my friends. I’m moving in to Aiden’s place this weekend.”
“Good. It’s a nice condo.”
“It is,” I agree as we walk down the hall. “I haven’t seen the new house.”
“To my surprise, it’s actually modest.”
“Really?”
“Yup. It’s on the smaller side, which means one of two things. Either they won’t give me grandbabies, or we’ll have to move them again when they decide to have kids.”
I chuckle. “You want grandkids now?”
She shakes her head. “Yes and no. All my babies are grown, Quinnie will be leaving for college soon, and I’ll have no one to fuss over.”
I squeeze her close. “You can fuss over me. And let’s be honest, Shea needs all the fussing.”
She cackles. “He sure does, and I’ll still fuss over all of you. While I’m so excited for Shelli and Aiden’s wedding, I think I could wait. She won’t be my baby anymore. She’ll be his.”
“Elli, she’ll always be your baby.”
She smiles sweetly at me. “You’ve always been my favorite.”
I laugh. “All of us are your favorites.”
“This is true,” she agrees as she leans her head into mine. “You wouldn’t happen to know who Posey is dating, would you?”
I scoff. “Don’t put me in that evil spot. I love you, but I’m terrified of Posey.”
“That’s what everyone says,” she pouts. “I’m just worried she’ll get her heart broken again.”
I shrug. “I don’t think she will. I saw them together. He seems pretty into her.”
“Well, of course. She’s absolutely perfect.”
“You aren’t wrong,” I agree.
She beams up at me. “I always wished you two would have ended up together.”
I raise a brow. “That would be really weird, but totally something you’d want. All your kids married to all my mom’s kids so you guys can so further intertwine our families and no one could tell any of us apart.”
Her eyes are bright with happiness. “This is all true.”
I laugh along with her before I kiss her temple. “Sorry for messing that up for you, but I’m pretty sure the guy Posey is with will impress you. He is really attentive to Posey, and when Ally and I saw them out, he gave me the look that said Posey was his.”
She eyes me. “Really?”
“Really. I feel good about them.”
“Well, that makes me feel better,” she says softly. “As for Ally—”
I hold up my hand. “Let me stop you there. If you are suggesting that Ally and I should get together, don’t. Everyone already has.”
She blinks. “But you two are so cute together! There has to be some kind of attraction there.”
There is. I realized last night that it’s stronger than I believed. Sleeping next to her all night was torture. I hadn’t even considered that it would be until she asked if I thought it was weird to sleep together. I get it, we’ve never really shared a bed on our own, and usually, we’re with friends or family, but I didn’t care. I was tired, and I didn’t want my friend to leave. I didn’t want to be alone. But I’d never thought of the agony that would ensue being so close to Ally. Let’s be honest, I haven’t gotten laid in months, which means I’m beyond horny. At one point in the night, my knee brushed against her ass, and I almost came. Seriously. I’m unsure at what point in the night she became irresistible, but one thing is for sure, I’m fighting tooth and nail to keep my need for her in check.
“She’s my best friend. Don’t want to mess that up.”
“Shea is my best friend—”
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “You two started off as strangers, then went to lovers to best friends. It would be detrimental for Ally and me to cross that line. We’re too good of friends. We’re only friends. Seriously.”
Which is the only reason I keep my feelings buried deep down inside me. I wish I could go a minute without someone trying to smush us together and make something out of nothing. I can be attracted to her all day, but she doesn’t think of me that way. I know why everyone does it; they want us to be happy. We really are good together, but I won’t make a move again. Now, if Ally were to make a move, I sure as hell wouldn’t stop her. I might pause and try to think it through, but it would be pointless.
Pretty sure she’s one hell of a kisser.
“I think you two could be more.”
“No. You want us to be more because, again, you