Page 148 of Could Have Been Us
“Yeah! If that’s okay, Dad? I would love to see her face. I’m sure she’s going to be so surprised.”
“Not entirely,” I tell her.
“What? Isn’t that the point?”
I huff. “Stella . . . well, that’s all I can say. Stella. She sort of knows already, and she’s being an incredible pain in my ass, er, butt.”
Kinsley shakes her head. “She loves you.”
“She does, and I’m incredibly happy for that. So, you’d like to come?”
“Can I?” she asks Samuel.
“We both are. We’ll head back with Jack in the morning and spend the weekend there.”
Thank God, this might actually work.
Chapter 45
Stella
“Coming!” I yell toward whoever is pounding insistently on the door. “Jesus, give a girl a minute to put some pants on!”
I hurry over, yanking it open to see Winnie there, holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a cake in the other. “You could’ve skipped the pants.”
“Win,” I say almost as a breath.
“Can I come in?”
I pull the door open, wishing her hands were free so I could wrap her into a hug. She enters, setting the wine and cake down before throwing her arms around me and holding me tight. “Are you okay?”
I nod, forcing back the tears. “I’m okay.”
“What about good?”
“Not there yet.”
“You will be.”
I smile. “Yeah, thanks to people like you.”
Winnie looks around. “So, you’re moving in here?”
“No. No way. This is temporary. You know, until thinking about my place doesn’t hurt so much. Jack is in the woods now, so we’re going to talk about it when he gets back.”
I love Jack, and his place is great . . . for a single guy, but I miss my house. I love the fact that my microwave doesn’t make that grinding noise, and I miss central heat and air. It’s rustic, and I really don’tdorustic, even if it has a hot tub.
I’m more of a modern girl who likes to think she’s rustic.
“You could always come stay at my house.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, that would be super comfortable while you’re still banging that Easton guy.”
“I know you didn’t love him when you met him, but he’s good to me.”
“That’s good. And it’s not that I didn’t like him, I just hated the guy you were trying to set me up with.”
She laughs. “In my defense, I didn’t know you were completely in love with Jack.”
