getting yourself out there.”
Rachel handed her a tissue.
Kenzie blew her nose. “Thanks, guys. I guess I should stop being such a wimp about it and face Evan. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“Yet. He’s a man. He’ll do something stupid at some point,” Rachel helpfully pointed out.
“True.” Kenzie laughed. “But I don’t need to worry about stuff that hasn’t happened. Things are actually good, so of course that’s when I worry. And I shouldn’t. I mean, Evan actually fixed a lot of broken things in the house. And he’s teaching Daniel.” She thought about that, then she thought about Evan in that unbuttoned shirt. “Sex with Evan was better than anything I’ve ever had.”
Lila hooted. “I told you they hooked up. You see the way he looks at her.”
Rachel sighed and pulled out another bill to put in Lila’s hand. “You know, Kenzie, you could have held out a little. Such a ho.”
“Seriously?” Kenzie knew Rachel was messing with her, and the familiar banter helped settle her nerves. “You slept with Will on the first date. I at least held out until our third.”
This time Lila put the dollar back in Rachel’s hand. “Damn it.” Lila excused herself to use the bathroom, and Kenzie gave Rachel a bigger hug.
“Thanks for always being there for me. I feel silly for being scared about falling in love. But I can’t help it.”
“You be as scared as you need to be. Sometimes I worry Will and I will fall apart too. But nobody knows the future.” Rachel pulled back. “Heck, if I did, I’d be losing a lot less money to that penis worshipper in the bathroom.”
Kenzie grinned and, seeing Lila still gone, whispered, “Five bucks says she hasn’t slept with Hector yet. That’s why she’s been so crabby.”
“No way. She hit it with the big man, then he pulled back.” Rachel eyeballed Kenzie and held out a hand. “You’re on.”
Lila returned, and they watched her. “Out with it.”
“So, ah, have you and Hector been…close?” Kenzie asked.
Lila sighed. “He’s playing hard to get, and it’s killing me.”
“Yes.” Kenzie threw her fist in the air. She almost never won their bets, but she’d been keeping an eye on Lila since the woman had fallen head over heels for Hector. Recognizing a fellow heartsick soul, she felt for her friend. But not bad enough to ignore taking advantage of Rachel.
Rachel threw a crumpled bill at Kenzie. “Damn it. This issonot my day.”
Chapter 19
Evan spent Friday with Smith, alone, moving Mrs. Rassom, an older woman who’d lost her husband two months ago. She reminded him of his mother, and he’d done the best he could to help, from talking to her when she sat for a spell to assisting her in packing up her things.
