My heart cracked in two.
Shelby had no idea how much I’d missed her.
“I wish I hadn’t been booted from my flight.”
“I know. But it wasn’t your fault. At least you got to see some of the country while you drove down.”
That was one way of looking at it. I’d spent the whole drive feeling like I was living my life the wrong way and second-guessing everything I’d done since I graduated high school.
Knowing this was the last private moment I’d have with her, I broached the difficult subject that had been lingering behind every phone call we’d had in the last year. “Shell, I’m sorry for what I said about Thatcher not being good enough. I’m happy for you. I really am. I think I’ve just been focused on what I’m losing, and not what you’re gaining. Can you forgive me for being an ass?”
My best friend in the whole wide world started crying.
“I get it, Liz. It’s okay. From an outside perspective, it probably looked like I was going nuts. But I fell in love with this place. And then, when I met Thatcher, I suddenly realized what was actually important in life.”
We hugged, and in that moment I knew that everything was fine between us. It would always be fine.
“So you forgive me?”
“Of course I do! I just wish you could have spent some time with Thatcher to get to know him before the wedding. He’s…” Her face took on a magical glow, “the most incredible man I’ve ever met.”
I wanted that.
My love life had been a series of one-night stands or two-week relationships. I just didn’t have the time to commit to another person. The saying ‘married to their work’ was true in my case.
Squeezing her hand, I told her, “He sounds special. And maybe I can schedule another trip next year.”
The light faded in Shelby’s eyes, but she chirpily said, “Yeah. That sounds great.”
We both knew I’d had to fight tooth and nail to get these few days off for her wedding. There’d be no future trip. Not if I wanted the next promotion in the lead-up to partner.
I changed the subject. “Hudson and I are dropping the kitten and his dog off at your place during the reception.”
She eyed my too-fancy-for-this-town dress. “Do you want to borrow something to wear? You can grab anything you want from my closet.”
Smoothing out the wrinkles in my designer gown, I asked, “What would you recommend?”
Leona meowed in protest, and I shifted her in my arms.
Shelby said, “Jeans. And maybe a jacket. It will get colder as the night goes on. Before you go will you tell me what’s up with the kitten? I’m dying to know.”
My heart twisted around in five different directions.
“We’re just borrowing her.”
“We?”
That made me flush. How could I explain the craziness of getting here? Hudson arriving as my knight in shining armor to do battle with the asshole at the auto parts store. Saving me, showering me with kittens and delivering me to the wedding just in time. It was a crazy story.
“Hudson and I aren’t a thing, so don’t even think it.”
She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “If I can’t lure you to leave the firm, maybe he can.”
Now I was turning bright red. I was certain of it. I stammered, “Really, he just ran into me and helped me out of a bind. And he played a silly trick, pretending to just be a random guy. I didn’t even know he was Thatcher’s brother until we showed up here.”
Shelby grinned and said, “You should sleep with him before you leave. He’d be a perfect stress reliever.”
“But I leave tomorrow.”
