Page 71 of Known By You
His easy acceptance of that was one of my favorite things about them. He’d gotten better at expressing emotions other than anger or broodiness, but the way he almost giddily enjoyed their love and closeness now was just shy of miraculous. Maybe it was actually a miracle, in truth.
The drag of my own longing faded in the face of the bliss radiating from him, even if some of it came in the form of worry. It wasn’t even a full minute before Jess returned, though. She sat and then took a big bite of the omelet.
“That was fast,” Beast said, a half-smile on his somber face, which might as well have been a Cheshire grin.
“I told you, I’m getting better. It’s in direct proportion tothe desire to work, too.” She took another bite, then beamed over at Beast who was now looking so lovesick and gone for her, I had to look away. If I didn’t already know she was pregnant—and she certainly didn’t look it yet—I’d know by just this expression.
“So you think you’ll be back soon?” I asked, shifting uncomfortably and wondering why. Why wouldn’t I want my dear friend to feel better and come back to work?
After a sip of water, Jess said, “Not just yet. But don’t worry. Elizabeth isn’t getting kicked to the curb just because I start showing up again.” She waggled her brows.
Heat hit my cheeks instantly. “Right. Of course not.”
The ensuing silence forced me to look up and when I did, they were both studying me with matching expectant looks on their faces.
“You guys are already too freakishly in sync. Haven’t you only been married for like a day?”
Jess laughed. “Bit more than a day now.”
She leaned over and kissed Beast’s bearded cheek.
He leaned into the touch, but didn’t look away from me. Instead, he pinned me with his intense eyes and waited another beat before saying, “Come on. Tell us what’s going on.”
How did I explain this? What did I even want to say? I was a verbal processor, so the fact that I hadn’t laid it all out for them already was different for me. But so was everything with Liz—from the way I reacted to her, the way I wanted her so intensely and also wanted to just be near her. The way I’d decided I’d take what she could offer and not expect more despite that going against my very nature…
“I like her a lot. She’s basically everything I like and then some.”
“What do you like?” Jess asked, prodding a bit.
A smile came before I even spoke. “She’s honestly a little grumpy, but she has this soft heart. She cares deeply about the people around her and she’s very purposeful, which I admire. She’s funny and hot as hell and… well, I could go on, but the point is I like her and we’re hanging out a lot.”
Beast’s eyes narrowed. “But?”
I chuckled softly, fiddling with my fork and feeling weirdly shy. “But she’s leaving.”
I nudged the perfectly made omelet around on my plate, then raised a brow at him. “Go ahead.”
He crossed his arms. “Don’t want you to get hurt.”
I nodded. His protective instincts extended far beyond Jess.
“Can we acknowledge that we don’t know how this ends, though? I mean, let’s say you keep dating. Maybe you even do long-distance? I know it’s not ideal, maybe not what you pictured, but I hate the thought of you liking someone this much, which is the first I can think of, and not even giving it a shot.” Jess tugged on one of Beast’s biceps and guided his hand to link fingers with hers and rest on the table.
Good grief, they were adorable.
“That’s where I landed. It’s definitely out of my comfort zone, but it honestly feels like…” I exhaled, nerves swooping around my belly as I thought of Liz and how inevitable she seemed. “It feels like I don’t have a choice but to try.”
No doubt thinking of this situation that way was foolish. The confusion and unsteady way I was navigating everything meant I’d been slow to let anything happen between us, despite spending as much time as she’d give me together.
But I didn’t want to think about that anymore, especially not when heaviness draped over my chest when I did.
So I took up my fork again and pointed at them before jabbing a piece of my meal. “Now, tell me, how’s the beasty baby growing and when am I throwing you the baby shower?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Kenny
In the last two weeks, Kit had grown and now had the run of the house. I’d spent as much time as possible with him, and with Liz, since we’d agreed to spend time together.
