Page 47 of Forever Love-Reimagined

“Yoo-hoo.” He came in without an invitation, but I didn’t mind the distraction.

“What’s going on?” I took my feet off my desk and leaned forward. I needed to get into my professional mode.

“I want to meet Leia,” he blurted, and that wasn’t what I had expected at all.

Ty was my best friend, but so far, I hadn’t wanted those two worlds to collide. My time with Leia never seemed like enough, and the thought of sharing her with anyone else didn’t sit well with me yet. That was selfish, and I would have to get over it, but I wasn’t sure I was ready.

“And I want you to meet her, too. You and David, but we’re still in the discovery stage, so I need some time.”

He squinted as if he was trying to see through me. “I’m pretty sure you’ve discovered all of her and then some.” He cocked a defying brow, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Leia and I spent all of our time talking and enjoying each other’s company. We wanted everything to be right before we moved forward to a more intimate relationship.

Instead of filling him in on our abstinence, I decided to ignore the comment. “What are you up to today?”

“Deflection, eh? I’ve seen that game before, and I’m not playing it. David and I want to have lunch with you and Leia tomorrow. I won’t take no for an answer.” He crossed his legs as if daring me to argue.

“I’m not sure we can do that, but I’ll talk with her and see. Is there anything else I can assist you with?” I wasn’t sure why I was speaking to him like a client, but I figured it was better to be matter-of-fact than to give him any wiggle room.

“Nope. Not good enough. You’re the one who always says we have to look out for each other, but how can I do that if I don’t see you or meet the woman in your life? Besides, you brought me on this ride, so I should at least see how it plays out.”

He was right. Leia was important to me, and so was he. I shouldn’t keep them away from each other. But there was a small part of me that worried he might see something I didn’t because I was so consumed by her. What if he brought up red flags that I had ignored?

I tried to shake that negativity from my head. There was no way Leia had red flags. She was my soul mate. We had already spent lifetimes together. Surely, we were destined to be together, so we couldn’t mess that up. Right?

“Blake.” He snapped his fingers, and I realized I had zoned out. “What’s with that rabid raccoon look right now?”

“I don’t have a look.” My voice was tight—almost defensive-sounding. “I’ll ask Leia tonight if she can meet you and David tomorrow.” He wouldn’t let this drop, so I was probably better off biting the bullet.

“Ask now. I’m afraid once you get home and get distracted, you’ll forget.” The way he said distracted made me believe he meant something sexual, but again, I wasn’t going there.

I texted Lay, but I didn’t think she would respond right away. She didn’t always have her phone around like I did.

“Happy? I’ll give you her answer later. Now, may I get back to work?”

“What’s going on with you? You seem like you’re on edge about something.”

My mind was giving me whiplash thinking about how my forever could be heading to a possible demise. Since I met Leia, I never imagined we could end, but it was weird how quickly that idea crept into my head. Did that mean something, or was I looking for a reason to stress out? My overthinking brain found comfort in the chaos.

“Seriously, girl. Talk to me.” Ty’s concern was enough to break me free of this mind-loop.

I sighed heavily. But figured I would be better off talking it out. “Before you came in, I was lost in excitement because of Leia, but then a niggling doubt came into my head, and now I might be sick.”

“What’s the worry about? You afraid you’ll mess things up because you don’t have experience with healthy relationships?” He said that so nonchalantly that he must have had those fears.

“I wasn’t specifically thinking it would be me who fucked things up, but you do?” Now, my brain wouldn’t shut off, and every worst-case scenario played like a feature film.

“No way. Even if you did fuck up, the way you always talk about how amazing Leia is, I’m sure she would forgive you.” His words weren’t very reassuring to me.

“Right, well, I don’t want to think about it. And now you can’t meet her. I am too anxious, and I need to figure my shit out before you put any more negative thoughts in my head.”

Just then, my phone beeped.

Leia: I can’t wait to meet them. What’s their favorite meal? I’ll cook!

Wasn’t that perfect? She seemed so excited there wasn’t a good excuse to get out of it.

“Please don’t be like that. There’s nothing wrong with you, and you’re not going to fuck anything up. I didn’t mean to put you on edge. Relationships have always been a bit scary for you, and that is trauma from your past.” He could try to calm me down all he wanted, but the words were already out in the universe, and there was no taking them back.

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