Page 71 of Life

Gigi tips her head to the side and stares at me. I glance at her and then at Bree and Kat, who are sharing equally pensive looks on their faces.

“¿Qué? ¿Qué es?”

All three of them continue to stare silently. It’s as if they are digging into my psyche for information through super-BFF telepathy.

Finally, Gigi breaks the stare down first. “Holy shit! You’re in love with him.”

“Huh? Um…” I try scratching my nails along my scalp and looking away.

“You are! You’re batshit crazy in love with Eli, Tommy’s twin brother. No fucking way!”

“Gillian…” I whisper.

“Gillian? I’m Gillian now. You can’t fool me, sister. I know you better than I know myself half the time. Oh my God! You so are,” she gasps.

Her emerald gaze hits my grieving one. Before my eyes, hers soften and she comes over to me and takes my hand. “You can tell us. We’re not going to judge you. We’re the only women in the entire world who will always love you more than you love yourself. Time to be free of this burden and admit the truth.”

“I…I…”

“Go ahead, Ria. It’s okay. We’re here for you.” Bree puts a hand to my shoulder, and her warmth seeps straight through to my bones. A calming sense of solidarity enters my mind.

Kat reaches out a shaking, tentative hand, putting her good one on my knee. “It’s okay. We’re your best friends, and here for you always. Don’t ever forget that.”

I bite my bottom lip and glance at each woman. Gigi’s fiery red hair is pulled back in a ponytail, her green eyes pools of love and understanding. Bree has a hand on me and another around her giant baby bump, always protecting her unborn daughter. Those eyes of hers are a bright startling blue, the color of a perfectly clear sky in spring, and right now they are open and receiving. And mygatita. My Kathleen, her caramel-colored eyes looking too big on her sallow face, her golden curls filled with less life than usual, but she’s healing and happy to be home. Right now, that’s all we can ask for.

These women are everything to me. The sun, moon, stars—hell, the galaxy above. Without them, I’ll never be me. They deserve the truth, and I need to put on myniña grande bragasand spit it out once and for all.

“Cara bonita, you’re right. I don’t know how or when it happened, but somehow along the way I’ve fallen for Elijah. It’s soestúpido,right? I mean, we barely know each other, but it’s so much more than anything I’ve ever felt for another human being. When I’m with him, I feel at peace. As long as I have his arms around me, I’ll be happy forever. Isn’t thatloco?”

None of the girls say a word. The collective silence is deafening.

“Girls?” I choke out.

Gillian pulls me into her arms in a brutal hug. One so strong she might even leave fingerprint-sized bruises on my back. “You deserve to feel that way. I can only share my experience, but with everyone before Chase it was good, great even. I thought I was happy. Being with Chase has taught me there’s a whole level of completeness I didn’t have before I met him. If Eli makes you feel whole, there is nothing you can do but give in to it. It’s meant to be.”

Bree and Gillian trade places. Bree sits next to me and grabs my hand. “Before Phillip, I was with a lot of men. I enjoyed the relationships I had. Some were long, some short, some for the fun of it. But the moment we were together physically, I knew it would be him for the rest of my life. I didn’t want anyone else. He ruins me for any other man just by being him. My perfect other half.”

I kiss her cheek, place my hands on both sides of the bump, and kiss the top.

“Let me get in there,” Kat complains from behind Bree.

Bree giggles her pretty laugh and stands, hugging Gillian.

“Come here. I can’t move over there.” She pats the side next to her on the bed.

I move up toward her side and sit facing her. She holds my hand in hers. The other lays lifelessly propped up on a pillow, her fingers, what I can see of them peeking out of the bandages, are a mess of burned tissue. Regret and sadness undulate through my veins. I wish more than anything I could have gotten to her sooner.

“Maria, let me ask you this. Has Elijah told you he loves you?” Kat asks with absolute sincerity. A feeling deep in my gut tells me this question means something huge to her.

I close my eyes and remember the exact moment he told me. “Si.”

Her eyes fill with unshed tears. “And do you believe him?”

I nod. “Si. Con todo mi corazón.” With my whole heart, I confirm.

“Are you in love with him?”

I swallow and nod. “Si.Yes, so much. It doesn’t make sense, but I am,” I whisper, holding her hand up to my lips where I kiss her fingers, self-consciously needing that physical connection to my best friend.

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