I sighed, accepting that I might have thought that way about him once. He was always gorgeous and alluring, but boy did the arrogant bastard impression get to me at first. “It’s amazing how good he is at hiding what a wonderful guy he actually is underneath all that.”
“Wonderful?” She smirked, rolling her knives carefully into the leather pouch she carried them around in. When she was done, she hopped up on the counter and swung her legs while I washed up.
“Wonderful,” I repeated. “He’s sweet and playful at times, but then he can also be soulful and serious. He makes me laugh, and he’s really smart.”
“If he makes you laugh, he’s got my vote,” she said easily. Tiana’s parents were one of those couples who still flirted and laughed every day after more than two decades of marriage. Her mom always talked about how laughter and communication were the two ingredients any relationship needed to be successful. “Sparing me the naughty details, what did you guys do all weekend for him to convince you how wonderful he was?”
“Lots of naughty details to omit,” I said, turning just in time to avoid the dirty cloth she threw back at my head. “Okay, okay. We just spent time together, every minute from when I got to his apartment on Thursday night to this morning when he dropped me off.”
“That’s a long time,” she said. “You never got tired of him or felt like you were overstaying your welcome?”
I shook my head. “Strangely no. He was a perfect gentleman about it. He made me feel so at home, and he kept insisting I stay. I didn’t get bored at all.”
Tiana nodded, impressed. “That’s a good sign. Have you thought about the future at all? What you’re going to do at work?”
I washed my hands when I was done with the dishes, then got out two wine glasses and pulled a chilled bottle from the fridge, filling both glasses. “We haven’t talked about it, but I’m worried about going back to Williams Inc. tomorrow.”
“Because of your relationship?” She sipped the wine I handed her, meeting my eyes over the rim of the glass.
“No, it’s not that.” I thought back to the morning Jannie took Jeremiah and everything that happened after that. “I think it’s going to be awkward after the whole Jannie thing. Not to mention that I yelled at his dad.”
“It was necessary at the time.” Tiana was firmly on my side as she always was. I could count on her to be honest with me, to give me her opinions on everything I did without fear of her judging me.
But I also knew that no matter how widely our views differed, she was always on my side. She would always support me, same as what I did for her. The first time I realized I had unconditional support from her, it was like something clicked for me.
Not only did I realize how very wrong my parents were for always sticking conditions on everything, but also that having someone support you no matter what made you stronger. It gave me strength and confidence to know I could count on her to support me, even if that support was in the form of a much-needed reality check sometimes.
She looked at me now, squaring her shoulders as though she was the one about to face an adversary the next day. “Just remember, you’re a badass. You can handle whatever happens. We’ve weathered worse storms than anything Jance Williams can throw at you.”
Matching her change in posture, I sipped my wine and nodded. It was amazing how much better confiding in my best friend could make me feel. One day, if and when I got there, I would have to get my guardian angel a huge gift basket to thank her for sending a friend like Tiana across my path.