Page 91 of Shift the Tide

And Kiera had frozen, the words caught somewhere between her chest and throat. Not because she didn’t feel them, but because she did — too much, too clearly. Because saying them meant choosing this life fully, with all its chaos and complications. It meant trusting that Izzy wouldn’t change her mind when things got hard. That she wouldn't regret choosing someone with kids, with baggage, with a whole orbit spinning around her.

Kiera had spent years putting everyone else first. She’d made peace with being the stable one, the practical one, the one whodidn’t ask for more. But now that more was right in front of her — in Izzy’s touch, her words, her presence — it terrified her to reach for it. What if she wasn’t enough to hold it? What if she broke it just by wanting it too much?

"I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat," Maggie stated, and just as Kiera began to ask her what the hell that meant, a beep followed by the distinct sound of someone else on the line.

“Hello?” Danica’s voice came through. “Oooh, what's going on at 7:43 p.m. on a Friday night?"

Maggie didn’t miss a beat. “Kiera is being an emotionally-stunted dumbass, and she needs a pep talk.”

“Ah,” Danica said, and Kiera couldhearthe smirk in her voice. “Classic.”

Kiera let out what she hoped translated as a long-suffering sigh. “Oh my god, are you both serious?”

Danica laughed. “Sweetheart, have any of us evernotbeen serious about meddling in each other’s love lives? This is prime payback.”

“This isnotmy love life,” Kiera protested. “This is… a situation.”

“Oh? A situation?” Danica repeated. “Tell me, does this situation involve your deep-seated fear of vulnerability? Because that’s the only thing I’m hearing right now.”

Kiera rubbed her temples. “I amnotafraid of vulnerability.”

Danica snorted. “Kiera, I’ve seen house plants be more open about their needs than you.”

Maggie hummed in agreement. “That’s true. I mean, even my cactus wilts dramatically when it needs water. Meanwhile, you just shrugged and said, ‘It’s fine’ when you found out Alex was cheating on you.”

“I did not—” Kiera stopped, exhaling slowly to calm herself. “Can we not?”

Maggie’s voice softened, losing some of its teasing edge. “Kiera. Just tell her.”

Kiera swallowed hard, staring at her reflection in the rearview mirror. “What if she doesn’t know what she’s signing up for? Or what if she just likes the idea, and she’s going to panic once it’s not some chase anymore? Or what if I do take this job in Nebraska?—”

“Ugh,” Danica interrupted. “You cannot be serious right now. You’re not taking that job in Nebraska. You grimaced when you were telling us about it on Facetime.”

“I did not?—”

Danica continued on, unphased by Kiera’s protests. “And about the other nonsense, are you evenpresentin your own relationship?”

“Did Izzy say ‘I love you’?” Maggie asked.

“Yes,” Kiera confessed.

Danica and Maggie let out matching squeals, and Kiera could hear what sounded an awful lot like Pete doing a slow clap in the background.

“Am I on speaker?” Kiera asked.

“Focus,” Danica said. “But yes.”

“Izzylovesyou, Kiera,” Pete said, suddenly a participating member of the conversation. “Don’t fuck this up.”

Kiera opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Maggie sighed. “Kiera, what is the absolute worst-case scenario?”

Kiera closed her eyes. “That I tell her how I feel, and it doesn’t work out.”

“And the best-case scenario?” Danica prompted.

Kiera’s stomach flipped. “…That it does.”

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