Page 90 of Samuel

Sam stepped towards her, cupping her cheek. “It’s up to you. But for what it’s worth, I want you to tell Hank what happened. I want our friends to be able to keep you safe, too.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “Go get them.”

Sam nodded, giving her an encouraging smile as he turned and walked out of her apartment.

“Evie,” Abby stepped away from the wall. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for what I did at the bar. There is no excuse, and I’m so sorry that the way I said things made it seem like I was upset with you. You did absolutely nothing wrong. I was… I still am… furious at my idiot brother for not telling you about his heart. I don’t know what he was thinking.”

She bit the inside of her cheek.

“Do you think you can forgive me? I understand if you need some time…”

“I don’t need time. It’s already forgiven. I could really use my friends right now.” Daisy reached up and wiped another tear from Evie’s face.

“You’ve got us.” Abby pushed past Daisy to give her a hug.

“Good. Now that things are back on track with you two,” Daisy smiled, her eyes dropping to Evie’s belly. “Sam called and said you were running out of clothes that fit.”

“That was really sweet of him. I kind of lost it trying to get ready for work this morning. He nearly broke down the bedroom door when he heard me sobbing because my dress wouldn’t fit over my boobs.”

Daisy smiled. “I remember those days. Ilost it on the floor of my closet with all my clothes in a giant heap all around me. Hank came home from work and panicked that something was wrong with Sunny. He was trying to scoop me up off the floor while I tried to tell him I was fine in between sobs.”

“God, you don’t know how glad I am to hear you say that,” she laughed. “I felt like I was going insane, and I was so mad at him for laughing at me when I explained!”

“He did not! I’m going to set him straight the minute he gets back up here with my husband.”

“No, honestly I mean, how sweet is it that he called you to cheer me up?”

“Not just cheer you up. I brought all the maternity clothes I have for you to use! You can take whatever you think will fit best. I’m not going to have another baby for a while, it might as well get put to good use instead of just sitting in our storage room.”

“Daisy, that’s too much. I couldn’t possibly…”

“Oh you can. I already shared a few things with Grace, but she’s a bit bigger in the bump area, so she said as soon as she grows out of something, she’ll bring it over for you to try on! I think she has a few pieces already set aside, but had some meeting with Seb and some fancy pants property developers this morning that she couldn’t get out of.”

Evie swallowed down her tears. “I don’t know why it’s making me so emotional. Thank you. For everything.”

“Shh, we’re friends,” she said, pulling Evie into another warm embrace. “And whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me for the long haul. I fully expect to be Aunt Daisy to Jellybean and I wouldn’t be a very good aunt if I let her mom walk around naked because she couldn’t find clothes that felt good to wear.”

Evie gave a watery laugh as she stepped back to start looking through the items.

Abby giggled. “Or maybe, you should be letting her walk around naked. At least around a certain cowboy.”

“Abby!”

“What? You cannot tell me that you and Sam aren’t an incredible match. The way he looks at you… my god. It’s the same way John looks at me. And even though I may not want to hear all the details, I still want that for you both!”

“I think I’m still struggling with what happened the other night at the bar. It was so embarrassing. He explained things yesterday, and I get it, I really do, but there is a part of me that just isn’t sure there can ever be anuswhen he didn’t ever consider me important enough to tell about his heart.”

“I totally get it. But if there is one thing I know about my brother, it’s that deep down, at the root of who he is as a man, he’s always looking to protect and to provide. I can’t speak for him, but I’m sure with everything that happened with his heart, he didn’t want you to think that he couldn’t do those two things for you.”

“I know. I just wish he’d told me about it before I found out from someone else.”

“I don’t know what happened…” Daisy grimaced as her eyes dropped to Evie’s lip. “But I’m sure he’s freaking out, thinking he failed to keep you and the baby safe. It’ll be eating him up inside. We’re not asking you to forgive him, but give him the chance to keep opening up to you. These men are as tough as they come, but sometimes, what they really need is the permission to be vulnerable.”

Evie let Daisy’s words wash over her as she sifted mindlessly through the clothing items on her couch. As she reached for a floral top that looked perfect for the hot summer barreling towards them, the door to her apartment opened, and Sam, Hank, and John all stepped inside.

Hank took his hat off, and walked next to his wife, curling her into his side before sneaking a not so chaste kiss.

“Hank.” Daisy laughed. “I’m just going to put these in your room, Evie, so there’s a place for all of us to sit.”

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