Forever Her Cowboy (Always 1)

“You feeling any calmer today?” I ask Eric. A smile pulls at his lips. I laugh. “I’ll take that as Daisy calmed you down.”

“I’m better. I was more pissed that Daisy had it in her head that I wasn't always all in with her. That she thought I betrayed her. The one thing I would never do.”

“I get that. But I hope you and Josh can work it out.”

He lets out a long breath. “We will. He’s like a brother to me.”

“Soon to be your real brother,” I toss in.

“I don’t think we’ve ever fought before.”

“Guess you saved it all up for this one. Isn’t it normally the brother who’s kicking his best friend’s ass for hooking up with his little sister?”

Eric flinches. “Yeah.” He shakes his head. I snort a laugh and actually get a smile out of Eric letting me know everything is going to be more than okay. There is no question in my mind that he will love Daisy for the rest of his days, and I couldn't ask for anything more for my best friend. Now, I only have to hope that Josh and I will meet the same fate.8Noelle“It’s nice having someone in the kitchen who can cook with me,” PJ says as she pops a lid on the cookie dough she just made. It’s been a really nice afternoon now that everyone has made up. We all know Josh would only do something like that if he thought he was doing the right thing. Now he’s owning his fuck-up. What more can you really ask for at this point? They’re all family.

“I can cook!” Daisy shouts from somewhere in the house. PJ and I shake our heads no and try really hard not to laugh. The moms have been here for a few hours now. They didn’t just bring groceries, but now PJ has gone to work making dishes and storing them in the fridge for anyone to eat.

If it were only Daisy and me, I’d feel bad because there is no way we’d be able to eat all of this before it spoils. PJ hums to herself while I wipe down the counters. It’s adorable how excited she was when she saw that Eric and Daisy were finally together. She’s been humming and smiling all afternoon.

“It was a long time coming.”

She looks up at me, smiling. “Yeah, I’m just glad it’s finally here. It was hard watching my son walk around with a broken heart. He hardly talked to anyone anymore. He went almost mute unless he was pissed about something.” She gives me a smirk. “Weren't you and Josh a long time coming?” She lifts a perfect eyebrow.

“I did not see that coming.” I laugh. Josh blindsided me. I never let myself think Josh could be someone I’d date or anything else. He was older than me and my best friend's brother. Not to mention the dream of every girl in our county. “You saw it coming?” Were there signs and how had I missed them?

“Yeah, there is a certain type of way a man looks at the woman he loves. If you’ve seen it before you’ll never forget it. I get it every day when I wake up to my husband.” Gah. I’ve always enjoyed hearing the story of how Bunny and PJ landed their husbands. Or maybe it was the husbands that landed them. Two best friends falling in love and getting to stay close to each other. Really it’s kind of a fairy tale. One that I hope repeats itself.

“Hey.” Bunny strolls into the kitchen, snagging a grape out of the fruit bowl. “I think I got that girl’s closet under control finally.” She looks as though she’s had a workout. It wouldn’t surprise me with the amount of clothes that Daisy has. Plus she’s not the most organized person. “Can I help with cooking something?”

“No.” PJ and I both respond at the same time. Bunny frowns. I should feel bad, but even though I love her dearly, the woman can’t cook to save her life.

“Thanks.” I try to smooth the abrupt response over. “We’re all done. Maybe next time.” That brings a smile to her face.

“At least let me help clean up then.”

“Sounds good to me.” PJ kisses me on the cheek before whispering that she’s so happy for me. A wave of guilt creeps up on me at the thought of the secret I’m keeping from Josh. I turn back to look at Bunny. She stares at me for a moment before her face goes soft.

“I think I should check out your closet too.”

“Don’t worry. This mess will still be here when you get back,” PJ informs her before hopping up to sit on the counter.

“Thanks.” Bunny rolls her eyes at her.

“That’s what friends are for.” PJ winks at me.