Page 174 of The Path to Loving Him
“Not as fun. Anyway, this is Bower. Who might I be speaking to?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
She laughs. “Okay, okay, tell me everything about this weekend. I shot Bennett a text congratulating him on his game, and he might have dished a little bit of tea about you, but I will let you tell me, and yes, I am saying this up front because I don’tfeel like acting surprised and shocked when you do mention what really happened this weekend.”
“First of all, the fact that you talk to Bennett, that’s dangerous. I don’t like the cross pollination.”
“It’s for your benefit, so we can keep a close eye on you and make sure you’re okay. We’ve been doing it for years. You’ll be fine, suck it up.”
“So loving.”Years? How have I not known this? Years...“Second of all, what did he tell you?”
I lotion my arms as Bower says, “Just that there was something brewing between you and the coach and that you said you had feelings but weren’t sure how things would go. You left us on a cliffhanger. Now you need to tell us how everything went.”
“If I tell you, are you going to tell Bennett?”
“Absolutely,” she says, not even pretending to be on my side.
I sigh heavily. “Fine . . . we’re seeing each other.”
“What?” she yells into the phone. “You’re just going to come out with the information like that. You’re not going to ease me in? Add some foreplay . . . at least swat at my nipples before you drive it home?”
“Nope, giving it to you hard.”
“Well, let me catch my breath for a second. Golly!”
“Golly?” I ask, never in my life hearing my friend say such a thing. It almost feels like a swear word coming out of her mouth.
“Yeah, golly.” She clears her throat. “Now that I’ve adjusted to the girth you just shoved into me, tell me how it happened.”
Chuckling, I say, “Well, I got back to the place we were staying at, and there was one bed?—”
“Naturally, a romance author’s dream place to make the sparks fly. One-bed trope is the epitome of all tropes. Did he pretend he was cold and needed to snuggle? Or were you like . . .Oh Ryland, I have so much adrenaline, I need you to hold meto calm me downand then when he held you, he slipped his hand under your shirt and started teasing your tits? Ooof, I love a good swipe of a finger over a breast. Nothing will make me hornier.”
“You know . . . you need to stop reading those books.”
“Never! Those books give me life.”
Shaking my head, I cap off my lotion. “Nothing like that happened, well, sort of nothing. Honestly, it’s all a blur.”
“So he did swipe the boob.”
“Umm, perhaps, it was more of me taking my shirt off and moving over him.”
“Dear God in heaven,” she whispers. “That sounds fantastic.”
“It really was. It was after he confessed how he felt for me and that he couldn’t stop thinking about me. Honestly, it was pretty magical. So yeah, we’re seeing each other now.”
“Well, this is the best news ever. Are you excited? Apprehensive? Nervous? Just so horny that you don’t care about the rest of the feelings?”
“Clearly not as horny as you.” Bower laughs. “Yes, about being nervous and a little apprehensive. I want to make sure we do this right. He is pretty wary about being in any sort of relationship but is dedicated to making it work with me. But we have to think about his niece and her feelings. I want to be as respectful as possible. So a lot of navigating.”
“I get it, still . . . look at you thriving. New job, new place, new beau. I’m proud of you, Gabby.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“No, it is.” Bower grows serious. “This is a huge deal. After Nathan, I honestly didn’t think there’d be anyone who could enter your life and help you out of the darkness. What I didn’t expect was you helping yourself out of that darkness. You were the one who made the change and that’s something to be proud of. And then finding Ryland, who so far seems like a great guy—I wasn’t expecting you to open up your heart the way you have toward him.”
I sit on my bed and cross my legs. “In all honesty, it was hard not to open up, as I see my pain inside him. Like a mirror, reflecting right back, so I knew that I wouldn’t be embarrassed when talking to him about my past, that he wouldn’t judge me. I felt very comfortable, which made it easier to open up.” I think about the past twenty-four hours and just how comfortable I was. “I told him about Nathan, and everything that happened with him.”
