Brady’s arm shot out as he fist-pumped the air. “Yes.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “Let’s get you a treat, then I’m going to sit outside and talk to your uncle and his friend.”
Natalie sucked in a breath beside me.His friend. Not Natalie. Not ‘my friend.’His friend. Like they were no longer friends because of this.
I reached over and squeezed Nat’s hand. We’d get through this. Beth was hurt, but she’d come around. She had to. This was too important for her not to.
“We’ll meet you out back,” I told her.
Nat set the cinnamon buns on the kitchen counter. She glanced at Beth, then audibly sighed as she walked ahead of me to the back door.
I followed her onto the deck. Nat dropped onto the end of the outdoor sofa, and I took a seat beside her. “How you doing?”
“Truthfully?” She raised her eyebrow in question.
I nodded.
“I’m kind of freaking out. What if she doesn’t forgive me?”
I took her hand in mine. “You changing your mind about us?” My stomach knotted as I waited for her to reply.
“No.”
“Isn’t this sweet?” Beth sneered as she stepped onto the deck.
Natalie tried to pull away from me. I let her hand go but shifted on the couch so our thighs were completely touching. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it to comfort her, or myself. Or if I was trying to present a united front. All I knew was that I needed the reassurance of knowing we were in this together when we spoke.
When I glanced up, Beth sat in the chair opposite me, her knees pulled up to her chest and a pissed off look on her face.
“All right, talk. Explain to me how you just couldn’t help yourselves,” my sister said.
It was true. The moment I saw Nat, it was like all the pieces of a puzzle I didn’t even know I was building fell into place.She was everything I’d ever wanted. The way I felt with her was indescribable.
I eyed my sister. There was no way I was telling her that, though. “What exactly is your problem with us being together?” I asked.
Beth reared back. “She’s my best friend.”
I glanced at Nat, then back at my sister. “She was your best friend when you were kids. You haven’t seen each other in years.”
“Our schedules didn’t line up,” Beth protested. “Natalie was busy with her shows, and I had the kids. It just didn’t work out to see each other.”
“I tried to visit several times. You told me not to come,” Natalie said softly.
Beth looked down at her lap, then her head snapped up defiantly. “You would have made things worse with Brian.”
Natalie hissed in a breath. “Wow. You are just full of nice things to say about me, aren’t you?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Beth said. “You would have hated how he was with me. It was hard enough to keep my marriage together without having you see it and…” She flapped her hands. “Hearing what you thought would have made it that much harder to stay.”
“I would have tried to be supportive,” Natalie said.
Beth snorted. “You’re not exactly known for your poker face.”
This wasn’t getting us anywhere. “Moving on.” I prompted. “What’s your problem with Nat and me being together? I would have thought you’d like the idea of her having a reason to stay.”
“Is she?” Beth asked.
“What? Staying?” I looked at Nat, and she smiled softly back at me. “Yes, I mean eventually. She’s got to go back to New York for this coming season, but then yeah, she’s staying.”
