Page 126 of Catching Sparks

I nod. “Alright, well then, ask what you need to. Both of you.”

Bryce is the first to go, to no one’s surprise. “Do you love him?”

I suck in a breath, blinking slowly. “Not pulling any punches, are you?”

“I don’t pull punches when it comes to you and your feelings, Pops. You know that already.”

“Damn right,” Anna agrees.

I flick my eyes between the two of them, reading the honesty in their expressions. I’m lucky, I know that without a doubt. These are the two people who are going to pick me up off the ground and put me back together once he leaves.

“Yes, I love him. I love him a lot. Even before he swooped in to save me from that absolutely disastrous date you set me up on, Bryce. And don’t think I’m not going to kick your ass for that either.” I jab a finger at her, and she sucks air between her teeth.

“Okay, I take full responsibility for that guy. He seemed decent enough, but to be fair, I was just trying to test Garrison for you. That guy, whatever his name was, he was just a little piece of cheese that I was hanging in front of your man’s nose,” Bryce explains, defending herself.

I rest my arm on the back of the couch and lean my cheek against it. “I’d probably have done the same thing.”

“If there’s one thing that will pull a man’s head out of his ass, it’s knowing someone else is scoping out his woman. Brody’s jealous streak is one of my favourite quirks, and clearly, Garrison’s is even more fierce,” Anna says with a smirk.

Bryce snorts out a laugh. “That’s an understatement.”

“You have to fill in all the blanks for us now. Like what happened in Bora Bora and why you were home later than we expected you to be,” Anna prods, tucking her knees beneath her.

“Honestly, we didn’t even do that much in Bora Bora. We spent all our time swimming, sunbathing, and, you know, having a shit ton of sex. All three at once, more often than not. Doing a million things didn’t feel necessary. Just being together was enough. I could have stayed there for the rest of my life,” I tell them, unashamed of how dreamy my voice sounds.

My lips tug into a smile at the memories that follow, taking me back to being held in Garrison’s arms with the warm sun on my shoulders and a lightness in my chest that would be impossible to recreate sitting here right now.

“Look at you right now,” Anna murmurs, watching me with a soft gaze. “You do love him.”

My throat tightens, but I ignore the sensation. “I do. I really do.”

Bryce’s expression doesn’t give away what she’s thinking. But I know that if she didn’t approve at all, she’d tell me so. Her approval is important to me. With how close our friend group is, how could it not be? Yet at the same time, I wouldn’t let her disapproval sway anything in my mind.

“Where did you go yesterday instead of coming home?” she finally asks.

“He took me to Toronto. I met his parents, and it was incredible. His mom is so adorable and sweet—you’d both love her. She’s got spunk too. And she offered to teach me to bake. Me! We’d hardly known each other for three hours by then, but I felt like I’d known her for years,” I ramble, my hands moving this way and that in front of me.

“She sounds like Eliza,” Anna notes, her approval obvious in both her physical appearance and tone.

“Oh, those two would get along so well. I was expecting her to be kind, but I wasn’t ready to fall in love with her too.”

Bryce’s features have softened, the blue in her eyes no longer glacial but warm like the water in Bora Bora. “Sounds like you had a good time, Pops.”

“The best, Ice.”

“Was Reggie there?” Anna asks.

I swallow, suddenly thrown back into those moments in the kitchen when I heard Garrison fighting off tears. I won’t ever forget that moment between him and his father, even if I only witnessed it on the other side of a wall.

Everything that was said between them broke a piece of their relationship, only to mold it back together into something far better. They have a long way to go still, but they laid the groundwork. Things can only go up from here.

“He was. I didn’t spend much time with him, though,” I choose to say, not offering anything else.

I love my girls, but details aren’t their business.

“Does he love you back?” Bryce asks.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t said it.” Every word I speak makes it harder not to flinch.

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