Page 28 of Fabulous Filthy Friend

She waves a hand at me. “Oh, no. Don’t even start with that. You know what it took for us to get here. Our love story is anything but perfect.”

“Maybe not in the beginning.” Cade didn’t have a clue how to approach Alicia without being an overbearing ass, and she didn’t want to concede that she wanted him as much as he did her. “But look where you ended up.”

A beautiful house. Beautiful kids. A loving husband. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.

Alicia nods. “Very true. But still, don’t make the mistake of believing anyone’s life or relationship is perfect.”

I hate feeling like this. Off my axis. Like the world is spinning around me and I have no idea how to catch up with it or stop it. “Maybe I should just go over there.”

“Why? If he hasn’t come to you and apologized, he’s probably not ready to talk about whatever is bothering him. Men can be idiots sometimes and keep everything in. You just need to wait it out.”

Logically, I know she’s right. But it doesn’t make it any easier. Tears burn my eyes, and I swipe them away.

Alicia leans forward. “Oh, my God, are you crying? Girl, it will be fine. You guys are best friends. It’ll work out.”

“It’s not just that.”

If it were only things with Flynn being off, that would be manageable. I could deal until they resolved, hopefully sooner rather than later. But it isn’t just him.

“What’s going on, Rach?”

I sigh and take a sip of my wine. “Things have just been…rough since I came back from Michigan.”

“Oh, hon. I know. You miss your dad.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. I came to peace with the fact that he never was and would never be a good father, and he was never really in my life that much, so it’s not that. I think it was seeing Bash and not seeing Jameson while also being in the house that was so much my mom’s place. It really made me miss the boys.” More than I thought possible. “I guess I’m kind of homesick, only not for a location. For the people.”

Alicia offers me a sympathetic look. “Girl, I get it. I moved across the country and was out here totally alone. But I made it out on the other side. And I have Cade and the kids.”

A vise wraps around my chest, stealing my breath. “What if I don’t have Flynn anymore?”

“Stop it. Don’t even think like that. It’s just a little tiff. Have you never fought with a friend before?”

I narrow my eyes on her. “Of course, I have, just not with him.”

“It’ll be fine. I promise, and I swear if Cade comes back with anything you need to know, I’ll tell you. Until then”—she raises her glass—“let’s just drink.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Only not too much since I have to deal with twenty five-year-olds in the morning.

* * *

FLYNN

Cade eyes me while he pets Prince, who snores lightly where he’s curled up on the couch next to him. “You really look like shit, mate.”

His accent doesn’t help soften the sting of his observation, even though women seem to find it charming and sexy.

I scrub a hand over my face and sigh. “Gee, thanks, asshole.”

How the hell does he look so good and well-rested when he has two kids and a mastiff running around his house?

“What?” Cade raises his dark eyebrows at me and smirks. “You want me to lie to you? You picked the wrong person.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “I just rather you didn’t state the obvious.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that I’ve barely slept and have a lot on my mind. And Cade knows me well enough by now to recognize this isn’t normal. Even at the height of the market’s crash, when my entire world and career felt like it was crumbling, it wasn’t this bad. Because I had her. My best friend to lean on and to keep me from wallowing in self-pity and guilt. And then I had HRD4U as a way to relieve stress and become someone else, someone with no responsibilities or clients to answer to, someone with no problems.

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