Page 25 of The Secrets We Treasure

“So you’re not getting married?” Laci sounded disappointed.

“No.” She turned and glanced back at the group to make sure they were still involved in their conversation. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I do have some other news.”

“Why’re you whispering?”

“Because I don’t want anyone to overhear me.”

“Who are you worried about hearing you?”

“Never mind that. Do you want to hear the news or not?” she spouted.

“Down, girl,” Laci laughed. “Who peed in your Cheerios?”

Treasure pushed out a long breath. She and Laci had been friends long enough to be completely open with one another. When they were kids, Treasure, Greer, and Laci were The Three Musketeers. Then, when Greer and Treasure started dating, Laci felt left out and distanced herself. After Treasure and Greer broke up, Treasure depended on Laci’s friendship more than ever and they grew close again.

Concern coated Laci’s voice. “What’s going on?”

“I talked to Greer yesterday.” She couldn’t contain her ginormous smile any more than Alice in Wonderland could stop herself from growing to an epic size and bursting through the house. “Get this. He’s coming to visit me the week after next.” Absently, she rubbed her foot back and forth over the pebbled sand.

“It’s good that y’all can resume your friendship.”

“Not just friendship,” she chimed. “I think this is going somewhere.”

There was a long pause. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She swallowed. “Things went terribly wrong before, but I’m willing to give us a second chance. It sounds like Greer’s also willing.” She listed the positives before Laci could interrupt. “We’re more mature now. Our careers are similar. We share a common bond in that we’ve both lost our spouses.”

“I hear ya.”

Treasure’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow. I didn’t even think about what I was saying. Sorry, my brain’s fuzzy from loss of sleep. You know exactly what I’m talking about. You lost Waylon.” Five years ago, Laci’s husband died. He was twenty-five years older than Laci and had been married before. In fact, his children were not much younger than Laci, which had caused a great deal of contention. Also, it didn’t help that Waylon left Laci his exclusive home on Honeysuckle Island and the bulk of his wealth.

Treasure couldn’t imagine having an age gap of twenty-five years. It had been hard enough on her and Ben to be ten years apart. However, from what Treasure could tell, Laci had been crazy about Waylon and was devastated when he died. Laci’s voice cut into her thoughts.

“You and Greer mean the world to me. I’d hate to see either of you get hurt again. You don’t know how hard it was on Greer when you broke up with him and left.”

“On the contrary, I know exactly how hard it was,” Treasure shot back. She’d been living with the pain for years.

“You say that, but I was the one who had to piece him back together,” Laci pouted.

Treasure didn’t want to argue. As far as Laci knew, Treasure had broken up with Greer because she was feeling stifled on Honeysuckle Island and wanted to strike out on her own and make something of her life. Viewed under that lens, Treasure could see why Laci would be worried. She probably thought Treasure was insensitive and selfish. While it stung to have her best friend label her as such, Treasure couldn’t exonerate herself without revealing condemning secrets. “That was a long time ago,” she said firmly.

“It was,” Laci acknowledged. “I recognize that you’re at a different point in your life now. Just promise me that you’ll think long and hard before jumping into anything.” Emotion quivered in her voice. “You and Greer deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks,” she said genuinely. “So do you.” Her voice grew speculative. “Do you have any prospects?”

“For what?” Laci asked innocently.

“Surely there must be someone on the island who has caught your fancy.”

“There are a couple contenders,” Laci admitted.

Interest percolated in her chest. “Who?”

“They’re newcomers. No one you know.”

A grin touched her lips. “So you’re holding out on me.”

“If anything turns serious, you’ll be the first to know.”

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