Page 83 of Could Have Been Us
I nod. “Very.”
“Good.”
It is. Life is good right now. Jack and I are figuring things out, and Grayson has Jess to make him not be an idiot. All in all, things are exactly how I always hoped they’d be.
The only big obstacle left is my father. His time to get the funds together to buy all of us out is ticking away. If he can’t manage it, then Jacob Arrowood, Jessica’s friend who just happens to be my favorite actor, is willing to buy them. He’ll take over everything and force my father out and either sell off the properties or maybe enter a new business venture. Either way, all of us will have the capital we need to get the Firefly Resort off the ground.
“I’m glad you guys could come tonight.”
I smile at Jess. “There’s nowhere else we’d rather be.”
Jessica snorts. “Oh, I’m sure there’s somewhere else.”
I let out a laugh and try to hide the blush warming my cheeks.
“I know that look.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “Is it everything you hoped?”
I nod. “More.”
“Good. You deserve more.”
Grayson walks into the kitchen, and his eyes narrow. “What are you two whispering about?”
Jessica replies before I can. “Sex.”
His face is priceless. He turns, leaving as quickly as he entered.
“Jess,” I hiss.
“Please. He is the one who said he didn’t want any more lies when it comes to you and Jack. I’m just reminding him that sometimes we leave things out to spare others. He doesn’t really want to hear about you and his best friend and not everything is his business.”
Thenot everythingJessica means is Kinsley. Telling her was a risk. I trusted that she wouldn’t tell Grayson, and so far, she hasn’t.
In fact, this is the first time she’s even eluded to suggesting that maybe she means more than what she’s saying. She hasn’t mentioned her or asked questions, content to let me get it out how I needed to.
For that alone, she’s become a friend I would do anything for.
“I don’t want to ask you to lie to your husband.”
“You’re not.”
In a way, I am. “He won’t see it that way,” I say as I trace the patterns in the wood countertop.
Jessica stops chopping the vegetables and places her hand over mine. “You have a right to your secrets, just as he has to his. We all do.”
I force a smile and shove down my emotions. There’s guilt, like always, but there is also shame because my brother would never have done things the way I did.
“No more thinking about this. Let’s talk about you and the baby. How are you feeling?”
Understanding fills her eyes, and she smiles back. “I’m good. No sickness and the regular checkups keep me from being anxious.”
Jessica wasn’t very far along when she was trapped in the fire. She is lucky, and Grayson has insisted that she have a team of doctors to monitor her pregnancy. The last ultrasound showed the baby is healthy and everything looks like it should.
That was a huge relief right before the wedding.
“You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
“I think that’s why Grayson was such a lunatic about you and Jack. It was just one more thing for him to worry about.”
