Well, the love I was meant to find. I’m not so sure now. I agreed to something that really should have taken more thought, but there’s no way I’ll back out now.
Not after seeing the relief written on Rook’s face. How can I take that away?
For a moment, he looked at me like I was the answer to all of his prayers. It was heavy, a look weighted by the responsibility of not letting him down. Which is exactly why I can’t go back on my word now.
Well, my pride won’t let me either.
“Okay,” Mayer’s voice cuts through my thoughts and when I glance up at her, she’s looking right at me, “what is going on with you, Meadow. Spill,” she demands, but with a heavy dose of love infused in the word.
“Is it my turn? I’ve been waiting very patiently,” I try to defend myself.
Glancing at Gemma and Greylin finds them blinking at me like the words I just said are ridiculous. Okay. Maybe I wasn’t all that patient.
“Well, I was trying to be,” I grumble.
“You failed,” Gemma deadpans.
I scrunch my face up and stick my tongue out at her. “Just for that, I’m not sharing any of my test samples with you.”
“You would never deprive me of such goodness,” she throws back, her tone dismissive.
She’s right. I wouldn’t. Especially because she’s always honest with me, even when it’s hard to hear. I value her opinion and I doubt I’d be able to get a menu completed, actually finalized, without her.
“I’m going to need you to tell us what happened yesterday when you went out to see Rook,” Greylin leans forward in her chair, her eyes locked on me like she’s been waiting for her favorite show to come on.
From the eager looks on all the faces of my best friends, they’ve been dying to know what happened. I just went home yesterday and let them know I was home and fine but refused to say anything else about what went down. I just needed a little bit of time to wrap my mind around what I agreed to do.
“Rook looked like shit when I got there yesterday,” I blurt out the words and then press my lips together and purse my lips. “I mean, he still looked good,” I admit, and grimace.
The man is clearly grieving. I should not be objectifying him. In my head or with my best friends.
“Yes, yes,” Gemma motions with her hand for me to keep going, “he’s hot. We got it.”
“He is hot,” I huff out, my shoulders going up defensively. The droll look she gives me has me rolling my eyes. “But that’s not the point. He wolfed down two slices of pizza without even coming up for air. It made me wonder when the last time he ate something, really ate something, was.”
“He has to take care of himself,” Mayer’s voice goes soft and her mouth dips down into a frown.
“Yeah,” I breathe out, my leg bouncing kicking up a notch.
Because this is it.
“Well,” I clear my throat, “I guess I’ll be taking care of him because I agreed to marry him.”
Silence.
Honestly, I was expecting silence. But I also know it’s just a matter of time for it to be broken. Because my best friends are predictable and they won’t be able to contain the questions, the shock, or the confused outrage.
“What do you mean when you say you agreed to marry him?” Every word of Gemma’s question is measured like if she says it slowly enough then it will make more sense.
It won’t.
“I mean exactly what I just said. I’m going to marry Rook Sherman. I’m going to be his wife,” the words feel almost wrong, like my mouth can’t form them in a natural way.
Probably because they make no sense, but yet here I am and while they might be outrageous, they’re still true.
“There has to be more to the story,” Mayer’s voice is on the verge of shrill.
I can’t say I blame her for it either.