“Sure.” She draws the corners of her mouth up, but I know her too well to call it a smile. “Why?”

“Is there something between you and Easton Connor?” I ask softly.

“What?” Nic squeaks.

Apparently not softly enough.

“No,” Shay growls. “There’s nothing between us. He was my brothers’ childhood buddy and a pain in my ass for years. That’s it.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much,” Ellie says, earning a scowl from Shay.

“Carter could have at least warned me about this,” Shay grumbles.

“He and Carter are friends?” I ask. I don’t know if I’m bothered by the fact that Carter never told me about his friendship with a future NFL Hall of Famer or impressed that he didn’t brag about it.

“I don’t think Easton’s friends with anyone around here anymore,” Molly says, and the look she exchanges with Shay is heavy with meaning. There’s definitely a story here that I’m missing out on.

Ellie talks about the mansions she’s dying to show the quarterback, and the girls—all but Shay, that is—talk about what they know about his personal life and what it might be like to have him live part of the year in Jackson Harbor.

Jake returns with our food and leaves again before Ellie remembers that she was giving me the third degree about what’s happening with Carter.

“So you’re not pregnant,” Ellie says. “But have you and Carter reunited yet?”

“We’re still giving each other space.”

“I can respect that,” Ellie says, but Shay grunts and pokes at her salad. She’s definitely team Just Get Back Together Already. Honestly, I’m coming around to that side too, even if I know this time is for the best. I miss him.

“Cool, cool,” Molly says. “What, exactly, are you doing in that space?”

Figuring myself out? Trying to believe I’m worthy of him?

I had a long talk with Mom and Dad before they left town. I didn’t tell them everything, but I explained Rich’s manipulative behavior after Heath’s death, explained how I left because it felt like the only way to escape him. Mom was devastated that she didn’t see it, and Dad was upset that I didn’t tell them. We talked and talked some more, and by the time they went home two days after the wedding, I felt closer to them than I have in years.

In a way, I think I’ve done more grieving for Heath in the last two weeks than I did in all the years before. I couldn’t fully let him go until I forgave him, and I couldn’t forgive him until I forgave myself.

I heard through the grapevine—a.k.a. Shay—that Carter’s been spending all of his time finishing his renovations on the attic so Isaiah can move in with him. I was happy to hear it, even if it made me a little sad to know I was unaware of such a major change happening in his life.

The girls all stare at me, and I realize I never answered Molly’s question. “It all started in such a messy, unintentional way. I want us both to be sure.”