Guilt suffused me. “Greer, no. I love you and I want nothing but your happiness . . .” I winced, feeling ashamed. “Okay, yes, it’s a little weird for me you’re pregnant. But this baby isn’t about me. It’s about you and Andre. I can’t expect everyone to stay standing still with me just because my life isn’t what I expected it to be at thirty-three years old.” I mirrored her, taking hold of her elbows. “I will not stand still anymore.”

Her fingers bit into my skin. “So, running away is the answer?”

“I know it seems like I’m running away, and for a moment I guess that’s what I was doing. But I’ve thought about it and I’m determined that’s not what this is. I’m just putting a little distance between myself and my life as it stands in Chicago. To get a little perspective.”

“Other people go to Greece for a few weeks. They don’t pay to run someone else’s store for them in the middle of nowhere England.”

I smirked at her dry tone. “I’m not other people.”

“I know.” She stepped closer to me, eyes filling with tears. “And that’s why I love you and I have . . . I have this horrible feeling I’m about to lose you.”

Understanding filled me, and I drew her into a tight hug. Greer and I met freshman year of college. We’d been friends for fifteen years, and on more than one occasion she’d told me I was the first and only person in her life she trusted to be true and steadfast to her. She came from a broken family, from parents who used their child as a pawn in their divorce battle. I had my own issues with family, and we’d bonded over the fact.

Even without our respective backgrounds, Greer and I would have always become great friends. There are people you meet in life whom you just connect with. Greer was one of those people for me. The first day we took a stroll around campus together, we lapsed into a comfortable silence. We felt no pressure to ramble awkwardly or to constantly ask questions or try to entertain each other. We could just be. Trust came easily to us. Our instincts seemed to tell us we could trust each other absolutely.

Other friends took time to find that comfortable silence and trust. We had it instantly.

I knew then that the idea of soul mates wasn’t just a romantic notion. I knew that people could find a soul mate in a friend.

“You could never lose me, Greer Bishop. You’re my family and the love of my fucking life.”

She laughed but it sounded shaky with her tears. “You’re mine too.”