“Damn right. Turn me around so I can see her.”
Caught between laughter and a groan, Arilyn opened her eyes. “Hi, Kate. I’m sorry about this.”
Her friend looked tan, well rested, and deliriously happy. She was in a black bikini and floppy-brimmed hat, and held a cocktail with a purple paper umbrella sticking out of it. “Don’t be sorry. I’ve been dying to have this convo with you for a long time. Thank God you dumped Yoga Man. Now, tell us all the details.”
Kennedy squeezed into the circle so they could all see each other.
Arilyn decided to go with the unvarnished truth. “I’m in love with Stone Petty.”
Kate gaped. Kennedy gasped. Silence settled over the room for a few moments.
“Damn, girlfriend, you didn’t even give us a warm-up. Hard-core,” Kennedy said.
Kate squealed. “I’m so happy for you! This is the best news ever! Isn’t it? Wait a minute, why don’t you look happy?”
“Are we ever happy when we realize we’ve fallen for a man?” Kennedy quipped. “Most of them are not as smart as us and fight it to the end.”
“Except Nate,” Kate said. “He said you were worse than any man.”
Kennedy beamed. “Well, I gotta make him work for it, don’t I?”
“Guys, I don’t know what to do. When we started this thing, we agreed it would be about sex. Then we moved it a bit into companionship, and you convinced me to invite him to the wedding.”
“Which went famously well, I thought,” Kate said. “He was a big hit. Slade loved him.”
“So did Nate.”
“I know, but now he did something terrible and ruined the whole affair thing.”
“What?” Kate demanded.
“He fostered Pinky for me. And fell in love with her. And he hates dogs, because he got bit by a pit bull years ago, but he took in Pinky as a favor and now he carries her around with him because he refuses to leave her alone, and he has this great big heart, and he wrung, like, a million orgasms from me that night with the ice, and I fell in love with him. And if I tell him, he’ll run and refuse to look back, because he doesn’t think he can be in a relationship because of all these excuses he believes are true.”
Kennedy let out a breath. “Dudette, this is crazy. How many orgasms? Did you like the ice?”
“Focus!” Kate snapped. “We can’t talk about the sex now.”
“Sorry. Umm, okay, most men run at the idea of the word love being thrown around. Maybe he needs some time to get used to the idea.”
“You think?” Arilyn murmured. “He’s been divorced so he’s bitter, and he says he’s a workaholic, and I know we’re opposites, but there’s something about us that just fits.”
“Slade was divorced,” Kate said. “We had a lot of ups and downs, but eventually he came to realize just because it didn’t work with his ex doesn’t mean it never works at all.”
“I think he’s using excuses to keep him from admitting the truth,” Arilyn said softly. “I know it’s only been a little while, but I swear he has all these emotions inside to give. There’s a connection between us. The way he looks at me, touches me. He just hates talking about feelings.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Men like to work out their emotions in bed. It’s the simpler way of communicating. I think he calls for a bit of patience. Cops are bristly, hard-core cases.”
Kate chimed in. “I agree. Give him some time to discover it on his own.”
“So I shouldn’t tell him I fell in love with him?”
“No!” they both said together.
“At least, not yet,” Kate clarified. “Slade freaked out. Kennedy did the same. So did Wolfe when Gen finally confessed her love. We don’t want you to go through the same thing. If you give him a bit more space, he’ll figure out he’s madly in love with you and you’ll get your happy ever after.”
“Probably,” Kennedy said.
“Definitely,” Kate said.
Arilyn sighed. Her friends were right. She’d gone from refusing to spend time with him, to liking, to passion, to love. How could the poor man keep up? The knowledge of her feelings ran deep and true. This was no transitional or recovery period. Stone Petty was the man she was meant for, and the last one on earth she’d ever look for.
Fate was a tricky bitch.
“Okay. We’ll finish up the course, and I’ll keep my revelation to myself. See how it goes. Thanks, guys.”
“No problem. I’ll be home soon, but keep me updated with texts,” Kate said.
“I will. Love you.”