I caught Cam’s eyes and he shrugged. With his gaze still focused on something no one else saw, Jase reached over Cam and hijacked a handful of my fries.

“What the hell?” I exclaimed.

Cam laughed. “Your fries are not safe.”

“Obviously,” I muttered, eyeing them both.

Jase winked at me and he was as ridiculously attractive as Cam doing it. “You all coming to the luau this weekend?”

I nodded and it struck me again how much difference a year made. This time last year, I wouldn’t even considered a party, especially one being thrown by a frat. I smiled to myself as I finished off the rest of my fries before the boys devoured them.

“Are you guys really having a pig?” Brit asked. “Because last year, that wasn’t a pig. It was a wild turkey and that was gross.”

Jase laughed. “We’ll have a pig this time.”

Beside me, my side pocket of my messenger bag vibrated. Curious to who it could be, because everyone who contacted me was sitting here, I flipped open the pocket and pulled out my phone.

It was a text—a text from a normal telephone number. A Texas area code.

It’s Molly. Can we talk when u have the time? Please. 

A little tremor went down my arm as I stared at the message. Molly hadn’t contacted me since I left Texas. Nothing from her and the texts before that were never this friendly, even though this didn’t scream best friends foreva.

I immediately texted back. Yes. Call you this evening.

Several minutes passed as I stared at the phone. Molly had texted back with an okay, and I was still stunned.

“Everything okay?” Cam asked, placing his hand on my lower back. Concern pinched his brows.

“Yes.” I dropped my cell back into my bag. Everything was okay. Maybe not perfect, but life wasn’t meant to be perfect. It was messy and sometimes it was a disaster, but there was beauty in the messiness and there could be peace in the disaster.

I don’t know what my life would’ve been like if I hadn’t decided to uproot my life and break free from my past. I knew it wouldn’t be like this. And I also knew if I hadn’t met Cam, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Maybe I would’ve come around eventually on my own, but I was woman enough to admit that I had help.

And I was woman enough that whenever I looked up at the night skies and saw the Corona Borealis—or something that vaguely resembled it—I thanked it.

Leaning back against Cam’s chest, I tipped my head back as I reached up, cupping his cheek. I drew his mouth to mine and kissed him softly. “Thank you.”

His lips curved up on one side. “For what?”

“For waiting for me.”

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements