Page 116 of Axe-identally Married
“That wasn’t pretending. I fell for him. Hard.”
“Of course you did. He’s perfect for you.”
Cheeks heating, I laughed. Had she seriously just said her ex was perfect for me?
“I mean it. Things went badly between us, but it wasn’t all his fault. Trust me, I did plenty wrong too,” she promised. “It seems like being with you has helped him grow up and face some of his demons. And you need to cut loose, have fun, and let yourself be still sometimes. And he’s great at that. You two balance one another out.”
Tears pricked at the backs of my eyes. God, I didn’t deserve her friendship. “I’m so sorry,” I said as the tears crested my lashes and tracked down my cheeks. “I have felt so guilty and shitty and awful. We made a pact long ago never to let guys come between us, and I feel like I’ve betrayed you. I love you so much.”
“Shit, now I’m crying too now.” She sniffled. “I’m hurt.” Her voice was a whisper. “I won’t deny it. And I need to process all of this. But you’re still my best friend. I want you to be happy and well cared for.”
I swallowed back the emotion swamping me. “Thank you. I’m so sorry.”
“But.” She paused and sniffled again. Then she cleared her throat. “I can empathize. Owen has been working through a lot of baggage his father piled on him. They’ve all had to deal with a lot. But Cole’s comes with another facet related to his brothers. He’s always longed for their approval. So I’m sure it hurt that Owen was so angry when he found out you got married.”
“I hope we didn’t ruin your engagement weekend.”
“Not at all. He was so stressed about making everything perfect for me. But the wild stories and the imperfections are what made it incredible.” There was a smile in her voice now. “And if you guys really do live happily ever after, then I’m taking full credit for all of it.”
A giggle bubbled out of me. “I’ll allow it.”
“Did you tell Magnolia yet?”
“She guessed.” I cringed. “Only took her a few days.”
Lila huffed. “Of course she did. That woman’s bullshit detector is next level.”
We chatted longer, about her classes and the charity gala she and Owen had attended recently, along with all kinds of gossip about Boston’s biggest sports stars, of course. Apparently, her circle now included professional athletes.
She was equal parts happy and tired and fulfilled. It warmed my heart. Because Lila had been through so much and had worked her ass off to realize her dreams.
By the time we hung up, it was dark and the snow was falling hard. When I stepped into the living room, feeling lighter than I had in weeks, Cole was crouched in front of the fireplace.
He was so handsome and kind. It would behoove me to remember that our origin story was not a shameful secret, but the start of something special.
Chapter Forty
Cole
“I’ve gotta go.”
Willa came out of the bedroom, pulling a sweatshirt over her head.
I put my hands on my hips and exhaled. “Look outside. We’re in the middle of a nor’easter, remember?”
She ignored me, opening the hall closet and pulling out a large military-style duffel bag.
“Willa,” I said, striding over to her. “We’ve been stuck inside since yesterday. There is a literal blizzard outside this door. What’s going on?”
She shook the bag out, not bothering to look at me. “It’s Kara. She’s bleeding.”
Kara? From high school? Bleeding? Before I could ask a follow-up question, she whipped around.
“She’s only thirty-four weeks pregnant. And she’s terrified.”
The weather was awful. Honestly, we were lucky we hadn’t lost power. There was no way I was letting her out in this weather. “Have you seen the winds? What the fuck, Willa? That’s dangerous. You can’t drive. There’s two feet of snow on the ground.”
She gave me a withering glare. “I’m not gonna drive. I’ll take the snowmobile.”
