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“Honestly, I don’t know.”

“How come?”

She stares down at her drink. “Something shifted for me this week, Easton. I—I can’t explain it.”

“Want to try?”

She sighs, the heaviness of it resting between us.

God, I’ve missed talking to her. It’s so effortless, just like it was when we were kids.

Only, when we were kids, I didn’t sneak a look at her cleavage any chance I got.

I’m a man. Sue me.

“Seeing my dad like that made me realize the last time I was home could have been the last time I ever saw him.” Her finger draws circles in the condensation on her glass. “My parents are getting older and I’m missing out on spending time with them, time I can never get back.”

I lift my beer to my lips. “We’re all living on borrowed time, Lennon.”

Lennon snorts. “Thanks, Aristotle.”

“Just speaking the truth. But also, you shouldn’t stop living your life just because your dad had a heart attack. In fact, maybe it’s a wake-up call to live life to the fullest.”

Lennon stares back down at her drink. “Or maybe it’s time for me to make some decisions I’ve been avoiding for a really long time.”

That gets my attention. “Like what?”

“Picking a career. Building some roots. Working toward having a family of my own one day.”

“Is that what you want? I thought kids weren’t something you were interested in…” I say, remembering vividly how many conversations we had about Lennon not wanting to be tied down with the responsibility of a family.

“Yeah, when I was seventeen, Easton.” She shoves my shoulder before taking a giant gulp of her margarita. “But I’m twenty-four now, almost twenty-five. If I want a life I can be proud of at thirty, it’s time to make some concrete decisions.”

I look at her long and hard. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Oh, you mean the girl who wanted to travel the world with no responsibilities?”

“Yup. That one.”

She leans closer to me as her eyes dip down to my lips. “Maybe she’s changed her mind about a few things.”

I drop my gaze to her mouth too as my pulse pounds in my ears. My entire body is warm from the two beers I’ve had, but I’m nowhere near as drunk as Lennon is. “Like what?”

Her hand lands on my thigh, and my dick jumps at the contact. “A lot. But the one thing this week has definitely made clear to me is how much I miss you.”

Fuck.

“I—I’ve missed you too, Lennon.”

“I’ve missed our friendship, Easton.”

Cold bucket of water? Meet me.

The dreaded f-word deflates me yet again.

The sad part is, I never realized that pesky hope I pushed down had returned until she just doused it completely.

My voice comes out gravelly when I reply, “I know.”