“Baby might not be his,” I remind her.
“He still deserves to know that it could be his, Claire. He has the means to take care of you. I have seen how he looks at you when he doesn’t think I am watching.”
“And how is that?”
“He looks at you like you are his sun, and he is just happy to be part of your orbit.”
“That’s ludicrous. Angie, you’re a hopeless romantic. But not every story has a happy ending.”
“But yours will. Happiness is a choice, Claire. You are lumping Nic into a box with all the other jerks you dated. You’re doing the exact same thing to him that he does to women. Stop the cycle. I saw how Ethan treated you in Vegas, and it took everything inside me to resist stepping in. Trust me, I nearly tried. But Graham warned me that if I tried to sway you away from him, it might push you closer together. And I wanted to smack the shit out of that narcissistic asshole.”
“He would have deserved it.”
“But I know that Nic got a few swings in on him while in Vegas.”
“Really? I didn’t know. I mean, I suspected something happened. Before going to the airport, Nic claimed he had to go do an errand. And when I ran into Ethan at the Parkhouse Plaza and saw the way his face was bruised, I made assumptions. But it wasn’t like Nic and I ever discussed it.”
“Yup. And as expected, Nic came out the victor. He did what we all wanted to do. Ethan is plain gross.”
I frown over her words. “Ethan may be the father.”
“If he is, you will figure out a way to coparent then. You won’t have much choice.”
“Do you see my dilemma? You see how much this is eating me up inside? Now you are involved, and you are going to go home tonight and you are going to think about this, when you should be thinking about the beginning of the rest of your life. You are about to marry your soulmate. How freaking awesome is that?” I exclaim.
“I just wish my mom was here to witness me taking this huge step.”
“Angie, your mom hasn’t left your side.”
Tears roll down her cheeks. “I feel her with me all the time. More so now than ever. I think she would like Graham.”
I lean over and give her a hug. Despite my reluctance to share these parts of my life with Angie for fear she would stress out, I am glad everything got said tonight. “I vow that when you are officially married, nothing between us will change. That is my promise.”
“Good. Because despite what you might think about yourself, you are my rock. I don’t enjoy life without you in it.”
“Feeling’s mutual.”
“I better get going before a search team gets sent out for my recovery,” Angie teases.
“Can you apologize to Graham for me?”
“What on earth for?”
“For complicating things with his brother. But first wait until I tell Nic I am pregnant. I know Graham doesn’t approve of the relationship,” I explain. “He basically warned me that Nic would break my heart. But I think I’ll be doing the breaking this go around.”
“Graham will forever put me first, and as much as that sounds romantic, I need to lose sometimes so I can stay grounded. He was probably worried about me finding out that Nic did you wrong, and that I would go completely ballistic over it. I mean,” she says, pausing, “I am naturally a passionate activist for women. So, Nic better keep himself in check or face the wrath of Angie. But Graham has no say in who you decide to pursue or not pursue. He is a boundary pusher and thinks he can get away with it. Nope. I will tell him exactly how it is.”
“No more tension. Please. Let me just get through your wedding without any more incidents. This is about you, not me. I can put all of this on hold until you guys are on your honeymoon.”
“Speaking of which, where is Graham taking me?”
I giggle. “Like he would ever tell me that.”
“We aren’t leaving until a couple of days after the wedding. I will take a few days off work to relax and acquaint myself with married life, but I can still check in.”
“No worries. I can handle it.”
“That’s why we are partners,” she says, blowing me a kiss.