Page 50 of Always Be Mine

He thought about denying it but there was no point. “She is.”

“And that Meri loves her.”

“She does.”

“And that you smile whenever she’s around.”

“I—”

“Craig.”

“Okay,” he admitted. “I do.” He walked through the living room and looked out at the pink and purple snow princess that, despite being in the shade of the tree, was already half-melted.

“So what exactly is the problem?”

Andy had been Craig’s best friend for years. Even after he moved to Vancouver to go to school to be a physiotherapist, they stayed in touch and made a point to visit each other regularly. But despite their closeness, there were still a few things Andy didn’t understand.

His lack of female companionship was on the top of that list.

“You do know there’s nothing wrong with having a woman in your life, right, Craig?”

“I do have a woman in my life.”

“You know what I mean.”

Craig chuckled. “Even if I did want a woman in my life, and I don’t, I don’t have space. You know that. Meri is my world. My priority. My everything.”

“I know it, man. We all do. But I don’t think you appreciate that maybe your world could get a little bigger if you’d give it the chance.”

He blew out a breath and shook his head. It was annoying that Andy was right. A month ago, he would have wholeheartedly agreed with him. But things were different now. Because the only woman Craig could even contemplate letting into his life in any way would be Lucy. And she was the very woman he couldn’t go there with.

“It’s complicated, Andy. She just moved in and?—”

“She moved in?” His friend’s laughter boomed through the phone. “Well, that does add a little bit of flavor to the situation, now, doesn’t it?”

“That’s not helpful.”

“I don’t know, I’d think that maybe?—”

“She’s dating someone,” Craig interrupted him quickly. “So even if I was interested, which I’m not, it doesn’t matter.”

“Uh huh.”

Craig could practically see his best friend’s smug smile.

“So you’re calling because…”

Craig ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the roots.

“Hey,” Andy said before he could reply. “I’m just giving you a hard time. I know you have a lot on your plate, and you weren’t expecting your dad’s…well, the whole will thing.”

“I sure wasn’t.”

“I was thinking of coming out for a visit for Meri’s birthday in July. We can go out and have a proper guys night. Blow off some steam and get your mind off everything. Cool?”

Craig nodded. “Very cool. That would be great, actually.” A noise down the hallway grabbed his attention. “But I don’t have a spare room anymore. Where will you stay?”

“Don’t worry about that. I can stay with Kat. I’ll sort it and let you know the details. In the meantime, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go out on a few dates yourself? Especially now that you have some help with Meri. Seems to me, it could be the perfect chance to put yourself out there.”

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