Page 49 of From Grumpy to Forever
“You know I do.” She laughed. “And something tells me that’s what you really want to talk about.” She wasn’t wrong. “Have you guys consummated your marriage yet?” She emphasized the word marriage, and I almost regretted having told her the truth. Almost. I needed to tell someone, and it seemed safest to confide in Carrie considering she was hours away and not likely to blow our cover.
“We haven’t.”
“But you want to.”
Dammit. Why did she know me so well? I blew out another breath and told her the truth. “I do. I really, really do.”
“So what’s the issue? He’s a hottie, isn’t he?”
“How do you know?”
She laughed again. “I do know how to use the internet, you know. He doesn’t have much of a social media presence, but I found him tagged in a few pictures. He’s super hot.”
He was. I didn’t need to confirm it.
“So why do you sound so worked up about it?” Before I could answer, Carrie continued. “Wait. I know you. It’s not just him. It’s everything, right?”
I nodded despite the fact she couldn’t see me. Fortunately, Carrie didn’t need the confirmation.
“Okay, let’s take this piece by piece.”
The stress seeped out of my bones as my best friend took control of the situation in only the way a friend who knew you as well as she knew me could.
“First of all, the inn is not too big of a project for you to do justice on it. I know you, Avery, and I know how much you love that place. You’re going to do your very best to make sure it’s perfect. Your grandparents would have been so proud of you. And you know it.”
I inhaled through my nose and told myself not to cry. She was right.
“Yes, you’re married to a man you hardly know. But the very fact that he’s willing to participate in this with you tells me he’s a good guy. Besides that, you have excellent radar.”
Before I could object, she jumped in again.
“Except for that brief lapse of judgment with Porter, but you got that out of your system.” I didn’t even bother to swallow up my laughter as she kept going. “We’ll come back to the attraction part. It’s important.”
I could almost see her wiggling her eyebrows.
“But let’s talk about your shitty cousin for a second. Because that’s all the time he’s worth. First of all, you have nothing to worry about. Your marriage is legal, and he’s only grasping at straws here because he’s butt hurt that your grandparents left the inn to you.”
“But he has more money to fight than I do.” I didn’t bother to tell her that I was so deeply in debt with this whole situation that if it didn’t get sorted soon, Jacob would be the least of my issues. “I won’t be able to drag it out if that’s what he decides to do.”
“He won’t.”
She sounded so sure, I wished I had even a fraction of that confidence.
“When he sees that you and Reid are the real deal, he’ll drop it. Now, let’s get to the good stuff. Why are you so worked up about sleeping with the man? You’re a grown-up. Just do it.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Sure looks that way to me. He’s a hottie. You’re a hottie. And besides, Avery…did you miss the very obvious thing here?”
I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. “I must have.”
“You’re married to the man, Avery,” Carrie said matter-of-factly. “Reid is your husband.”
She punctuated every word as if I needed help understanding what she was saying. Maybe I did.
“If you both want to have sex, do it. Consummate your marriage. If anything, it only makes it more legit. Besides, you’re both consenting adults. I do not see what the problem is here?”
Of course she didn’t see the problem. That’s because she didn’t see the way Reid looked at me. The way he stood up to Jacob for me. The way he made me feel cared for and protected. The way I got butterflies every time he came close. The way my entire body vibrated when he gave me that rare smile that only I seemed to be on the receiving end of. Carrie didn’t see any of that. And my best friend certainly didn’t see the way I was with him or the fact that I was falling for him. Hard.
