“Holy fuck, that is definitely an engagement ring,” Aaron noted before putting a pin in the sudden turn in conversation and continued having words with Bowen. “Once, I caught her hiding vegetables on my porch with a note from you about some bullshit Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day.”
And I’d thought Bowen’s ridiculousness had been limited to Harley Steele. I slapped a hand over my mouth to cover my laugh. My right hand. No use showing off the bling again.
Emily’s face was neon red as Aaron finished with, “So either you were trying to set us up or she has the broadest job description ever written.”
“I pay her overtime, thank you very much. She lives closer to you. It’s not my fault you moved a half hour on the other side of town. My truck doesn’t get the best gas milage.”
Seriously. This was the conversation we were having. Our friends kissing. Engagement rings. Matchmaking Rice Krispies treats. Sneaky zucchini. Gas milage. I didn’t think I’d ever been so happy with cherry pearls rolling around at my feet before. After the hell the three out of the four of us had endured in recent years, this was the kind of drama we all deserved in our blissfully average lives.
I swung my smile around the room. “Well, I, for one, think this is amazing.”
“Amazing?” Bowen scoffed. “Emily, is he the guy you were crying about the other day?”
Emily’s eyes flashed wide, and Aaron’s back shot straight.
“You were crying?” he breathed, his eyebrows painfully pinching together.
Oh my God. He loved her. With that one look, there was no way to deny it.
Shit. I’d been gone four months and completely missed my best friend falling in love for quite possibly the very first time. That and Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day, but I was banking on that being a yearly thing.
Aaron was a good-looking guy. A lesser woman would have buckled under those puppy-dog eyes. Not Emily. I knew I liked her for a reason.
Stepping away from him, she crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side. “You ghosted me for a week!”
He flinched. “I didn’t ghost you. I just…needed some time to think. Things moved really fast with us and…” He shook his head. “You’re right. I don’t have an excuse. But I love you. And I’m fucked up, but I don’t feel fucked up when I’m with you. I’ve been struggling for a really long time, and then you came along and it feels like someone sent you to me—and not just dinner delivery from your boss.”
Emily’s pretty face got soft and warm. “You love me?”
Oh my Gahhhhhh. It was the first time he’d ever told her too?
Yep, yep. That was it. I was going to cry.
Bowen used his Remi Grey sixth sense and sidled up next to me, curling me into his side. I buried my face in my man’s chest, so I only heard it when Aaron replied.
“Are you kidding me? I fell in love with you the minute you complimented my sweater vest.”
Emily let out a loud laugh that thankfully masked my own, and Bowen’s chest shook with a chuckle.
“I love you too,” she replied. “But I’m burning that sweater vest.”
Oh, I loved her so much. His sweater vests were awful.
Bowen smoothed a hand up and down my back, and his lips touched the top of my hair as he whispered, “Looks to me like fate struck again.”
I pinched his side, but he didn’t even squirm.
“And just think,” Aaron said. “It could have been worse. That one over there ghosted Bowen for over four months. And apparently they’re engaged now.”
“Hey!” I defended, spinning to face him.
With Emily firmly and lovingly tucked against his side, Aaron mirrored Bowen’s hold on me. The corner of his mouth twitched arrogantly. “And you! Is your phone broken? Didn’t think to call and at least tell me you were back in town?”
“Maybe check your voicemail,” I snapped back, mocking his tone. “Don’t come at me with that crap. You have a whole woman you’re in love with who I knew nothing about.”
His brows shot up his forehead. “Oh, I’m sorry. Are we talking more than once a week now? And if we are, will it involve you taking a breath between drawn-out stories about this guy and a cactus named Quincy?”
Bowen’s face, smirk and all, snapped my way. “You still have Quincy?”
“You hush. Don’t think I missed that perfectly-cared-for garden table. Those succulents have been living a life of luxury in my absence.”
His mouth stretched wide and toothy as he looked back at Aaron.
“I told you so,” my friend taunted.
“You did indeed.” Bowen cleared his throat. “All right, everyone. Wrap it up for the day and let’s get out of here. We can all catch up over dinner. First round’s on me.”
