Page 84 of Luck of the Draw

From the few things she was able to remember about that conversation, that was pretty much the truth.

Liza’s brows crinkled deeply, and she and Frankie exchanged a glance.

Skye gulped.

“Did he say who she was or when that happened?” Liza’s brows were still tensely knitted together.

Skye shrugged again. “No. Just sometime after his first girlfriend.”

Liza looked at Skye while wearing a subtle frown, brows still drawn into a deep V. “And he was in love with her?”

The two women just stared at each other for a moment. Liza looked like the gears in her head were turning. She was probably trying to narrow down which of the women she’d seen him with was the one he’d loved—if it was one of them at all. Maybe she was wondering if it had been her. Liza was not a stupid woman. In fact, she was the most intelligent, confident, successful, self-assured woman Skye had ever encountered in her life. Surely, she’d considered the idea that it was possible Brennan could’ve had feelings for her at some point, especially given how close they were.

Skye was at a total loss for words. Her mouth opened and closed silently for a second before she said in a quieter voice, “I mean…isn’t he your best friend? I’m sure he’d tell you about it.”

Liza continued to look at Skye for another second before dropping her gaze to her lap and shaking her head. “God, I’m so sorry, Skye. I shouldn’t have asked you something like that.”

“Yeah, but he’s never gonna talk about that with you, Liza. You know he’s like a damn vault about this stuff,” Frankie added, and then turned back to Skye, looking like she was about to switch topics, thank the good Lord. “And yes, he’s always had this strict rule about never letting us meet any of the women he sees. Even though Liza obviously saw some of them.” She threw her head back, laughing again while she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Yeah, and, just by the way,” Liza inserted, determination flashing in her eyes. “The day he introduced you to us, I told him, ‘We need to talk to you, but I can see you’re with a lady, so we won’t bother you with it now,’ and he told us to come over and say hi anyway. He’s never done that before.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think he meant anything by that,” Skye countered a bit defensively. Liza obviously had a really had a vested interest in the idea of Skye and Brennan being together somehow, and that honestly wasn’t helping the entire situation.

What the hell could she say?

I don’t think you’re wrong about him being different with me, and it would make dreams I didn’t know I had come true if I could be with a man like him, but he can’t be with me. Ever. Under no circumstances would that work, especially these.

“I just told him I wanted to meet Oscar, and he arranged it,” Skye continued neutrally. “Y’all just happened to be there. And now we’re just dealing with the aftermath of a tragic event.” She gestured at her injuries with her good hand. “I’m helpless, and he said he can’t in good conscience let me leave until I heal up. If this hadn’t happened, we would’ve gone our separate ways weeks ago.”

“Oh, Skye.” Liza’s dark, elegant brows gathered into a deep V. “I just don’t think that’s true.” She huffed and shook her head. “This is so none of my business, and it’s so rude and pushy for me to keep harping on this, but…I saw him with you at that brunch. Even with that shitty stuff he said, I saw him. I saw y’all. He cared about you then. A lot. Something about you is different for him. I wish I could explain it better than this. I just know him. That was the day after he met you, and he cared a lot back then. He cares about you even more now. You should have seen him the whole time you were in the hospital. We made him come stay with us, and he was at our house for almost four weeks because he just wasn’t okay. He was terrified that you weren’t going to wake up. Hecriedat your bedside. He’s aMarine. He doesn’tcry. But he did then because he was so afraid of you not pulling through, and he just…he just…”

She paused as her breath hitched, and her bottom lip trembled, and…oh God, no.

A sob burst out of Liza’s mouth. Frankie gave the most subtle roll of her eyes while she reached for a tissue from a box on the coffee table and then handed it to Liza.

“Brennan’s just such an amazing human, and he deserves to be happy,” Liza wailed, now sobbing with hiccups and sniffles. “I know he would be happy if he found the right person, and he’s been acting and talking like you’re the right person. He’s never done that since any of us have known him, and I just don’t want him to get hurt. I don’t want you to get hurt either, because it’s obvious something hurt you, too. He’s been hurt, and you’ve been hurt, and you both could be so wonderful together, and then you guys were victims of this horrible attack, and I just…I just…I just…” She sucked in a breath and then yowled like a suffering cat. “Brennan is wonderful, and I think he’s totally falling in love with you, and I wish life was more simple than this!”

Liza dropped her face into her lap and began weeping. Apparently crying was as contagious as yawning, and Skye already had tears leftover from her horrifying nightmare. It was all just too much. Her chin began trembling violently, and her eyes stung.

“I’m so sorry, Liza,” Skye said through hitched breathing. “I wish it was all more simple, too.”

“Oh for God’s sake,” Frankie mumbled as she pulled another tissue and passed it to Skye.

Skye held the tissue over her nose and mouth, and fuck it. Liza was already crying anyway.

Their sobbing ricocheted against the walls of the small house, drowning the room with the sound of sniffles and hitched breaths. Frankie moved to sit between Liza and Skye so she could pat both of their backs and shush them like an unwitting mother hen.

“It’s not your fault. I’m so sorry for losing control of myself like this,” Liza wailed, picking up her head and wiping her nose. “It’s these damned hormones. I swear to God, pregnancy hormones are like PMS from the pit of hell.”

“Except you’ve always been kind of a crybaby,” Frankie remarked

Liza cried harder. “Shut up, Frankie!”

Skye hiccupped and choked on another sob. “Yeah, but I feel awful for making you think—”

“Honestly, what I think doesn’t matter,” Liza sputtered, waving the tissue at Skye before clutching it to her face. “I don’t know everything that’s going on, even though I know all of it is bad. You have to do what’s right for you.”

Idohave to do what’s right for me, Skye’s mind piped up,and that’s getting away from Brennan before he finds out what I really am.

---