“That much is obvious,” JP says.
I press my fingers into my brow and say, “So what should I do?”
“We already told you what to do,” Huxley says. “Tell Lia how you feel. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it.”
“But she’s on this mission now to do things before she gets married. What am I supposed to do about that?”
“Well, if you think she might not feel the same way about you, then help her understand how you’re a better match for her than Brian,” JP says.
“Yeah, I agree,” Huxley chimes in.
“How do I go about doing that?”
“Be everything Brian is not,” JP says. “Without crossing the line, obviously, you can’t go fuck her and be like, see, I fuck you, and Brian doesn’t.”
That actually makes me chuckle. “I would never do that, but I get what you’re saying.” I lean my head against the headrest and ask, “Do you really think it could work?”
“Never know until you try,” Huxley says.
“And I just want to state for the record one more time about how right we were about this.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I say, causing them both to laugh. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t,” Huxley says. “You just hate that we’re always right.”
“Yeah, that too. Okay, Birdy is here for our hike. Got to go.”
“Be gentle with her,” JP says.
“No, I thought I would kick dirt at her and tell her to get lost.”
“Not recommended,” Huxley adds right before I say bye and end the call.
I look out the window where Birdy steps out of her white SUV wearing a matching set of maroon biking shorts and sports bra. And from where I’m sitting, I can see a small bird pattern on them.
Fuck.
I squeeze my eyes shut again.
I don’t want to make her feel bad.
But I’m going to. There’s no way around it. She definitely thinks we’re about to have a fun birdwatching hike.How do I tell her otherwise?
Grumbling to myself, I get out of my car just as Birdy steps up.
“Hey, you,” she says in a cheery voice just as her hand lands on my chest, and she stands on her toes to press a kiss to my jaw. “How are you?”
Fucking awful.
“Good.” I tack on a smile. “Uh, I like your outfit, very themed for birdwatching.”
“I told you it was good.” She beams up at me, and I realize I must tell her now. I can’t go on this hike and pretend everything is fine and then tell her after. That would be brutal. She must sense my uneasiness because she asks, “Is everything okay?”
I pull on my hair and shake my head. “No.”
“Oh, what’s going on?”
“Come talk with me,” I say as I take her hand in mine and lead her around to the back of my SUV and open the trunk. I take a seat, and she does the same. “I’ve been a fucking idiot, Birdy, and I dragged you into my idiocy.”
