“One day you’ll love me, Wendy. Just you wait.”
The woman he was definitely hopelessly in love with, cut him a look out of the corner of her eye. But the best part was thetwitch of her lips. That day might be closer than either of them expected.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Please tellme I’m not going crazy.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Olivia laughed. The sound of baby chatter emanated from the speaker. Some kind of cartoon or children’s music played as well. Happy chaos. That was what it sounded like.
Something deep inside Wendy ached for it. She could feel her soul craving that kind of happiness. And there was only one person she wanted to find it with.
Wendy groaned and placed a palm to her forehead. She was in too deep. That much was clear. She hadn’t realized just how bad it had become until she noticed the way Lydia had continued to look at Tripp like he was her entire world.
Wendy had hated it.
She could still feel the heat from her latent jealousy sizzling in her veins. This wasn’t like her.
“Earth to Wendy. What’s going on?” Now Olivia sounded concerned. She’d even moved from the room where she’d beenwhen she answered the phone because the background noise was now nonexistent.
Wendy paced her small kitchen, chewing on her thumbnail. How much should she tell her friend? Olivia had said that she didn’t mind if something happened with Tripp. But then, Wendy wasn’t sure she could trust her friend to tell the truth. They weren’t living in the same area. She hadn’t been able to read Olivia’s expression when she’d said as much.
“Sweetie, talk to me. What happened. Is it Tripp?”
Her pacing stalled and it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her whole body. “What?”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Wendy shut her eyes tight, blushing even though no one was there to witness her mortification. This wasn’t how she wanted things to go. She’d made it clear not only to Tripp but herself that there was no chance of something happening between them. They could be friends—albeit with additional benefits. Nothing more.
Except she wasn’t sure she wanted that anymore.
“How did you know?” she asked weakly.
Olivia laughed. “Because the only times you’ve been calling me lately are to talk about him. You realize I might have post pregnancy brain, but I’m not a complete idiot, right?”
Another groan.
And another laugh.
“Okay, so spill it. What’s happening with Tripp. He’s not overstepping, is he? Or is he not overstepping enough?”
“You really need to stop being so insightful,” Wendy muttered.
Olivia giggled. “Boy, I didn’t realize how much I missed the boy talk until after I got married and we stopped doing it.”
“To be fair, the boy talk was usually you talking and me listening,” Wendy huffed, opting to collapse onto the couch rather than resume her pacing.
“True. But back then, you were busy with setting up the antique shop and didn’t have much time to go seeking love.”
Wendy scoffed. “Love? That’s definitely not what this is.”
“Really?” Olivia’s voice was skeptical. “Doesn’t sound like it.”
“Yeah? Pray tell, what does this sound like?”
Olivia didn’t speak right away. The silence between them stretched until Wendy wasn’t sure she could take it anymore. She nearly burst from the anticipation. Then finally, Olivia sighed. “It feels like you’re stranded.”
Wendy frowned. How was she supposed to take that assessment? What exactly did that mean? Thankfully, her friend didn’t make her wait as long this time to explain herself.
