“Hey, Sara,” I say, looking over at our other friend, who’s sitting on the other side of the couch.
“Hi.” Sara waves and laughs.
“What’s the urgency?”
“I missed you. I don’t want to be one of those married women who loses all contact with her friends.”
“Lara, that would never happen.”
“Well, it’s been two very long weeks, so yeah.” She shrugs.
“Where are Colby and Corbin?” Rip asks.
“Basement,” she tells him.
“Babe, I set everything on the kitchen counter. You need anything?”
“Thank you, and no, I’m good. Go see the guys.” Rip bends his head to kiss me quickly before heading to the basement.
“How are things between the two of you?” Sara asks.
“Too good to be true.”
“Impossible.”
“Things are great. It kind of feels like I’m living a dream.”
“We know you’ve had that dream,” Laramie says, barely keeping a straight face.
“Hey, I’m not denying it. I’ve always had a thing for Rip. I just never in a million years thought we would be here. Enough about me, how was the honeymoon?”
“Yes. That.” Sara points at me. “How’s married life?” she adds.
“It’s not much different, except he calls me wife, and he’s my husband.” Her face lights up. “That’s going to be hard to get used to, but I’m up to the challenge.” She laughs. “The honeymoon was perfect. We had great weather. We hung out on the beach, went on a dolphin tour, and spent a lot of time at the beach house we rented.”
“I bet you did.” I wag my eyebrows, and we all fall into a fit of laughter. “What about you?” I ask Sara once our laughter is under control. “How are things with Corbin?”
“I’m in love with him.” Her eyes go wide, and she covers her face with her hands. “Shit. I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Hey.” Laramie grabs her hand. “If you can’t be honest with us, as your friends, we’re not doing our job. There’s nothing wrong with how you feel.”
“I know, but it’s so soon. We’ve only been seriously seeing each other a few weeks, but we’ve been, you know, hanging out or whatever for about three months in total, and I’m… smitten that sounds better.”
“That’s nothing. I’ve been with Rip officially for what? Five weeks now, and I’m head over heels in love with him.” I freeze when I realize what I just said. Sara and Laramie are looking at me with wide eyes. “What? I’ve known him forever, and he’s hard not to love. I never stood a chance.”
“Kenna,” Rip’s deep, gruff voice calls from behind me.
“Oh, no.” It’s now my eyes that are wide as I stare at my two friends. “Please tell me he didn’t hear me,” I whisper. They both nod. “Shit. Shit. Shit,” I mutter to myself.
Sara stands and walks to the other side of the room. The side that my back is to. The same side I refuse to look at because I know that Rip is standing there and heard what I confessed to my friends.
“Come on, babe.” I hear Colby.
“I want to see how this plays out.” Laramie smiles.
“Lara.” Rip’s tone is a warning, and we all know it.
“Fine.” She puts her hand in Colby’s and allows him to pull her up from the couch. She stops and places her hand on my shoulder. Leaning down, she whispers in my ear, “He loves you too. We all know it.”
I don’t say a word. I can’t. I wasn’t ready to tell him. It was supposed to be a confession among friends. It’s too soon. He’s going to feel like I’m trapping him into this. The pressure to say it back is going to be real. I’m his sister’s best friend, after all. Closing my eyes, I focus on my breathing and pretend he’s not standing behind me. I want to open my eyes and have this be a dream.
I feel the couch dip with his weight, and his arms are around me, pulling me into his chest. “Kenna,” he says, his voice cracking. “Open your eyes for me, baby.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Can we just pretend that didn’t happen?”
“No.” The firmness to his voice is back.
“Please?” My voice is pleading. I’m not ready for this to be over. It’s too soon.
“Kenna, baby, open your eyes for me.” Knowing I’m not going to get out of this, I slowly open my eyes. He’s watching me, an expression I can’t name on his face. “There you are,” he murmurs, resting his palm against my cheek. “I need you to do one more thing for me, okay?”
I nod, my stomach a knot of nerves. I don’t know what he’s going to ask of me, maybe to keep my feelings to myself for a while?
“I need you to say it again, McKenna.”
He used my full name. He means business. “I don’t understand?”
“Come on, lawyer girl.” He smiles, his eyes soft. “You’re the smartest woman I know. I know you know what I mean, but I’ll say it again. I need to hear you say it again. Tell me,” he says gently.