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“I think your mom’s excited,” I said with a laugh.

The three laughed too, and Farrah said, “I like her.”

The compliment made my cheeks warm. “Tell me about you two.”

Liv said, “Take your time. Rhett will go crazy wondering what we’re talking about.”

We laughed as Liv settled on the desk chair. Then Farrah, Hen, and I sat on the full-sized bed. It was like a sleepover, but we were all grown. Warm, fuzzy feelings flooded my chest. Is this what it would be like if Rhett and I stayed together? I’d get instant best friends?

Henrietta and Farrah shared a glance, and then Hen said, “I grew up in California, I have three older brothers, and I’m super close with my parents and my grandma. I worked in property management, and the company Tyler worked for was building a new complex for us. One thing led to another and...” She shrugged.

Liv said, “She makes it sound simple. Tyler was fired from his job for—”

Henrietta said, “Ah, ah, ah. She does not need to hear that the first day.”

Liv and Farrah laughed, while I gave Hen a bashful look. “Deidre already told me.”

A ruckus broke out in the room, Liv laughing so hard she started coughing, and even Farrah was wiping tears from her eyes while Hen shushed them both. “Don’t tell me you two’ve never gotten carried away.”

Speaking as someone who’d had two public trysts recently, “I mean, that does sound super hot.”

“It was,” Hen said, “until he got fired, and I got put on probation, and we had to break up. Anyway, I eventually got my head on straight and realized I couldn’t let a man like that go.”

Her story warmed my heart. I wanted that, the peace that came with knowing you had your person forever, even after a few wrong turns.

“Your turn,” Hen told Farrah.

Farrah laughed. “Okay, I’m in the hot seat.” She told me about leaving her ex and moving in with her parents at thirty-four years old with three kids. Gage hired her, and even though they both tried to deny their attraction for each other, they couldn’t help but fall.

Liv said, “We thought Gage was going to be singleforever. But now I get a sister and three nieces and nephews!”

Farrah reached out her hand, holding Liv’s for a second. “This is the best family,” she said to me. “You picked a good guy to date.”

There were still nerves, fear, swirling in my stomach. But I couldn’t tell these women all that. They loved Rhett to pieces.

But then Liv explained to her sisters-in-law, “Mags is the one that got away.”

Hen and Farrah had a look of understanding, and Farrah said, “That makes so much sense.”

My eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean?”

Farrah and Liv exchanged a look, and Liv nodded, like she was giving Farrah permission to go on. Farrah said, “I don’t know. It always just seemed like Rhett was looking to fill a hole in his life.”

Hen snickered.

“Oh my god!” Liv said, laughing. “You’re as bad as the boys.”

My cheeks warmed, and I shifted on the bed. I didn’t want to be another “hole” to fill.

Noticing my change in mood, Liv said, “Mags, I’ve known Rhett the longest out of everyone in this room, and I can tell you that he wasn’t the same after you left. It was like there was this sadness underneath all the jokes and that smile he always has.”

“And now?” I asked.

Liv shrugged with a small smile of her own. “Now, you’re back.”

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RHETT