Page 5 of Fear of Love
“Uhh.” I looked at everyone as they stood there waiting for my answer. “Wendy’s?”
“Noooo,” Tasha, Bryton, and Wyatt groaned at the same time Josie, Mila, and Trevor shouted, “Yes!” My answer seemed to add fuel to the fire in their conversation. I shook my head at my friends as they continued arguing. And to think we were all adults.
“Ignore them.” Mila pushed away from the counter with a smile and walked over to me. “Thanks for coming.” She pulled me into a side hug.
“Thanks for the invite. I brought some wine.” I held up the bottle.
“Thank you!” Glancing over at the others still bickering, she turned back to me. “Let’s open this now.” I couldn’t have agreed more.
“This place is incredible,” I commented, admiring the big kitchen. The dark green cabinets worked perfectly with thebacksplash stone above the stove and the wood panels near the ceiling. The island easily sat six and had a quartz countertop.
I loved the layout and how it bled into the living room. It made the space seem so big and airy, especially with the way the windows took up an entire wall and offered a view of the backyard.
“Isn’t it? I fell in love the moment we stepped inside.” Mila popped open the wine and poured some into glasses. “Wait until you see the full backyard.”
“It’s amazing.” Josie butted in, the conversation about fast food seemingly done.
“And there’s a pool,” Tasha piped up, coming up beside me.
“Fancy. Does that mean we’ll all be over for pool days?” I asked, an idea I could definitely get behind.
“Obviously,” Mila chirped, passing out wine glasses. “Come see.”
With wine in tow, the four of us followed after her. What I thought were two big windows turned into retractable doors as Mila gave the handle a tug and a push, the glass collapsing until the inside flowed freely to the outdoor space.
“Oh, wow.” The girls weren’t lying. I stepped out onto the patio, half of it covered by a gazebo, and tried to take it all in. There was plenty of seating scattered around. A built-in barbecue was off to one side along with what looked like a pizza oven as well.
There was a good section of grass in the yard, and even though the in-ground pool was covered, it was bigger than any other one I’d ever seen. A fire-pit sat a short distance away, chairs surrounding it.
Parts of the yard still had melting piles of snow from our last storm, the fluffy white substance lingering on the trees and plants, giving the backyard a winter wonderland vibe. Even with the cold, I could stay out here forever.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Mila beamed. “It’s like a dream.”
“Now to convince Bryton you need a puppy,” Josie joked.
“That’s next on my list.” The gleam in Mila’s eyes had me thinking she’d been slowly putting the idea in Bryton’s head.
“What’s next on the list?” Bryton’s voice asked from behind us.
“Nothing.” Mila turned around and gave her boyfriend a grin. “Want to get the pizza dough out of the fridge?” I hid my grin behind my wine glass, silently applauding her for a job well done changing the conversation.
“Yeah…” Bryton said. “Sure.” He looked at his girlfriend for a second longer before Mila shooed him away.
“Smooth,” I mumbled into my glass. She poked me in the ribs, making me laugh.
“I’m getting that puppy, don’t worry.”
I had no doubt that she would easily convince Bryton to get one. He would move mountains if Mila so much as asked.
“You know, there’s this really great rescue place you should go to,” Josie said. “We did a piece on them a few months ago and helped adopt some of the dogs and kittens.”
“That’s a great idea!” The two walked back into the house, heads bent close as they talked.
“Oh, I wanted to talk you,” Tasha said the moment Josie was out of earshot. She lowered her voice into a whisper. “Since Josie and Wyatt’s wedding is in less than three months, we need to have her bachelorette party soon.”
Tasha has mentioned Josie’s bachelorette party in passing, but with the wedding approaching, we could finally come up with ideas.
“What do you have in mind?” I asked, keeping my voice soft.
