“Do you have any idea how happy I am to see you?”
His lips slant upward and he brings a hand from around my waist, pinching his thumb and forefinger together. “This much?” He backs out of my grip, waving me in. “How ‘bout I let you inside so we can catch up from last week.” He eyes my expression. “Because it looks like we have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Here.” I press the flowers against his chest. “Hold these and follow me while I find a vase, and you can tell me what you’re doing here.”
“I’m off for a few days and wanted to surprise my best friend. Done. Your turn,” he volleys back. “Grant usually sends you orchids, right?”
I lean against the counter. “Right. But Grant didn’t buy these for me. Vance did.”
“Told ya,” Avery chimes in. She struts into the kitchen decked out in a low-cut black dress with matching boots, her blonde hair pulled tight into a sleek ponytail.
“You look like Catwoman,” I tease, and she growls, curling her fingers into a claw.
“I’m on the prowl, what can I say?” She slides a chair out from the table, making herself comfortable in our discussion. “So what were we talking about?”
“We,” Troy points a finger between us, “were talking about Vance and—”
“I’ve already filled Troy in on the latest with you,” she interjects and I glare at her. “What? He’s your best friend and he asked,” she shrugs, “I had to answer.”
Troy grabs a chair and joins Avery in their not-so-subtle interrogation. “First of all, what’s the deal with Grant? You’re dating both of them?”
I remove the vase from a cabinet underneath the sink, turning on the tap to fill it with water before facing them again. “You know I can’t date two guys at once.”
“Sign me up for that,” Avery counters as she reclines back, stretching her long legs under the table.
Troy folds his hands on top of his head. “If I wanted to be confused, I could’ve stayed in Oregon. Someone tell me what’s going on.”
Not wanting to drag this out, I grab a pair of scissors from the drawer then set the vase on the table. “I broke up with Grant,” I admit, casually trimming the ends of the roses before placing them in water. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. Troy frowns, while Avery’s lips stretch into a pleased grin as if she’s been waiting for this to happen.
“But he’s so nice,” Troy remarks. Now I’m frowning, guilt swirling around my stomach though I know it was the right decision.
“He is nice.”
“He’s too nice.” Avery throws her opinion into the ring. “He doesn’t challenge her. He’s, you know, boring?” She glances up at me with a knowing smile. “Nail meet head. No need to say anything more.”
I snort. “You. Need. Help.”
“How did he take it, Ems?” Troy asks. “I know it’s only been months. But still, you guys were friends before, and he told you he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you.”
Mixed emotion stirs, drawing out a sigh. “I know.” I twist to the side, resting my hip against the table. “He was great about it actually. Very gracious… very Grant.”
“Of course. Because he’s so… nice,” Avery emphasizes with a smirk.
Troy lets his hand fall to the table and picks up a broken stem, twirling it between his fingers. “And Vance?”
Just like that, my heart races. “He wants another chance and I’m thinking maybe we both deserve one. But there’s this whole other part of me that says, what am I supposed to do? Fall into his arms like he didn’t hurt me and it hasn’t been three years?” Avery kicks her chair back and stands, rising on tiptoe as she darts a glance over my shoulder. “What are you looking for?”
“The rules. I didn’t realize there were any when it came to the heart.” She holds out her hands in a sweeping gesture. “Please, do enlighten me.” I scowl, but all it does is make her grin. As usual, she has a strong point.
“Yeah, what she said,” Troy seconds, and the three of us laugh until my stomach hurts.
Avery swipes a finger across her cheek. “I’ll be right back. I need to fix my makeup.” She sashays out of the room and I stare at Troy.
He slides off the seat. “What?”
My eyes scan his body then return to his face. “Something is different. You’ve been spending more time than usual at the gym?”
His mouth edges up at the corner. “No.”
“What then?”
He leans his weight on the chair, arms resting over the back. “My parents came over yesterday.”
“What?”
“Believe me. I’m just as surprised as you are.” He flips the chair around and sits backwards, exhaling a sigh. “We talked. Actually, they talked and I listened.”
“And?”
“They apologized and my mother cried a lot. She said things.”