“You really think so?”
He’d said the words. Had shown her through his protection…his lovemaking. But knowing someone on the outside saw it too…
“Oh, yeah.” Natalie put her mug on the coaster nearest her. “I’ve known Arch a long, long time. And I can honestly say I have never seen him like this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Happy.” The other woman grinned. “Inlove.”
“He told me he loved me.” A whispered confession. “But you don’t think it’s too soon?”
“Do you?”
“I thought I would, but…” Cassie shook her head. “No. I mean, it is crazy fast, but at the same time, it feels almost like?—”
“You’ve been together forever?”
She met the other woman’s chocolate gaze. “Exactly.”
“I know the feeling. Of course, Logan and I had been friends long before anything romantic ever transpired between us.”
“Archer told me the story. About your late husband and how you and Logan got together. I’m really sorry you had to go through all that.”
“Thanks.” A bittersweet smile lifted Natalie’s rosy lips. “It took a long time for me to realize it was possible to have two great loves in one lifetime. My time with Hunter is something I will treasure. Always. But now Logan is here, and he makes me so happy…and I know that’s all Hunter really wanted for me.”
“I guess you and I are sort of like kindred spirits. Only it sounds as if Hunter was much more devoted than Russ.”
“He was.” There was no doubt in the other woman’s response. “But I truly believe everything happens for a reason. And as awful as it was, if you hadn’t gone through what youdid, you and Archer may never have met.” A slight shrug of her delicate shoulder. “That’s how I have to look at things, you know? It’s the only way to make sense of the bad that, ultimately, has also brought me so much good.”
Cassie hadn’t really thought of it like that, but Natalie was right. If not for Eddie’s first attempt on her life, she never would have gone to Eagle’s Nest Securities. Which meant she and Archer never would have happened.
“It’s crazy to feel grateful for something so heinous.”
“Give it time.” Natalie picked up her mug and took another sip. “I mean, I still have my days where a memory from the past will hit me out of nowhere. But with the help of my therapist and Logan’s support, for the most part, I’ve been able to put it all behind me. It’s time to focus on the future, you know?”
She did know. Better now, than before.
“Your therapist…” Cassie hesitated to ask this next question. “Do you know if he’s taking new clients?”
“She.” Natalie pulled her phone from her pocket and unlocked the screen. “And I’m not sure. I’ll send you the number to Sloane’s office so you can call to see.”
Rattling off the number, Cassie waited for her phone to chime with the incoming text. When it did, she immediately saved the therapist named Sloane in her list of contacts.
“Thanks.” She sat her phone down onto the cushion beside her.
“Of course. Sloane is fabulous. I mean, I never pictured myself as the therapy type, but after Hunter was killed, and then nearly being shot to death in my own living room, I quickly changed that tune.”
The women continued talking. While Cassie pulled the cherry pie out of the oven to cool. Through lunch…and for a long while after.
They talked and laughed. Even shed a tear…or three. And before either knew it, time had slipped away from them both.
“Holy crap. Is that really the time?” Natalie glanced at the clock mounted high on Cassie’s wall.
Cassie followed the other woman’s gaze. Eyes widening, she realized just how late it had gotten. “It’s already two?”
Archer had said he’d be home around two, and she still had some work in her office to tend to before she had to start dinner in a couple more hours.
“I’ll walk you out.”