Page 64 of My Ex-Best Friends

I sat forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “I don’t know what to do.”

“She painted a mural at the library. It’s amazing. Sin saw it and knew it was Brooke’s work right away. She wants to see her. She’s been asking to see her every day. Either you fix this or I’m going to go find Brooke myself and become best friends with her so Sin can see her. I might do it, either way.” She saw me scowling. “Just go talk to her, you fool. Tell her how you feel.”

“She doesn’t want to see me, Kelly.”

“Oh, my god. I’m very happy that children get their intelligence from their mother. Sin would be doomed if she had to rely on you for smarts.” Standing up, Kelly called Sin over. “Go talk to her. And don’t go empty handed.”

“Should I get flowers?”

“Sinclair. Take Sinclair. Play dirty. If you want to be with her, use whatever weapons you have at your disposal. She cares about Sinclair. She won’t tell you to go fuck yourself in front of our baby.” Kelly grinned at Sin as she ran up and jumped into my arms. “You and Daddy are going to see Brooke! Isn’t that amazing?”

I probably should’ve stopped it. Using my kid wasn’t something I wanted to do but…if it made Brooke listen to me, I’d do it. I scooped Sin into my arms and kissed her forehead. “Is that okay with you? You want to see Brooke?”

“Yes! I want to talk to her about the library! Can we, Daddy? Please!” She squeezed me so tight that I had to loosen her grip around my neck.

“Let’s go find her, shall we?” I walked towards my truck and looked back at Kelly. “You’re sure you’re okay with all of this? It won’t just be me with her.”

“If I wasn’t okay with it, I wouldn’t have pushed you to go after her. Neither of us have normal relationships by WASP standards. Who am I to judge?”

I didn’t get time to think about what I was going to say or do on the way to find Brooke. Sinclair was so excited that she was basically shouting at me the whole time about what she wanted to tell Brooke. I could barely think of anything as Sin demanded my attention. Before I had a chance to make a plan at all, I was parking in Daisy’s driveway and Sinclair was breaking the rules by unbuckling herself and jumping out of the truck.

“Sin!” I chased after my daughter and nearly ran headfirst into Brooke coming around the side of the house. She was half soaked, had dark bags under her eyes, and seemed shocked to see me.

A cold mask started to slip over her features but then she saw I’d brought Sinclair. She knelt down and held her arms open to welcome Sinclair’s hug while shooting me a glare behind Sin’s back.

“A bear!” Sinclair screamed and climbed Brooke as the new giant dog she’d obtained walked around the house, his lanky body moving slowly as he approached.

Brooke laughed easily, the sound a shock to my system. “That’s no bear. That’s my new dog, Lucy. He’s mad at me right now because I took him to the vet to get a bath yesterday. So mad that he took the water hose and sprayed me just a few minutes ago. We’re in an argument right now and I think he’s winning.”

Lucy looked past Brooke and my daughter at me. His big eyes flicked over me and then he sighed before sliding to his belly in front of Sinclair and Brooke. He huffed out another sigh and rolled onto his back. I felt like I’d just watched someone scan me, dismiss me, and then belittle themselves to win my kid over. The dog was more human than half of the kids I coached.

“He sprayed you?” Sinclair slid down and gently petted Lucy’s belly. “What are those?”

Brooke snorted out a laugh and turned bright red when Sin pointed to Lucy’s balls. “Um. Don’t worry about those. He won’t have them for long.”

The dog rolled over and raised his paw to punch Brooke. I smirked. “I don’t think he likes that idea.”

Ignoring me, Brooke pressed a kiss to the giant dog’s nose. “Do you want to play with Sinclair, Lucy? Can you not run her over and be extra gentle?”

Sinclair was in love that fast. She giggled happily at the way the dog towered over her and wagged his tail. “He’ll be good! Come on, Lucy! Let’s play!”

I followed the three of them around to the back of the house and watched as Brooke showed Sin all of Lucy’s new toys and how to play fetch with him. As soon as Sinclair was focused on Lucy, Brooke turned on me.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve bringing her. That’s not fair.” She crossed her arms over her chest and positioned herself next to me so we could both watch Sin throwing a ball for Lucy. “You knew I wouldn’t talk to you by yourself, didn’t you?”

I stopped, everything I wanted to say rushing through my brain so fast that I couldn’t get anything out. I was terrified of losing her and I knew I was going to if I couldn’t make her understand how much I wanted and needed her. I saw her roll her eyes after I didn’t respond right away and gently grabbed her hand when she turned to walk away. “Wait.”

She sighed. “I can’t-”

“I’ve loved you since the day I met you.” I closed my eyes as I took a calming breath and when I opened them, she was staring up at me with wide eyes. “I never told you. I was terrified of ruining our friendship but I loved you for years and years, Brooke. I wanted everything with you and I thought I’d finallyget it after our night together in the treehouse. I should’ve chased after you when you left. I should’ve demanded you come back and give me a chance. I was scared, though. I’ve always been scared when it comes to you because you have my heart and all the power to crush it. You always have. I tried, Brooke. I tried to love Kelly. I fought for our marriage to work. She knew, though. She knew I’d never be able to love her like she deserved, even before she realized she was a lesbian.

“I am so fucking sorry that I freaked out and believed what Finn told us. God, I’m sorry. I’m ashamed of how we acted. We let our hurt feelings get in the way of how we feel about you.” I pulled my hands down my face and gripped her shoulders. “I love you, Brooke. I’m so fucking in love with you that I’m dying inside without you.”

She blinked away tears and wrapped her arms around herself. “You thought I was cheating. You were cruel. How can I-”

I pressed my mouth to hers, desperate to have her feel how much I loved her. She softened under my kiss so I gently broke it and pressed my forehead to hers. “I love you. I don’t want to lose you. Not again. Not ever.”

She sniffed and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m not… I’m not ready to forget and forgive yet.”

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