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Iknowso, but there’s no reason to say that out loud. I can see that Sarah understands where I’m at. Where my heart is at.
The heat is stifling as we step out onto the porch, and I’m reminded of the fact that Busy is currently roasting in her cabin in temps even warmer than this. I’ll need to crank the a/c when she comes over later.
“Hey, Reid,” Sarah says, turning around to look at me. “I love you a lot, you know? I always have.”
I nod. “I know. I never doubted that.”
It’s not a complete truth. I’ve never doubted that Sarah loved me, but from the minute she said she was leaving, I knew the love she had to give me wasn’t enough, knew it wasn’ttruelove, the kind you can’t live without, because otherwise she never would have left.
“I guess I just want to make sure you don’t hate me.”
Shaking my head, I pull her in for one last hug. “I could never hate you, Sarah. Ever.”
When I pull back, she gives me a watery smile then leans in and presses her lips to my cheek.
“You’ve always been one of the best men I know,” she whispers. “I hope you and Busy are very happy together.”
I smile, knowing we will be, feeling sure about it with every bone in my body.
Sarah turns to walk down the steps, which is when my stomach falls through the floor. Busy stands a few yards away from my porch, watching us with wide eyes.
“I just… You gave me one of your bags,” she says, raising the backpack in her hand slowly so I can see it.
My heart begins beating rapidly as my mind scrambles over what she must think, seeing me on the porch, hugging Sarah, andfuck, Sarah kissing me.
“Busy, we were just—”
“You’re fine, you’re fine,” she says as she steps forward and sets the bag on the steps, a tight smile on her face.
A fake smile.
“I’ll just leave this and get back to Junie.” She glances at Sarah then at me again. “See you later.”
Then she spins around and hurries back to her own cabin, leaving me and Sarah behind.
chapter twenty-three
Busy
I’m not an idiot.
At least I don’t think I am.
Sometimes I make foolish choices, but it’s rare for me to be in a situation where I’m completely in the dark. Which is why finding Sarah and Reid wrapped in an intimate embrace on his front porch was so startling. In no world did I see something like that coming.
I stand at the kitchen sink, washing a stain out of a pair of Junie’s shorts for a few long minutes, trying to place how I feel. Before I can do too much reflection, I hear Reid’s footfalls on the deck. He passes by my window, his eyes catching mine as he comes to the screen door.
“Can I come in?”
His words are gentle, tentative. He knows I’m upset.
“Yeah,” I finally call, wringing out the shorts then laying them on a hand towel on the counter.
Reid steps into the living room, the height of him dwarfing the space like it always does, and then he’s standing at the counter across from me.
“Busy…”
“What did I walk in on?” I ask, not giving him a chance to speak first. “Because I felt like that’s what it was, something intimate that wasn’t meant for my eyes. And that doesn’t feel very good.”
