“Julie, you need insurance. I mean, everyone does, but you can’t—”
“Stop.” I pressed my hand into his chest as his heart strummed against my palm. “I will figure something out. For now, we finish our drinks and go meet up with our friends and celebrate. Can you do that for me?”
He shut his eyes, nodding with a groan.
“Anything else you need to tell me before I order a round of shots for myself?” He wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me into his side.
“Nope. That was it.” I breathed out a relieved gust of air and let my cheek drop to his shoulder.
“So that’s why I look a little different to you.” I swiped the hair off my shoulder, still expecting to find long tresses flowing down my back. After my hair thinned out, I’d cut it to make it seem thicker and fuller. I’d always hesitated to cut even a half inch off, but I had gotten a ton of compliments for my accidental new look. While I didn’t hate it, I didn’t feel like me.
I was a different me—a me I was still getting to know while I let go of who I used to be.
“But I’m still okay,” I said, unsure which one of us I was faking enthusiasm for. But I ran with it. “Promise.”
“You’re beautiful. Now and always.” His voice dipped into a soft, low whisper. “So cut that out.”
From Landon, I could almost believe it. It had felt like such a long time since I’d felt beautiful or even vital. I’d taken life and the purpose I had in it for granted, and now it seemed that, no matter who I was with or where I was, I was still lost.
3
LANDON
“Well, we have a little news. Other than this.” Dean nodded at Maria next to him.
“This?” Maria pinched her brows together. “My fiancé, the romantic,” she said, pressing a dramatic hand to her chest.
Dean and Maria had invited us to dinner at a noodle restaurant in the hotel, as it was much more casual than the other options. Dean said he wanted to enjoy our company and not have to cringe if one of us got loud, which, most of the time, was him.
He looped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, dropping a kiss to her temple.
“As you know, we’ve been living in the same apartment for a while now.”
“Just like you’ve been dating a while,” I joked, cracking up when Dean narrowed his eyes.
“Right. Well, last week, we closed on a house in Scarsdale. The one I told you about with the huge deck and pool.”
“It’s got other good stuff too, but that’s what sold Dean from the beginning.” Maria gave Dean a playful eye roll.
“This is another reason why we didn’t have a huge wedding. We wanted to put the money we worked so hard for where it counted.” He picked up Maria’s hand and brought it to his lips.
We used to tease Dean and Maria when they started dating about looking like brother and sister. The olive skin and almost black hair and eyes from their respective Italian and Puerto Rican heritages allowed them to resemble siblings, or at least family.
They’d been together for so long, I couldn’t picture one without the other, and even though my divorce had soured me on marriage for myself, I loved watching them come full circle.
“I still remember your first date,” Julie said, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair.
“You do?” Dean scoffed. “Ibarely remember it.”
“You are so full of shit,” I told him. He glared back at me from across the table. “You annoyed me for days with all the different options you picked and which one I thought she’d like the most.”
“You did?” Maria shifted toward Dean, her jaw slack. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, I was hoping that would stay buried. No such luck with these two.” He narrowed his eyes at Julie and me.
“We’ve been friends long enough to remember it all,” I said, a smile rushing across my mouth. Being with my oldest friends reminded me of a time when life was simple, with no worries beyond classes or what bar to hit later. We’d been young and sometimes a little stupid, but I missed the carefree, pure happiness I had been in such a rush to give up at the time.
“That we have,” Dean mused. “For a long time. Although I can’t think of the last time I saw you guys. Are we those people already? The ones who only see each other for weddings and funerals?”
