26. Monroe

TWENTY-SIX

MONROE

"So that was a little weird," Grace says, plopping down onto the couch in her sewing room. She showed me all the game day outfits she's started for the Blizzard wives and girlfriends, and now I'm feeling a little inquisition coming on—one I'd literally give my left boob to get out of. And the left one is my favorite. "In all the years I've been his sister, I've never known Riggs to be calmed so easily. Telling him to relax generally has a much different effect." She lowers her head, eyeing me suspiciously. I sit down, leaving space between us and averting my gaze, feeling beads of sweat as they erupt across the back of my neck. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"Not really," I mumble, hoping she lets it go. But of course, I could never be that lucky.

"Okayyyyyy," she says, drawing out the word. "Maybe I didn't phrase that correctly. Let me try again. When did your relationship with my brother go from fake to real?"

I snap my head up, eyes widening at the sheer audacity of this woman. If she wasn't my best friend I'd throat punch her ass right here. But she is…and I won't lie to her.

"I'm not really sure," I reply quietly. "It didn't happen all at once. It was a bunch of little things he's done to show me support. You know that's not something I've experienced much in my life, and it made me see him—and myself—in a completely different light. It made me hopeful for the future."

She tilts her head, giving me a sympathetic look. "I've told you so many times that you had him all wrong. I said the same to him about you. I just wish you wouldn't have judged each other so harshly when I introduced you."

This is it. I need to tell her the truth. I've been hiding the details about the way Riggs and I met for too long, and now that I've admitted that I have feelings for him, I need to lay it all out for her. Maybe she'll hate me, maybe she won't. But either way, I can't do this anymore.

"Grace," I say, swallowing thickly. "There's more."

"More what ?" she asks.

My knee bounces nervously and I wring my hands in my lap. I need to get this over with before I have a fucking heart attack. I gnaw on my lip, considering my words before finally beginning my confession.

"That day at Praya, where you thought you were introducing us?" I say, pausing to look at her.

"Yeah?" she replies.

"We sort of…already knew each other."

"I—" she sputters. "I thought you arrived in Hope Harbor that morning."

"I did," I rush out. "But the night before, I decided to stop in Boston for a drink. My nerves were shot, and I was second guessing leaving Rolling Hills. I thought that if I could remind myself of the life waiting for me now that I wasn't under anyone's control, it would give me the courage I needed not to turn back around. I had every intention of finding a hot guy, spending the night with him, and moving forward as a new woman. I found the nicest bar in the area, ordered a drink, and waited for someone to approach me. That someone was Riggs. I'll spare you the details, but I ran out the next morning without saying goodbye, and the next thing I knew, you were introducing me to your brother."

She blinks rapidly, as if she's trying to process everything before her brows pull tight. "Why didn't you just tell me? Why go all this time lying to me about why you hated him?"

My shoulders sag and I try to swallow, but the lump in my throat feels like a golf ball as I attempt to find the words to express my remorse. "I was scared. At first, seeing him was a shock. I didn't think I'd ever cross paths with him again, and we both said some things we didn't mean. After that, there never seemed to be a good time to tell you. I had never had a genuine friend before I met you. Someone who wasn't just there because they thought they could get ahead by being around me. You were so kind to me for no reason at all, and I selfishly didn't want to give that up if you hated me for being awful to him. Which, I was. I was so mean, and he didn't deserve that. Neither did you. I'm so sorry I lied."

The tears I was trying to hold back finally spill over, and I bring my hands over my face to hide my sobs. I have no right to be crying here when I was the one who betrayed her by not being truthful. But the thought of losing my best friend now that she knows everything is almost too much to bear.

Warm arms slide around me as my body trembles. She presses her cheek to the top of my head, and the comfort of her closeness is like a balm to my undeserving heart.

"Please don't hate me," I whisper.

"I could never hate you," she replies softly. "Believe it or not, I understand why you didn't tell me."

I look up at her, my eyes widening in surprise. "You do?"

"Yeah," she says, popping a shoulder. "Tanner and I hid what happened between us for five years. And even after we reconnected, we still didn't tell Riggs right away because we were afraid of his reaction. It wasn't because we didn't love him. It was quite the opposite, actually."

Relief washes over me, and I turn so I can return her hug. "I really am sorry, Grace. I'll never lie to you again."

She laughs, squeezing me tightly. "This is karma, isn't it?"

I pull back, raising an eyebrow in question. "What is?"

"Being forced to think about my brother banging my best friend, like he has to think about me banging his."

I bark out a laugh, batting at the last of the tears still staining my cheeks with my fingers. "Yeah, you're probably going to regret putting so much effort into winding him up with all your dirty innuendos."

"It's fine," she replies, slapping my thigh before standing up. "I had it coming. Let's go find our guys before they drink all the good whiskey."

Our guys.

I don't hate the sound of that.