Page 152 of Sparks Fly

“I love you too.”

That night, we curled up together on the couch with Buffy playing softly on the television. We were deep into season five by that point.

“Have you talked to your parents?” I asked quietly. “Since you left their house?”

Addison shook her head. “Not yet. I need to. I will.” She paused. “I want to talk to Lilly too. I was thinking about meeting her tomorrow, if you’re okay with that.”

I nodded. “Of course, baby. I’ll be fine.”

She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too.”

I had always been afraid of saying those words to someone.

But with Addison, I loved saying them.

* * *

42

Addison

Lunch with Lilly was going to be easy.

That was what I told myself as I walked into the restaurant with my chin up, shoulders back, and my phone in my hand like I was checking the time instead of using it as a shield.

It was one of those places we’d been to dozens of times, linen napkins, tiny menus, waiters who seemed like they had been trained to whisper.

The kind of restaurant that made you sit up straighter without even realizing you were doing it.

I had been rehearsing the words all morning. In the shower. In the car. While I walked into the restaurant.

Her name is Sawyer. I love her. I want her with me.

Three simple sentences. Three clean facts. My stomach didn’t believe in simplicity.

Lilly walked into the restaurant exactly on time, the way she always did. Her sunglasses rested on top of her head, and her hair was twisted into that loose, polished style that looked effortless even when I knew it wasn’t.

She looked tired around the eyes, her smile a little softer than usual, but she was glowing too. Wedding-week glow. The kind that came from being completely adored.

The second she spotted me, her face brightened. “Hey,” she leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Hi. You look—” She paused mid-sentence and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Addie,” she said carefully, studying my face. “What’s wrong?”

I tried to smile. It came out thin and shaky, like a bad impression of myself. “Nothing,” I said too quickly.

Lilly didn’t even sit all the way before she was studying me harder. “No,” she said calmly. “Something’s wrong. You texted me like you were about to confess to a crime, and you look like you’ve been crying.”

I let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh and didn’t quite make it. “I didn’t mean it like that,” I said.

“Okay,” Lilly replied as she set her phone on the table. “Then tell me what you meant.”

The waiter appeared beside us. Lilly ordered without even looking at the menu. I ordered water because if I tried to drink wine right now, I would absolutely end up crying into a bread basket.

The moment the waiter left, Lilly leaned forward.

“Talk,” she said.