“Courtney, first off, you scare the shit out of me. ”
She smiled and winked at me.
“Second, I’ve never in my life felt this way about anyone. It’s like Whitley has filled something that’s been missing for so long. I feel so renewed and alive. I can hardly breathe when she’s in the same room as me. I can’t keep my hands off her because I have this overwhelming need to have her as close to me as possible. The moment I first laid eyes on her, I knew what was missing in my life—true, honest-to-God love. From the very first day when her eyes looked into mine, I knew that I loved her. I’ll never hurt her, and I will never let anyone else hurt her again. I’d lay down my own life to protect her. ”
She took a step closer to me as a smile spread across her face, causing me to smile in return.
“Oh, Layton Morris, I’m not that easily swept off my feet, but that…that just put me totally in your corner. ”
I laughed. “Thank you. I think?”
“Oh, trust me, you always want the best friend in your corner. ” She turned and started to head into the kitchen.
I followed behind her and leaned against the counter.
She looked over her shoulder. “Speaking of best friends, I hope what Reed said about me didn’t—”
I held up my hand. Now, it was my turn to stop her from talking. “Court, listen, he was drunk. He was jealous, and he didn’t mean a damn word he said. ”
Her eyebrows lifted, and she tilted her head. “What do you mean he was jealous? Of what?”
I took a deep breath. I was pretty sure I was fixin’ to break some man code, but it would be worth it. It killed me to think that Courtney would believe anyone thought of her in any negative way.
“Listen, what I’m about to tell you, I’m sure, breaks some kind of man code, so this stays between you and me. Is that a deal?”
She slowly sat down on one of the kitchen bar stools. “Okay. Deal. ”
I looked around, and leaning down closer to her, I whispered, “I’m pretty sure Reed likes you…like, as in, likes you a lot. ”
She moved in closer and whispered, “What makes you think that?”
“Well, he kind of got drunk last night and told me he…told me he…”
“Told you he, what?” Courtney shouted.
“Shh! Damn, Court. ”
“Oh shit! Sorry, go on. Please go on,” she said, going back into our whispered conversation.
I sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “I’m pretty sure I’m also breaking a best-friend code here, so you better take this shit to your grave. ”
She sat up a little and used her index finger to cross her heart. “I promise. I won’t even tell Whit. ”
Before I knew it, I was spitting out what Reed had spilled to
me last night in his drunken fest. “Last night, he told me that he thinks he loves you. ”
She pulled back with a shocked look on her face. “What?”
I made a face and nodded. “Yep. I’ve never, in all the years I’ve known Reed, ever heard him say he thought he loved a girl. ”
Courtney looked down to the floor and started to shake her head. “But…he said all those things, and every time I see him, he’s always such a jerk to me. I mean, he is always picking a fight with me. ”
I used my finger and gently lifted her chin up to me. “Courtney, men are…well, hell, I don’t really know how we are. But I can tell you, I’ve never seen Reed’s eyes so full of hurt and regret like I did when you walked in and overheard him. You have to know that he was just talking bullshit because Mitch had just said he was planning on asking you out. I don’t think Reed really knows what to do with these feelings toward you, and he just panicked and handled it all wrong. ”
My heart broke as I saw a tear slowly slide down Courtney’s face. She wiped it away and stood up.
She took a deep breath and gave me a weak smile. “Well, to be honest, I’m glad I walked in and heard him say those things. It just opened my eyes to the type of person he is. I actually enjoyed my time with Mitch the other morning, and if I hadn’t heard Reed running off at the mouth, I would have just been sitting around, waiting for him and waiting to be hurt by him. Instead, I decided to give things with Mitch a try, and…” Her voice cracked a bit, and she forced a bigger smile. “And he is a complete gentleman. We’re going out to dinner tonight. Mitch will treat me with the respect I deserve. Reed Moore is the furthest thing from my mind. ”