Page 84 of Anything for You
He leaned forward, and Jude and Luc’s attention had intensified.
“And? Come on, do I have to beg? I will. I think we all know I am not above begging to hear how my dear friend is doing with the first woman he’s dated in… ever?”
I rolled my eyes, Jude loosed a low chuckle, and Luc nudged him likely in an effort to get him to calm himself a bit.
The only way to actually make that happen would be to ride the approaching wave.
“We’ve gotten really close,” I said, heat hitting my cheeks right as Kenny let out a ridiculous, “Oooo!”
“That might be… part of what’s kept me up this week.”
Kenny gasped, then cackled. “All right, Stone. Get it.”
I scowled, and Luc elbowed him in the ribs while Jude shot him a glare.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” We’d talked a lot, and since we both worked during the day and being away from each other had been increasingly more difficult, we ended up staying awake far too long into the night.
Granted, I alsodidmean it like that, but he didn’t need to be commenting like some kind of immature frat boy.
“Pretty serious, then?” Jude questioned.
They knew we were together, but I’d kept a lot to myself. It hadn’t seemed fair to Dove for me to tell these guys how I felt before I talked with her about it, but now that we had, it made sense to share with them.
“I told her I love her.”
Kenny fell back into the couch with a hand over his heart.
After a beat, Luc asked, “And?”
I fiddled with a thread on my jeans, but ultimately the blazing smile won out. “Apparently, she feels the same.”
The explosion of cheers sent Bear into a barky celebration right along with them. Kenny launched out of his seat and pulled me up into a hug. Luc and Jude joined him, patting my back and grinning with so much genuine happiness for me, it snagged in my chest.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe it was that these men had been with me through the worst days of my life and it felt like I’d been living the best ones for a while now. When we all settled back into our seats, I couldn’t miss the chance to say as much.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how my past with depression and PTSD, and even my current issues, will affect Dove. We’ve talked about it on and off since pretty early on—first generally in terms of if I were to date someone, and obviously now, specifically regarding how these things might affect her.”
They each listened in their own way—Jude with his focus back on Bear, Luc straight on with an unreadable expression, and Kenny with a frown grooved into his face, no doubt ready to defend me against Dove or myself.
“It’s reality. And I don’t think she’s being tricked intothis—I’ve had some rough moments, and you’ve seen how great she is in social circumstances.” They’d seen us leave early at the book signing last week, and I’d mentioned how kind she’d been at Kenny’s wedding months ago, long before we were dating.
“She’s a good egg, that’s for sure,” Kenny said. “I wouldn’t have recommended justanyoneto be your tenant.”
We chuckled for a minute at his excellent screening process, then I continued, needing to tell them what sat at the heart of my thoughts lately.
“I’ve been worried my baggage would harm her—that I’d hold her back or keep her from realizing some big dream she has for herself. And”—I gestured for Kenny to calm when he interrupted, springing to my defense—“she’s helped me understand I don’t need to worry. It doesn’t mean we won’t have things to deal with, but that she doesn’t feel she’s compromising by being with me. She seems to think it’s a good deal for her, too.”
“It is. You’re one of the best people on this planet. If she doesn’t realize that, then she’s?—”
“She does, man. She does. He just told us she gets it,” Jude said, calming Kenny’s rising energy.
“Exactly, she does. And all of this is good for you to get about our relationship, but I’ve also been thinking about how I’m only ready now—ready for her—because of you guys.” My throat tightened, and all of their faces watched as I cleared my throat to finish. “Beyond the fact that I literally wouldn’t be here, you’ve taught me how to talk through my feelings. You’ve taught me how to calm down, how to look forward, and honestly, how to love. I don’t know how well I did that back in the day, but I think I’m decent at it now. I know a big part of that is because of how well you guys havecared for me when I needed it, both when I knew it and when I didn’t.”
Kenny’s lips pursed dramatically as he jammed the heels of his hands into his eyes and sniffed. Jude cleared his throat and nodded. Luc offered a gentle smile.
“Okay, I didn’t have crying on my radar for today, but I have to say I think you might be giving us too much credit. I mean, your therapist helpeda little.” Kenny held his hands up in a pinch.
All of us laughed, knowing full well Dr. Corrigan and my doctors back in North Carolina had played huge roles in my recovery.
