22. Morgan

22

MORGAN

“Wait. Wait. Wait. You’re sleeping with Dane Larson. And you’re just now telling us?” Valerie squeals.

I duck my head to avoid the interested smirks of the young professionals sitting at the bar table next to us. “Yes. Not so loud.”

The young woman shimmies in her chair. “I knew that whole fake relationship thing would lead to this. How could it not? You’re both hot, and the sparks between you are… whew .” Valerie fans herself.

I shake my head but can’t fight off my smile. “I never should have told you.”

“Why not?” She feigns offense. “I’m a steel trap.”

“Yeah, she kept her feelings for Carter so secret she didn’t even know about them,” Carlee chimes in, teasing his brother’s girlfriend.

Valerie flushes. “That’s not true. I always knew. I just fought the feelings because, well, you know, he was my boss.”

Valerie was Carter’s nanny, but when their relationship hit a roadblock, she moved to California to work as the CFO for a friend who started a company. By all accounts, she’s kicking ass out there, but I’m ready for her to move back to Dallas. Having another girl in the group is nice—someone who is no-drama and cool as hell. And who makes my best friend’s brother so happy.

“But we’re not talking about me,” Valerie clips. Dark eyes narrow with determination as they focus on me once more. “You still haven’t told us how it happened. When did you and Dane decide to make things official?”

I squirm in my chair.

Carlee watches me with just as much interest as Valerie. I’ve been so busy with work and spending time with Dane that I haven’t even shared this story with my best friend, mostly because I never admitted to running into him at the club that night.

“Well, actually… you see… that’s kind of a long story.” I take a deep breath, preparing myself for their inevitable shock and dismay when I finally confess what happened between me and Dane all those months ago.

I tell them how we made out for everyone in the club to see. I share how Dane asked for my number, and I gave it to him. I tell them how excited I was to hear from him, then share my disappointment when he never reached out.

“What an asshole,” Valerie hisses.

“That’s so rude!” Carlee seconds.

I love their loyalty.

“Actually,” I say softly. “He wasn’t either of those things.”

I tell them how I gave Dane the wrong number—how he’d texted me shortly after leaving the club to ask me out, but I never got it. I tell them how we finally confronted each other about everything in New Mexico, and that’s how we discovered the truth.

“Woah.” Valerie shakes her head. “And then you got the job with the Ranchers and were eventually assigned as his nutritionist?”

I nod. “Yup.”

“Wow.” Carlee blinks. “That’s… quite a story.”

I huff a laugh. “Yeah, I know.”

“You should have told me,” she admonishes gently.

“I know,” I tell my best friend. “I just didn’t want to cause drama. Not when things were going so well for you and Corey.”

She frowns. “You don’t have to censor your life based on what’s happening in mine. That’s not how our friendship works.”

She’s right. I know she is. I was just feeling protective of Carlee’s happiness after watching her struggle to find it for so many years.

“I know. I won’t let it happen again.”

Carlee reaches out and squeezes my hand. “Good. You better not.”

I squeeze her hand back, then draw away.

I clear my throat. “Speaking of you and Corey, I thought we were here to discuss wedding plans.”

Corey proposed to Carlee last fall, and after months of being hounded by family and friends, the pair finally decided on a date. I was honored when Carlee asked me to be her maid of honor, and I’m determined to do everything in my power to ensure that she is as stress-free as a bride can be while planning such a momentous celebration.

“I have bridal magazines Megan sent me,” Valerie says, picking up her satchel purse and pulling out a stack of magazines six inches thick.

“Geeze,” I laugh. “Does she collect those magazines for fun?”

“Yes. At least, she did.” Valerie’s smile falls. “Megan thought she was going to marry her boyfriend, but things didn’t work out.”

She doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t ask. It’s not my business.

“These are great.” Carlee takes the magazine from the top. It’s titled Lonestar Brides . She flips through the glossy pages. “I need inspiration for a color scheme. I’m not sure if I want to go silver and black for a winter wedding or more bold, rich colors.”

“Well, we have a little more than seven months to decide,” I point out the tight timeline with a pointed look.

