“I don’t know about that… She hasn’t said yes.”
That was when Nash was supposed to reassure me. Tell me I had nothing to worry about and that our mutual best friend would take one for the team, without question. That our perpetually single, wanderlust-filled, Havenbrook-hating friend would tie herself to me and this town simply because I’d used a signal we’d instilled ten years ago.
I was an idiot.
This whole thing was a pipe dream. There was no way in hell Nat was going to agree to this. No way she would willingly give up her life, simply because I asked her to. Yes, we were best friends. And yes, any one of us would do anything for the other one.
But this wasn’t just anything. This waseverything.
The side door opened, and Nat strode in, freezing in the doorway as her eyes darted between me and Nash.
Natalie Haven had always been more than just a friend to me. She’d been a sounding board, a partner in crime. My first crush—and my first heartbreak, if you wanted to really break it down.
Of course, she knew nothing of that. But that wasn’t something I ever needed to speak about, since it had started and stopped faster than I could blink—back when she and Nash had gotten it in their heads to see if there was a spark between the two of them. News flash—there hadn’t been.
Their single kiss had almost destroyed their friendship right then and there, and thus the friendship between all three of us. It hadn’t mattered if I’d been head over heels in love with her—for the record, I hadn’t been. Well, I was pretty sure I hadn’t been, anyway. But I’d decided the possibility of a relationship wasn’t worth jeopardizing the promise of the best friendships of my life.
Now, I only hoped I hadn’t made a colossal mistake asking her to do this in the first place. I just kept telling myself this wasn’t real. It wasn’t something we’d get tied up in. Wasn’t something that could potentially cause heartbreak. It was, for lack of a better term, a business decision.
And I could only pray she’d seen it as such and would give me mercy and agree to my ridiculous proposition. Because without it—without her—I’d be back to square one, fighting to keep June and Owen with little hope of doing so.
“Hey,” she said, tossing the keys to my sister’s car on the counter as she strode toward us.
“Well, I think that’s my cue,” Nash said, pushing to stand.
Nat narrowed her eyes on him. “That’s two times in two hours that you’ve fled as soon as I’ve walked in a room. If you’re not careful, Nash King, I’m gonna start takin’ this personally.”
“Aw, Nattie,” he said, hooking an arm around her neck and tugging her to him, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You know I love you.”
It was the same move, the same words, any one of the three of us had made a thousand times in our relationship. We’d always been casually affectionate with one another, never steering away from easy touches or generous hugs. We’d said I love you to one another more times than I could hope to count.
And yet, now, when I watched this exchange between the two of them, a fire stoked hot in my stomach, the glowing embers of jealousy catching me off guard.
I’d faced that particular emotion a time or two in my past. Nothing overt, but just the whisper of the feeling once in a while during previous relationships. But I’d never felt it with Nat. Until now, apparently.
“Don’t even think about tryin’ to sweet-talk me. Unless you brought me one of those cupcakes, I never wanna speak to you again,” Nat said, her retort lacking the heat the words conjured.
“Looks like it’s my lucky day, then.” Nash reached over and popped the top of the bright-pink cupcake box he’d brought over.
She beamed up at him, pushing up on tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “You’re forgiven, even if you didn’t bring me my favorite.”
“Are you kiddin’? I brought you chocolate-chocolate. Since when is that not your favorite?”
Since she’d had banoffee pie in the UK last year, had discussed it with Lilah at some point, and had gotten the baker to add a cupcake version to her menu.
“Since I don’t know. My new fave is banoffee.”
“What the fuck is a banoffee?”
Nat laughed. “Only the best dessert in the world. But chocolate-chocolate is perfect.”
“As most free cupcakes are,” Nash said dryly.
With a laugh, she plucked the cupcake from the box before peeling down the wrapper and diving in, uncaring of the fact that the move left a dollop of frosting on her nose.
Nash rolled his eyes at her before walking to the slider that led to the backyard and bracing himself against the frame. “Girls, it’s time to go now that we’ve gotten June nice and sugared up!”
After Nash had ushered Rory’s girls out the front door, shooting raised brows at me on his way, I was alone with Nat for the first time since I’d dropped the bomb. June’s laughs and Owen’s squeals floated in from outside as my niece danced circles around my nephew.
