“And I understand why she needs to go. Do I like it? No, I fucking hate it. But it’s important to her, so I will give her support. Even if she didn’t want it, I would have given her that. I might not agree with her thinking she needs this, but I’m trying. If this is something Willow wants to do, then I’m there for her every step of the way.”

“You’re going, too?” Eddie gasps.

“Why does that shock you?” Kirby asks. “I told you, inseparable.”

“Yeah, but going into Logan with him on her arm is going to make Ivy even more malicious than normal. You know that’s going to set her off.” Eddie looks over my head and addresses Kane. “I know you saw some of it, but let me clue you in on sister dear. She will not like it that Willow’s moved on. Not only that, she’s going to have a fit when she realizes that she didn’t just move on, but also traded up. No offense, Willow. Throwing you in her face is going to make her unpredictable.”

Kane’s body jolts with small bouts of hilarity. “You know, I’m pretty sure anything Willow does is going to make Ivy go nuts. I know her type all too well. It wouldn’t matter if Willow went in the same person she was six weeks ago. Ivy would still find something she wanted to strip from her, even when she didn’t have anything left. I won’t allow the possibility of someone, anyone, trying to take away one single shred of Willow’s growth.”

Kane’s arms move and he pulls me tighter against his body. I reach down and give one of the legs framing my body between his spread thighs a squeeze. His head turns, and he places a small kiss against my temple.

“I love you,” he whispers in my ear.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Eddie waves his arm around, clearly at a loss since he knows he can’t talk me out of it. I can tell he isn’t going to try to persuade me out of going; he’s asking out of concern that I’m not ready to face them.

“Yes. I have to do this, Eddie. I have to face them as the strong person I am now in order to let go of the pain. The ghosts of their past words can no longer haunt me. I need this not just to move on, but also to prove to myself that I can do something that just the thought of would have killed me before now. It’s not as if I’m expecting them to welcome me with arms wide open. I know they’re both going to be jerks, but I need them to see me and hear me when I tell them how I feel.”

Kirby lets out a laugh void of humor. “I think if there is any time for you to let go of that stupid habit you have of not cussing, it would be now while we talk about those two evil assholes.”

“Whatever.” I chuckle. She’s always made a joke out of trying to get me to turn into some foul-mouthed sailor. I’ll never understand why she and Eddie get so much enjoyment out of this little game. I think I’ve gotten so good at not letting any curses pop out because I know it drives them nuts.

“I understand, sweets. I don’t like it, but I understand. Plus, you have this strapping hunk to kick some serious ass if they step out of line.” He gives Kane a few wags of his brow, his earlier concern and seriousness gone.

I snuggle in closer to Kane, but look at Kirby when I hear her struggling not to laugh. Following her gaze, I look behind my shoulder and see that Kane’s cheeks are flush with embarrassment over Eddie’s flirting. I look back over at Kirby, and we both burst out laughing.

The conversation moves on now that the heavy topics are over. We talk about our upcoming move and about what we plan to do in California.

By the time Kirby and Eddie go to leave, I’m about to fall asleep on my feet. Kane and I walk them to the door.

All sleep is forgotten when Kirby grabs my head and gives me a long, closed-mouth kiss. She pulls back and shrugs. “What? It’s kind of like our thing now.”

Eddie is in stitches, and Kane is shaking with silent laughter.

“You’re ridiculous.” I smirk.

I give Eddie a hug, promising to call him and Kirby tomorrow. Kirby goes to open the door, but stops in shock when Eddie turns from me and grabs Kane’s head, pulling his mouth to his. It’s a brief kiss, over just as quickly as it started. I can’t tell who is more shocked out of the three of us.

Eddie steps back to hook his arm through Kirby’s. He gives Kane a wink and then turns to me. “What? It’s like our thing now.”

I burst out laughing. God, I love my friends.

OKAY, SO I WOULD BE lying if I didn’t admit I was a little nervous about walking into the Logan Agency. Kane’s been silent during our ride, but ever supportive with the hand that hasn’t let go of mine since we left my apartment.

Cam’s been quiet as he navigates the insanity that the streets of New York City bring. I didn’t even realize he was still here until Kane called him twenty minutes ago to come pick us up. I should have realized he wouldn’t have gone back to California ahead of Kane. Sometimes, I forget that Kane isn’t a normal man. The time we spend alone makes his need for a bodyguard unnecessary. It’s going to take a lot of getting used to when we’re no longer able to have these long days of solitude.

“It’s likely that when we leave, someone could tip off the media about where to find me,” Kane says, and I look over from my window gazing to meet his eyes. He looks calm, but his eyes are appraising me in a way that makes me think he is still a little worried about how I’ll handle being a potentially trending worldwide topic when our relationship news hits the masses.

I squeeze his hand, offering him, without words, a sign that I’m okay. Resting my head on the headrest, I think back to last night after Kirby and Eddie left. We talked a lot about Eddie’s concerns, and I hadn’t realized he was still nervous about it.

Kane’s public image and the fact, like it or not because we haven’t stepped out and announced our relationship, he’s still linked to Mia. I understand where Eddie was coming from in asking, but I also see where Kane’s justified in his hesitancy to go public. He’s been burned in the past when he thought his relationship was ready to weather the media storm, and it wasn’t. Given how afraid I was of my own shadow when we first met, I can see his protective nature wanting to shield me from the unknowns that come with his celebrity status and the media.

Most importantly, he explained that because of our schedule in Georgia, there just wasn’t the opportunity for a big coming out of sorts, so even when I was ready, the opportunity just didn’t present itself. Not to mention, because of the small town that we were filming in, Kane enjoyed the anonymity that he normally would never have if we were in California or heck, even here in New York. I keep waiting to turn around and have a million cameras in our faces.

“I know it’s a possibility, Kane, and I’m not concerned. You shouldn’t be either. Unless you don’t want to have our relationship out there yet,” I whisper remembering his promise to try to avoid the media better. “You can’t just expect yourself to be okay with letting them invade your personal life overnight. Or openly let them into our relationship when you’re used to not letting them know anything. You’ve had years of dealing with them picking apart everything you do, so I understand you like to keep your life as tight-lipped as possible.”

He shakes his head. “It isn’t that, baby. I just know how they can be, and I don’t want you to have to deal with the negativity that will follow. I wish I could say it wouldn’t, but I know better. The media loves to create drama where there shouldn’t be any.”

How can I make him understand I’m really okay with it? Sure, I don’t think it will be easy, but I also know I have no fear of the things they could possibly say about me. Not anymore.