“I know, I know.” Carlee holds her hands up. “I’m sorry! But that was the only winter date we could get at Rose Hill.”

“It’s fine, I guess.” I feign an annoyed sigh.

“It’s so fun that you two are going to get married at the place where you had your first date,” Valerie adds.

“Yeah.” Carlee’s eyes take on a faraway look, and she smiles softly. “It is.”

The bartender makes another pass at our table to ask if we need anything else. We order another round of sodas and spend the next hour looking through wedding magazines, laughing and chatting about different ideas.

I cherish having two close girlfriends. As an athlete throughout my childhood, I was used to being surrounded by friends. We formed strong bonds during hours of practice, traveling for games, and competing together. My relationship with those girls was only ever bested by the one I shared with Carlee.

But in the years since graduating college, those friendships naturally stretched and morphed until ultimately fading into the past.

It was hard to accept that people who once meant so much to me could no longer be in my life. I’m thankful I have Carlee, but I couldn’t expect her to meet all my friendship needs alone. She has a life of her own. The same goes for Lacy and her demanding career.

It isn’t until this moment that I realize how much my relationship with Dane has started to fill in pieces of my life I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.

His humor, his kindness, his blatant attraction to me… all of it makes Dane such a vibrant, exciting part of my world that not experiencing it for even one day has sucked. Dane’s been gone for less than twenty-four hours, and I miss him like crazy.

“Morgan?” Valerie snaps her fingers in front of my face. “You listening?”

I jolt in my chair. “I’m sorry. What?”

Carlee and Valerie share a knowing look.

“Care to tell us what you were just thinking about?” Valerie prompts.

“No.”

Valerie is undeterred. “You were thinking about Dane, weren’t you?”

“No,” I mumble

“Oh man, you’ve got it bad,” Carlee comments with a laugh. “Don’t you?”

I bite the inside of my cheek.

My gut reaction is to deny it. Since Aaron, I’ve never wanted to let another man have such a hold on me or my happiness. But these women are my friends. And while I didn’t realize it before now, I want to share the excitement my new relationship brings to my life.

“Yeah,” I confess quietly. “I think I do.”

“Aw,” they say in unison.

“I’m happy for you, Morgan.” My best friend’s eyes glisten. “You deserve to be happy.”

I swallow down the emotion threatening to clog my throat. “Thanks, Carlee.”

She knows, all too well, how rough my love life has been since Aaron. And while the instinct to keep Dane at arm’s length is strong, I override the limiting emotion.

I’ve known for a while, but I officially acknowledge that I’m invested in this relationship—one hundred percent.

Carlee’s phone buzzes. “Sorry.” She picks it up from the tabletop. “It’s a sports news alert.”

“No problem,” I say.

Valerie murmurs the same sentiment.

Carlee is the social media coordinator for the Texas Lonestars baseball team. Her job demands she keep her thumb on the pulse of social media posts, news, and more at all hours of the day.

I ask Valerie about California while Carlee reads the alert.

The intelligent young woman tells me about her friend’s company and its rapid growth. She says she’s learning so much but is ready to take a less demanding job to find a better work-life balance.

I nod, understanding the motivation, when I feel someone staring at me.

Carlee’s wide eyes catch my attention. She chews on her bottom lip as her gaze darts from me back to her phone.

“Everything okay?”

“I don’t know.” She frowns at her phone.

Dread curls in my stomach. “What is it?”

She swallows. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Your face doesn’t say it’s nothing.” I force out a laugh that isn’t authentic. “Just tell me.”

Carlee cringes but nods slowly. “It’s probably best if you just look for yourself.”

She turns her device and holds it up.

I look at the screen.

My stomach drops.

Dane stands in the center of the picture, surrounded by a group of men and women who look to be around his age. Some wear fancy clothes like they’re preparing for a night out on the town, while others look like they just left the gym.

Everyone in the picture is smiling. They seem to be having a good time, especially the stunning redhead leaning into Dane’s torso, holding him affectionately while his arm is wrapped around her shoulders.