Page 140 of Only Ever You

“I have the wine!” Sienna followed, bursting into the narrow entryway and dodging the growing pile of shoes just the same.

Were theytryingto give her a heart attack?

Never mind that, how had they gotten in here?Ugh.The spare key was for emergencies only.

Faye untangled the blankets from her legs, snatched the bowl up off of the rug and grabbed a tissue to dab the spilled patch of ice cream, all in the space of two heart racing seconds.

A bottle of white wine made a heavy clunk on her kitchen table.

“Is this a party?”

“It is now.” Sienna squared her with a determined look, hand on hip and all. “You got together with Bash. And we want to hear all about it.”

“Except, maybe skip some of the more sexy details?” Maisie requested as she shed her coat and scarf. “He’s still our friend, and that’s a little weird.”

Faye knew just how to make this even a little entertaining for herself, forcing a smile where she crouched. “I wasn’t going to tell you about how many times he’s made me come, anyway.”

“Times!?”Maisie gasped. “You’ve only been together for, what, a week?”

And it’d been the best week … up until now.

“Okay,” Sienna cut in, “hands up.”

Rising from the tissue doing its best effort to soak up the liquifying ice cream, Faye reluctantly held her hands in front of her, slowly flicking a finger out as she silently counted up fromone. The looks on her friends’ faces grew more enraptured as she kept on going.

“Wow … good for you. I’ll be looking at Bash differently from now on.”

“Don’t make it awkward, Sienna.” Maisie’s pale cheeks looked warmer with the new information.

In Faye’s text to ask if either of them were free tonight, she hadn’t included what’d happened with Bash this evening, almost ashamed to admit that she’d hurt their friendyet again.

The same text had gone to Ellie with an added, nondescript,I could do with talking to you about somethingto theare you available in the next few days?text. She hadn’t expected Ellie to answer straight away saying that Scott could take charge of their daughter for the night.

Faye wanted advice, or maybe someone to smack her round the head and tell her she was being an idiot.

Her friends made themselves at home and teased every strand of information out of her about her Christmas at the Phillips-Dumont household. Pictures replayed in Faye’s mind of so many moments where, now that she looked back, she couldseehow deep Bash’s feelings were for her.

Had she really been that oblivious for all that time?

And that kiss under the mistletoe … she never should’ve assumed that because he’d drawn back afterwards, he did it for any reason other than thinking she didn’t share the same feelings as him. He’d practically poured out adoration like liquid gold into that one kiss.

Faye’d asked for a night to herself, but now her heart begged to be wherever Bash was. She missed him like flowers miss the rain. He was the only one who she wanted at the end of this long day.

She could promise him the life he wanted them to have as asomeday,but for now she had no choice but to take their relationship slowly and hope Bash meant it when he’d said that he would too, or else they were heading towards being the right person for each other, just at the wrong time. And Faye couldn’t let him go.

The worst thing of all? When she closed her eyes, she could see it; their life she’d turned away. She could see the house and the dog and the children and the morning kisses. The nights in. The evenings out. The family Christmas. The birthdays. The New Years’, and every ordinary day in between.

It was half an hour later when Faye went to refill their drinks.

“Ellie is supposed to be coming over,” she called behind her, “though I don’t know where she’s gotten to?—”

The intercom buzzed.

Three heads spun towards her front door.

“Ah.” That sound answered that question.

“Saved by the buzzer.” Maisie sipped on her wine.

---