Page 46 of Passionate Hearts

“Nothing, really. She basically just ran away before I had a chance to say anything,” River groaned.

“I get that,” Willow admitted.

“Well, I don’t. If she had just waited two more minutes, she could have heard me completely tell Tiff off.”

“True. But it can’t be easy to walk in on your girlfriend getting proposed to by her ex. The same ex that you picked overher not so long ago,” Willow said. She gave River her bestyou know I’m rightlook.

River threw her head back against the couch cushions. When Willow was right, she was right. River hadn’t taken the time to consider things from that point of view. She had only taken her and Brianna’s recent relationship into consideration. River nodded her head.

“You’re right. I didn’t think about it that way. But yeah, it makes sense that the whole thing got to Brianna.”

From outside they heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. River stood up way too fast. Her leg protested almost immediately, sending a sharp pain up through River’s body. She moved through the pain taking a slow steadying step. If Brianna left before talking to her she didn’t know what she would do. Mel came through the front door and eyed River. River found herself searching Mel’s face. What had Brianna told her about the encounter with Tiff? What might Brianna’s interpretation of events be? She didn’t find any judgment in Mel’s eyes. Instead, Mel pulled her in for a hug.

“Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay,” Mel assured her.

“Thanks,” River smiled.

“Brianna is on the porch waiting for you.”

At least there was that. Brianna hadn’t run away this time. She was waiting for River. That had to mean something. River slowly made her way through the front door. The dogs excitedly greeted Mel. Brianna was leaning against a post on the front porch. River felt her body tighten. Brianna was always a knockout, but standing in the sunlight she was the picture of casual sexiness. River closed the door behind her. She knew that their friends would give them the privacy they needed to talk. Just like she knew they’d be there for them no matter what happened during their conversation.

“Hey,” River said simply.

Brianna turned to face her. When Brianna’s eyes landed on River her smile widened.

“Hey,” Brianna answered back.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

River already felt like she might be on the verge of tears. Brianna took her by the hand and led her to the plastic porch chairs. They sat together in silence for a moment.

“You don’t have to apologize. I should be apologizing for running away,” Brianna reassured her.

“No, I understand why you did. That had to be a hard thing to walk in on.”

“I won’t lie. It did suck.”

Brianna smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“What did you end up saying to Tiff?” Brianna asked.

River watched as Brianna scrunched up her face, trying to prepare for River’s answer. River reached over and took Brianna by the hand.

“I told her that the position for my forever person had already been filled.”

River locked eyes with Brianna and smiled. She watched as a mix of happiness and relief poured over Brianna.

“Damn right,” Brianna laughed. River watched a single tear fall down Brianna’s cheek. River wiped the tear away with her thumb and stroked Brianna’s face.

“I should have settled things with Tiff sooner. When she cheated on me, I was done. And I thought that would be apparent to her. So, when she reached out saying she missed me, I didn’t respond. I should have told her then that I was in a new relationship and wasn’t interested. Maybe if I had we could have avoided this entire situation,” River admitted.

“No, she was the guilty party. You had every right to stop responding to her. You didn’t owe her an explanation. And I should have trusted you and our relationship more.”

“Probably but I understand why you questioned it.”

“You do?” Brianna asked.

“Sure. Things have been good between us. And I like to think that I’ve been a pretty great girlfriend. But it wasn’t so long ago that I picked Tiff over you. I made what I thought was the best choice with the information I had at the time. But I was wrong to pick Tiff. She had already shown me how little she cared about me. I was just too blind to open my eyes and see it.”

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