“But I really don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage.”
“That’s the last thing I think.”
Her eyes well up. “I feel so stupid, though. I don’t even know if my dad will be willing to move. I was too afraid to bring the subject up in case it wasn’t an option. Like if there was a long waitlist. Or he didn’t qualify or something.”
I rest a hand on her elbow. Not holding her, just giving her quiet support. “Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”
“But it could be a lot,” she says, gazing up at me. “All of it. Not just the money part."
“Maybe.” I nod. “But I’ve got you, Loren. I’ve got your dad, too.”
She swipes her nose. “Are you absolutely sure?”
Hmm. About doing everything I can to help her and her father …
Yes.
About the toll this might take on my heart …
Not even a little bit.
But I’m not going to tell her that part.
“I’m positive,” I say.
“Thank you. Honestly.”
She offers me a small smile, which I enjoy entirely too much. Then we load her dress, her veil, her matching shoes, and her little white clutch into her trunk. Afterward, I hold the car door open and wait until she’s safely inside.
“This issonot how I ever expected to spend the night before my wedding,” she says. “Then again, I wasn’t planning to get married at all anymore.”
“Same,” I say.
“I’m exhausted, but I’m not sure I can even sleep.”
“Same.”
“So, I guess this is good night and good luck,” she says. “To both of us.”
“Yep.” I bob my head. “Drive carefully.”
“Same,” she says, with a tiny laugh.
My mouth slips sideways, and before I can stop myself, three words spill from my mouth.
Not the ones I want to say.
But these:
“Sweet dreams, kitten.”
Chapter Fourteen
Loren
Kitten did not, in fact, have sweet dreams.
Mostly because she didn’t sleep a wink. What shedidwas repack a week’s worth of stuff to take to her new mansion, then she tossed and turned all night while visions of her three best friends danced in her head.