“Reese.” She groaned nervously. “This is Annie. Annie, this is my best friend, Reese.”
“Nice to meet you.”
The two of them followed me into the kitchen, and Annie looked around with as much awe as I had the first time I saw the place. I didn’t want to say I’d gotten used to the modern extravagance of the house, but it was more familiar than it used to be.
“You have a gorgeous home,” Annie said.
“It’s my boyfriend’s.”
Morgan made a sound in the back of her throat, and I set the pie down on the counter.
“Can I get you some wine? Cory’s outside out he phone with some friends, but dinner will be ready soon.”
“Wine is good,” Morgan said, and I got fresh glasses for them, then carried the whole bottle out to top off Cory’s and my drinks.
He was finishing up the call with Kale and the rest of his friends from New York, his expression radiantly amused when he saw the way I kept shoving my hand into my pocket. He let Morgan introduce him to Annie, and he was so good at casual small talk it took less than twenty minutes before the four of us were laughing together like old friends.
We shared a small meal together, then some more wine on the patio, and the sun had been down for hours when Morgan reached over and grabbed my wrist with a surprising amount of strength.
“What is this?” she asked, twisting my arm at a very unnatural angle until my hand was raised between us, ring right there on my finger.
“A ring,” I said, grinning.
“What kind of ring?”
“The only kind that matters.”
Morgan squealed and shoved her wine into Annie’s hand, and then she was in my lap, face smashed between her hands as she peppered my face with kisses. Before I could bat her off, she was done, crawling over me and onto Cory’s lap to bathe him in the same level of affection.
“Finally!” She threw her head back, then her body so she was sprawled across our laps.
“Finally?” I looked from her pleased smile to Cory’s red face.
“She was with me when I bought it,” Cory explained.
Morgan grabbed my hand and brought it down to her face, studying the ring and spinning it around my finger.
“Has he seen yours yet?” she asked.
My heart skipped. “His?”
I glanced at Cory, who for the first time in almost a year looked sheepish.
“No, Morgan,” he said, giving me a weak smile. “He hasn’t.”
“You have one?” I asked him.
He nodded.
“Why aren’t you wearing it?”
“I don’t know.” Cory shrugged. “I have all these hoodies already, and it feels the same to me. I was thinking about waiting until it was official.”
“And I have this watch already.” I jangled the Rolex around my wrist. “Go get the ring. I want to see it.”
Gingerly, he lifted Morgan’s legs from his lap, and after he headed into the house, I shoved her into his empty spot.
“I can’t believe he had one for himself, and he wasn’t wearing it,” I complained.
