Hey, sunshine. How’s your day going? I hear we have a party to plan at the brewery.
Me
We sure do. It’s good. Meeting with Josie to go over final touches. Do you want us to come there so we can chat with you too?
Jason
Sure, that might not be a bad idea.
“Who are you talking to?” Josie asks, glancing across the table at me, her brows raised.
I swallow thickly, hoping I can play this cool. “Oh, um, Jason, actually. He wants to meet with us quickly if you have time so we can plan with him too.”
“Yeah, we can head over there. What’s going on with your face?” she asks nonchalantly. God, why must she be so perceptive?
“Nothing,” I squeak, but I know my face must be bright red. I turn my gaze back to my phone, letting Jason know we are on the way. We are within walking distance, so we head toward him. As we walk, I sense her skeptical eyes. “Are you and Jason finally together? Is that what's happening here?”
Oh god, she’s cracking me open. My resolve isn’t very strong to begin with, but I need to confide in someone. I’ve told Megan the bare minimum, but Josie is so easy to talk to. And she knows Jason. She’s part of his family.
The brewery is in sight now, and I’m about to explode. I need to tell her. I stop in the middle of the sidewalk, pulling her aside so we’re not blocking the path. “Fine, but you literally can’t tell anyone. Not even Andrew. I don’t know what’s happening between us, but I need to tell someone.”
Josie’s blue eyes widen and her mouth drops open. “I was teasing you, I didn’t really think you were together. I mean I suspected after the whole wine cellar thing—which youtotallybanged down there, didn’t you?—and the hotel thing, but I didn’t know for sure.Oh my god,this is thebestnews. Tell me everything.”
I grab her hand and sit down on a bench nearby. “I’m not really sure what there is to tell. We’re in this weirdlimbo. We both didn’t want a relationship, but a few weeks ago, I almost passed out at the zoo, and he confided in me about some stuff, and I did the same to him, and now we’re texting sometimes, and calling too, and I don’t know what this is.” I finish my speech with a huff, and sink back onto the bench.
“Okay well first off, I’m saying this honestly. If you do choose to get together, I think you two will be amazing for each other. And your girls love each other. So that’s a perk.”
I nod, my brain sort of numb. “I’m scared, Josie. I’m scared to let myself fall. What if he breaks my heart, and in the process, he breaks Presley’s too? What if Presley loses Lennie as a friend because of me?”
Josie leans toward me, wrapping me into a hug. “I can’t imagine how hard it is. To have to be thinking about someone else, and not only yourself. Trust me when I say this, though. Jason may outwardly put out the vibes that he doesn’t care, that he doesn’t have emotions, but I’m sure by now, you’ve experienced how he is with his family. How he is with the people he cares about. With the people he loves. He won’t hurt you if he can help it. And that goes for your daughter, and his too.”
“You’re right,” I say with resolve. I have witnessed firsthand how he is, how amazing he is to his family. To me and my daughter.
“Go with the flow. If something happens, which I think it might, don’t stress. Take things as they come. We’re all on your team, and are here to support both of you no matter what.”
I squeeze my friend. “Thank you, Josie. You mean so much to me. I’m so grateful for you.”
“Right back at ya,” Josie responds. “Now, let's go see your man.”
I chuckle, because she’s such a goofball. “Technically, he’s not my man.”
“Yet.” She winks.
We finish the short walk to the brewery, and Jason is sitting at a table, leaning forward as he talks to an older man I recognize as his grandfather.
“Gramps!” Josie yells, and he turns in his chair to see Josie.
“Cindy,” Gramps greets her. Josie bends down and kisses him sweetly on the cheek. “Jason here was telling me about the party you’re planning for Marley and Beau.”
“Fallon’s the one planning,” Josie says, gesturing to me. “I’m doing the flowers and being a helping hand.”
I offer a wave to Jason’s grandfather. I’ve met him a few times, and he’s always been the sweetest man. “Hi, Earl,” I greet.
“Call me Gramps, young lady,” he tells me, and I correct myself.
“Gramps. Nice to see you.”
“You too. How’s that little peanut of yours?”
