“Always.”
“What does…love feel like for you and Logan?” I whisper, suddenly shy. I’ve been keeping so much inside.
Mac smiles softly, her eyes glinting with memory.
“For me? It’shim. I guess? I have loved him since we were kids. We grew up together, on the same street, same friends, same summers. I always…cared for him. Loved him, even. But I didn’t understand it fully at first. It wasn’t until we were older—after Braden died—that I realized how deep it ran. How much I needed him. How much I wanted him to be my person. I thought…he might never feel the same. I didn’t dare hope. There had been this...imposed distance. We didn’t want to hurt one another, but we didn’t, couldn’t, take things further. Then I was drowning in grief, suffocating. I ended up in your neck of the woods, Portland. Tried to find myself…”
I tilt my head, taking a sip of wine, letting her words wash over me.
“And then?”
She laughs softly, a little choked, but warm.
“Then…he walks in when I am busying myself with work, we reconnected. This thing that had always been beneath the surface bloomed, I guess. He told me, quietly, when I least expected it. I remember sitting on the porch, night sky above us, and he…finally let me know. Everything I felt, he felt too. That’s when I knew we felt the same way about one another. Then, I got in an accident, and I got to be wooed by him all over again. He held me together when I felt like I was falling apart. He was patient. Kind. Nurturing. Understanding…because I can be a bit of a psycho at times.”
I nibble on another piece of popcorn, thinking about Trey. That intensity, the peace he brings, the way he makes me feel alive in every nerve ending, every heartbeat. My stomach twists with longing and warmth.
“I think that’s what I feel with Trey,” I confess softly, almost to myself. “It’s not the same as your love with Logan, I think…but…he brings out things in me I didn’t know were there. Passion I never knew I had, and…he sees me. All of me, and he accepts me for it.”
Mac smiles knowingly, leaning back.
“That certainly sounds like love, Sera. That’s the kind that makes you want to be better, the kind that scares the hell out of you and makes your heart soar at the same time.”
I rest my head on her shoulder, feeling the gentle warmth, letting the film play, the popcorn taste sweet and comforting in my mouth, the wine a soft warmth in my belly.
“I’m scared,” I admit, voice barely above the background music. “Scared to…give him all of me. That last piece.”
Mac squeezes my hand.
“You don’t have to give him every part. A woman must have her secrets, or so they say. I think Logan pretends not to know mine… God, I love him. Besides, if you really are freaked out, don’t be. You’ll know when you’re ready. Trey…he’s not going anywhere. He’s already giving you all of him, and that’s your invitation. The rest…is your choice.”
I nod, fingers tracing the rim of my glass.
The popcorn bowl is empty, the movie humming in the background, and for a moment, I forget everything else. The fear, the shadows, the intruders, the past. It’s just warmth, laughter, wine, and the promise of love. Real, all-consuming love—spilling into my life.
From the corner of my eye, I see Mac’s grin as she sets down the nail polish. “We’ve got the boys coming home soon. I hope you’re ready for that madness too.”
I laugh softly, brushing my hair from my face.
“I think I’m ready. For them, for him…for this.”
The movie ended a while ago, but neither of us moved to turn off the TV. The credits hum quietly in the background as I swirl the last of my wine in the glass. My face feels tight beneath the cooling mask, and every time I smile, it cracks at the corners.
Mac’s phone buzzes on the coffee table. She glances at it and grins.
“They’re on their way back.”
“Oh, no,” I laugh, touching the ridiculous green goo on my face.
“You could’ve warned me sooner!”
She bursts out laughing, nearly spilling her wine.
“What? You look adorable! Trey’s going to love it.”
“Because I’m slimy,” I counter, wiping a bit off my chin.
“Details,” she says, dismissing me with a flick of her hand as she digs into a bag of M&M’s.
