Page 96 of The Invitation
“Me, too.”
I hope. God, I hope. Because I know I can’t go back to trying to keep my distance and try to hate her.
Not when I think I might love her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Georgia
Sutton staresat me with her mouth agape.
“Say something,” I say.
“Holy shit.” The words stir her out of the fog my admission just cast around her. She shakes her head. “You and Ripley?”
I wince. “You think it’s a bad idea?”
She laughs, the surprise on her face melting into excitement. “A bad idea? Are you kidding me?Finally.”
“Finally?”
“Georgia, it’s about damn time. We were all waiting for this to happen. Granted, it took much longer than anyone anticipated.”
I don’t know what to say.Is she serious right now?
I refill our wineglasses—mine to the tip-top—and breathe deeply.
My expectations for telling Sutton about me and Ripley were all over the place. She knows our past, so I expected her to think it was a terrible idea. I also worried what she’d think because ofThe Invitation. I also wondered what she’d think about the one part that worries me the most—my mother.
She lifts her glass to mine and clinks them together. “To new beginnings.”
“To new beginnings.”
“And lots of sex.”
I laugh before taking a sip of wine.
The alcohol, my third glass in a short period of time, fills my blood with an appreciated warmth. The nasty edges of my anxiety have been rounded off. I can finally think clearer, but that might be the wine talking.
When Ripley dropped me off this evening, I was on a high. I walked through the door, but I may as well have been floating on clouds. I was aware that I hadn’t processed the ugly parts of this reality, and I was willing—I needed—to just enjoy the moment before I had to recognize the obstacles in front of us.
But now that time is here, and I don’t know what to do.
“So what happens now?” Sutton asks, twirling her engagement ring around her finger. “Are you officially a thing?”
I smile at my friend.Of course, she didn’t worry about herself first. She’s such an amazing person.
“Before we get into all of that, let’s talk about what this may or may not do to The Invitation,” I say.
“I’ll handle that. It might make things easier, actually, because we can stage more scenes. You’ll be cooperative.”
I gasp. “I’ve always been cooperative.”
“You know what I mean.” She grins. “Now, let’s get back to the important part—where do you stand with Ripley?”
I take another drink before I respond. “I told him that we need to take some time to think about things.”
She furrows her brow.
