Page 95 of Make It Without You

He kisses the back of my head and releases me to open the door. I didn’t mention to Adam that Mason was tagging along so his intake of breath has me biting my tongue to keep from laughing.

“Hi, friends,” I greet. “Come in,” I motion to the side as I open the door wider. Adam holds his arm across my chest as my other world walks across the threshold.

“Nice place,” Sarah is the first to break the gawking.

“Thank you,” Adam says from behind me.

“Adam, this is Sarah,” she waves her hand. “Jax,” she holds her hand up. “And Kamryn and Mason.”

Adam is still behind me after I introduce Mason to him. I stealthily pinch his arm and a startled yelp sounds.

“Sorry. It’s nice to meet you. All of you. I’ve heard incredible things from Em.”

“Well she’s been incredibly tight-lipped about you,” Kamryn says.

My body freezes at the tone she uses and I see Sarah shaking her head in disappointment.

“Kam!” Jax scolds her.

“Sorry.”

We all stand in the foyer awkwardly.

“Does anyone want a drink?” Adam is the first to break the silence. He untangles himself from around me and places a kiss to the side of my head before he leads everyone to the kitchen leaving Kam and I.

It’s never been this awkward between us. But standing in front of my best friend when she feels I’ve intentionally shut her out of this part of my life…well, I don’t know how to navigate that.

“I’m sorry, Em.”

I nod my head slowly as I gather more of my muddled thoughts. “Are you mad, Kam? That I didn’t keep you up to date with this part of my life?”

“I think I’m more hurt that I kept you up-to-date with mine and Mason’s reconnecting whereas you’ve been tightlipped.”

“Kam, when have I ever been loose-lipped when it came to my love life? Even with James, I kept that close to me. I don’t expect you to tell me everything that happens between you and Mason, so why do you expect that of me?”

I don’t want this strained relationship between my best friend and I. We’ve gone thirteen years without fighting and without me being angry at her. Sure we had that period after losing James and Liam where we stopped talking. I needed that more than she did. But that time worked for us.

She pushes her hair out of her face and crosses her arms. “You’re right. I watched you struggle after James and I just assumed that when you moved on you’d be outspoken about it.”

“I get that. But my moving on is something that I needed to do without telling anyone else. It was something I needed before I announced it to the world.”

“I just want you to be happy, Emmy.”

I step forward and take her hands in mine. “I am. I’m so happy it’s almost sickening. What I want is for you to get to know Adam. And when the time comes, Dylan as well.”

“Love looks good on you.” Kam acknowledges as she pulls me into a hug.

“Love looks good on you too, bestie.”

“Now let’s get a drink and hang out in the pool.”

“Deal,” I say as we walk into the kitchen arm-in-arm.

Conversation floats through the open doors. I get Kam and myself a glass, filling them up to the rim with margaritas and joining the group outside.

Walking to where Adam is standing talking with Mason, I sidle up next to him and wrap my arm around his waist. His own arm wraps around my shoulder as he hangs onto every word Mason says. It’s adorable seeing him loosen up around Mason. When I first mentioned my connection to the quarterback I feared he would become obsessive. But so far he’s managed to remain calm.

A splash of water hits my legs and I turn to see Sarah giving me a pointed look. Rolling my eyes at her, I disentangle myself from Adam and make my way to the pool. Handing her my drink, I whip off my dress and wade into the pool.

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