Page 71 of If This is Love

“Yessah-sassassah!”Savannah chirped.

Brennan and Savannah dutifully went back to the living room to sit on the floor and continued their task.

Skye watched him leave, wrinkling up her nose while a nearly inaudible squeal spilled from her mouth. “God, I love him so much.” Her shoulders sank. “I wish we could have a baby.”

I blinked like someone spat in my face and glanced at Ruth, whose expression immediately melted into intense concern and sympathy. Even with all the gossip and shit flying around here constantly, I’d never heard anyone mention anything likethat.

As quickly as Skye’s sad expression flooded her face, it morphed into laser-like focus as she looked at me. “Okay, Gabe, I kind of want to talk to you about Emma.”

“Uh.” The sharp shift in topics caught me off guard, and I blinked again, attempting to brace myself for a conversation that wasn’t going to be pleasant for me, but it was justhappening, and I just had to hold on. “Shoot.”

“She totally understands what happened,” Skye went on, “but if we’re going to have a good working relationship with her going forward, I think it would be good if we had a meeting to just hash through everything and get on the same page. Y’all have a lot more common ground than I think you realize, and it would really mean a lot to me if we could meet somewhere and talk.”

Ruth’s hands wrapped around my bicep again, and she stepped close to me. “And I’ll come too, and we’ll all make sure it’s comfortable for everybody, okay, friend?”

“Yeah!” Skye chirped, her eyes flicking a bit giddily between us, kind of like that knowing look Brennan was always giving us. “See, it’ll be fine. And I’ll make sure it’s just Ruth and me with you, Emma, and Austin.” She paused apprehensively, twisting her hands together. “Just because he’s… y’know… a little more upset. And he wants to witness the apology.” She waved her hands frantically. “I mean, I don’t really like to indulge possessive male pride like that, but I get where he’s coming from, and it’ll help Emma if he’s not all tied up in knots. She has her own trauma related to all this, and you both just got off on the wrong foot by accident. It’s all just unfortunate and uncomfortable, and we just need to lay it out on the table and move past it. Right?”

Her lips stretched in a hopeful smile, and Ruth smiled at me similarly. And yeah, I would do anything for Skye—that’s just how we did things around here—but this shit was pushing it. But Ruth…?

I would go to this meeting and let Austin use me as a punching bag all day long if it was important to her.

I gave a solitary nod while my insides tied up into knots. “Right.”

19

RUTH

ALGIERS POINT, NEW ORLEANS

“So, just how candid are you wanting me to be?” I asked Chloe nervously as I clipped on the small microphone. My palms were already sweating.

We were on my front lawn, and I was sitting in a white, wicker chair with my adorable little rental house behind me because this was my video introduction for Destination Destiny, and it was supposed to have a casual, comfortable, approachable feel. Chloe was on the grass a few feet from me, standing next to a tripod with her phone attached to both it and a halo light that was pointed at me. The light was LED, but it still felt like I was cooking under it. In fact, it was overcast and around sixty-five degrees outside, and I’d been sweating under my collar since I came out here.

“Just be as honest as you’re comfortable with,” Chloe said, “and when we’re done, just let me know if there’s anything you said that maybe you aren’t as comfortable with, and I’ll edit it out.”

“Yeah, and remember the whole point is to be real,” Skye added from where she was standing just behind the tripod next to Brennan. “There’s a reason you chose to leave where you were for so many years and come here to do this with us. Whatever those reasons are is what people need to hear.” She waved her hands wildly. “We have to be authentic because the people whoneedto care about this will only connect with what we’re doing if we’re authentic. Nobody likesfake. Everyone is hungry forreal.”

“Amen to that,” I murmured, eyeballing the two of them. I loved Brennan, and he was a dear, dear soul, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get comfortable going into all of this with him standing there. “Chloe,” I said quietly, turning my face away from them and toward her. “What’s the most polite way to let Brennan know I’m worried about making him uncomfortable?”

Chloe raised her eyebrows and immediately turned to him with a pleasant, but authoritative smile. “Brennan, respectfully and given the sensitive nature of—”

“Oh,” he blurted out. “Of course.” He turned to Skye and gave her a passionate smooch like they were about to separate for a month, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out his key fob. “I’ll go to Connor and Liza’s to give y’all privacy, so just drive over there when you’re done.”

She took the key fob, giving him a quick but flirtatious smile as she squeezed his pinkie and he stepped away. “’kay. Love you.”

“Iloveyou,” he echoed with gusto, slipping his hands into his pockets while he nodded at Chloe and me. “Ladies.”

“Thank you for being so understanding, Brennan,” I said over my shoulder as he made his way down the sidewalk.

“I understand so much that I’m drowning in gratitude for being kicked out of the fray like this,” he called back, offering a quick salute.

“Is it okay if I stay?” Skye asked.

“Oh yeah.” I laughed nervously, clasping my hands on my lap. “I’m so sorry. I’m just worried about making everyone uncomfortable.”

She peered at me, her pale blue eyes sharpening into that intense focus she had when she was really dialed into her mission like this. “If you’re worried about something you’re thinking about saying making me uncomfortable, that’s the stuff I think you should say. That’s what I personallywantto hear because I want to know you as well as I can. That’s the stuff that’s going to make people out there know you and care about you, and they have to care about you before they care about this or trust us to help them.”

I twisted my hands together. “Okay.”

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