I scrub my hand down my face just as a light tapping comes from the other side of the wall.
And just like that, a smile spreads across my face.
Reaching up to the wall, I rap my knuckle four times.
Like clockwork, she knocks three.
Four knocks for four letters in love.
Three knocks for three letters in you.
It’s something we’ve done ever since we shared a wall. It’s a gentle reminder that even though I’m angry, irritated, or even sad, at least I have Lia, my best friend, the one person who can so easily put a smile on my face. I don’t know what I’d do without her.
I don’t even want to think about it. Even when things in my life are out of balance, there’s one very solid, very predictable constant. Lia.
ChapterTwo
LIA
“Morning,” Brian says through the phone. “Just wanted to remind you that we have lunch with my mom this afternoon.”
I lift my cup of coffee and say, “Yup, don’t worry, I’ll be there fifteen minutes early so she doesn’t have to comment on how I’m there only five minutes early.”
“Be nice,” he says.
“I’m . . . I’m—”
“So did you tell him about us last night?”
I stare down at the engagement ring sitting on my dresser. No, I didn’t tellhim. Brian is not a fan of Breaker’s. “Not yet. It wasn’t a good time last night.”
“Lia, how could it not be a good time to tell your best friend you’re engaged?”
“He has some really bad things happening at work right now. Like . . . inimical circumstances. He found out about it last night. I didn’t think it was appropriate to just spring it on him.”
“What’s going on?”
“Confidential things,” I answer because even though Brian is my fiancé, Breaker is my best friend and deserves his privacy, especially regarding his business. “Anyway, I’ll tell him soon.”
“Okay.” He pauses and then says, “You’re not avoiding telling him for a reason, are you?”
“What does that mean?” I ask as I move toward my desk. Luckily, I get to work from home since I do contract work for my clients, which means I have my own hours and my own space. I’m not exactly a people person.
“It means I just want to make sure you’re happy about being engaged. It’s been a week, Lia, and you haven’t said anything to him.”
“Because he’s been out of town. I’m not about to tell him over the phone. It’s something I want to do in person.”
“Okay . . .” he says softly, and I can tell he’s not happy.
“Brian, I’m going to tell him. I just want it to be a celebration, not something I say in passing or when he’s in a bad mood or out of town. He’ll be happy for us.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“I don’t know. You’ve just been weird since I proposed.”
“Weird, how?” I ask as I take a seat on my desk chair and slowly start to spin around in circles.
