I also knew it wasn’t only that.
“He’s into you,” Abigail said into my reverie.
My heart clenched.“I really don’t think he is.”
“Mabel, my guy is a husband.A dad.But he’s also aman.Emphasis onman.I have men friends.Brett knows what we have, who he is to me, and that I’m in it, at his side until we’re arthritic and drooling and drive our RV off a cliff to die side by side Thelma and Louise style.”
I started laughing.
She had amusement in her tone too as she carried on, “Brett doesn’t know that plan.”
“Spring it on him at the minute,” I suggested.
“I will,” she replied.“But back to what I was saying.I have men friends.A lot of them.And even if I might get caught up in a moment like the moment at the basketball net and gave a guy a hug, if he was my friend, he wouldn’t catch me and drag me up his body, or Brett would rip his head off.But he just wouldn’t do that because that’s not what guy friends do.”
My stomach whooshed, and I whispered, “There’s a lot more about me you need to know.”
“I guessed that,” she whispered back.“A guy?”
A guy.
And other stuff.
“A guy,” I said.
“Well, I’m a mom now, and with motherhood comes wisdom, says me.So listen to me when I say, just be in it.Don’t overthink it.Don’t draw a line in the sand you’ll regret you put there because you wished you’d crossed it.Don’t follow your head, or your heart.Follow your intuition.You’re a smart cookie, Mabel.If he’s moving you to the friend zone, then good.He seems like a super cool guy, and everyone needs friends.If it’s more, don’t close your mind to it.You with me?”
Boy, the wisdom that hit her at Liam’s conception was killer.
“I’m with you, Abigail.”
“And just have fun,” she went on.“I want to hear the story, but my guess is, it’s a doozy.So after we navigate the shit times, it’s all about the good times.Let yourself have some good times, Mabel.”
“I am.I will.And can I take this moment to reiterate how danged lucky I am you applied for that job?”
“I know.I rock nearly as much as Nickelback.”
Moxie shot me a glare at disturbing her when I burst out laughing.
“I think you rock more than Nickelback, babe,” I replied.
“Talk to Hutch.Let us know about this weekend.I hope he’s into it, because I think Brett thought he was the shit too.”
“I’ll talk to him and let you know.”
We gabbed for a while, then we let each other go.
Moxie’s purrs had stopped, which meant she was asleep, and this meant I couldn’t move.
I didn’t mind.
Tonks had curled in her dog bed, a soft rain had started to fall, life was good.
And I’d called Hutch “honey” yesterday, and he hadn’t said anything rude or done anything to reestablish boundaries.
Just be in it, Abigail had advised.
“Just be in it,” I whispered.
