“Oh, I bet you’re exci?—”
“Easton, we’re about to cut the cake.”
Wait, what? The hair on my neck rises, and bile threatens to spill from my throat. Was that…Sydney?
“Be right there,” Easton responds hoarsely, and the line grows silent.
“I’ll let you go,” I tell him, feeling myself crawl into a shell again. “I’m glad we got to talk, Ranger. Don’t be a stranger.”
“Yeah, sure,” he responds cautiously. “Talk soon, Collie. Sleep tight.”
I hang up the phone and close my eyes, stabilizing my overcompensating heart rate. It’s okay. I’m okay. I know that was Sydney’s voice. I’ve heard Palmer’s voice, and hers is much more raspy. I also know nothing is going on between them. But the jolt of jealousy that invaded my body justhearing another woman murmur his name made me ready to commit myself.
He’s my Easton.
But technically, he’s not. Yet, he feels like every bit mine where it counts.
All I know is I’m not the woman who gets jealous or runs just because I feel fear. But fear of losing Easton feels much different than fear of missing a call. Or forgetting about a shoe sale.
He’s my peace. At least, that’s the revelation I’m starting to see.
All I know is that I never want to feel like this again. I have some serious thinking to do. Who do I see Easton as in my life? Where do I see us ending up?
Am I ready to give myself to him and risk it not working out?
He misses me, and for now, that’s enough to bide me some time. Some comfort. Because there’s one thing I don’t need to process, and that’s my feelings for Easton Voss.
Now the question is…what am I gonna do about it?
31
COLLIE
“I hatethat you can only stay for a few days.”
“Ugh. I know. It’s already going by so fast,” Capri tells me, pulling me in for a hug. “But I’m here now!”
I smirk. “How nice of Jonesy to let you out of the house.”
She nudges my side, and I love to see her lovesick smile. “He’d cage me to our bed all day if I let him.”
Love looks good on her.
“Even with that bump!” I squeal, yanking myself out of her hold to kiss her halfway-cooked belly. “My precious little ladybug.”
Capri was nervous at first about telling my parents she was pregnant before getting married, but they took it surprisingly well. Mom is ready to be a grandmother, and it’s been fun to prepare for both a baby and her wedding at the same time.
They also really love Jones. He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever met, and he’s perfect for my baby sister.
“It’s so nice to be home, though. Feels like it’s been forever.” I pull out a box of donuts from Margo’s Sprinkles, Capri’s favorite donut shop in town. “You didn’t!” she shouts.
“Oh, I so did, babe. Eat to your heart’s content.”
“Collie.” My head perks up, meeting my mother face-to-face.
“Yes, Mommy Dearest?”
“Donuts during a dress fitting? Have some class.” I chuckle, expecting nothing less from her. Capri, however, looks appalled.
