Page 130 of Runaway Bride and Prejudice

Lex sighs. “It would make a good movie. All the drama. The romance.”

“All it needs is a happy ending,” Grey says with a smile.

“I’m not so sure that’s possible,” I say, sinking deeper into the chair.

They exchange glances, having the kind of silent conversation I’ve grown used to watching over the years. We’re all close, but the three of them have something a little extra.

I’m not sure if they group themselves by age on purpose, or if they naturally just happen to end up oldest to youngest most of the time. It’s also in order of darkest to lightest hair.

A running joke is that Mom and Dad’s genes ran out of pigment by the fourth kid. Callie’s long hair is almost black, mine only a few shades lighter than hers. Alex’s chin-length hair is chestnut brown, and Greyson has wild, golden brown curls.

Seeing them this way, I catalog all the subtle changes since I saw them at Christmas. Lex has dark circles no concealer could touch, and I hope things are okay with her husband.

Greyson looks about the same, though her skin is a little pink from scrubbing off the camo paint. She missed a few spots of dark green, making her complexion look slightly moldy.

Callie’s lines all seem harsher somehow, from the firm set of her mouth to the blade-sharp edge of her winged eyeliner. I should check in on her more. I think it’s easy for us all to forget that the oldest and toughest one of us isn’t impervious to hurt.

It’s hard not to worry about the three of them, even when I’m the one currently in crisis.

“I like your house,” Grey says brightly. “By the way.”

Lex nods. “This is a step up from the last apartment. Still looks like a bachelor pad.”

“You got a fish,” Callie says. It comes out like an accusation.

I’m run a hand through my hair, trying to figure out how we went from talking about my secret, possibly not-quite-legal marriage to my house and my beta fish.

“He’s new,” I say.

Theodore is bright green, and when I saw him in the pet store, he immediately reminded me of Alvin and the Chipmunks. As to why I felt the need to go to a pet store and buy a fish after lying to Amelia about having one, I don’t know. It just seemed important at the time.

And maybe I was lonely.

Turns out, fish aren’t great company, but he is a good listener. We’ve had some long, one-way conversations lately. The best thing about him? No judgment. Although, I deeply suspect he doesn’t care what I tell him so long as I keep the fish food coming.

“I always saw you as more of a dog person than a fish person,” Grey says.

“I’m not home enough for a dog. A fish is about the only thing I could handle aside from a pet rock or a Chia Pet.”

“Could we please get back on track?” Lex says, leaning forward.

“I think he went off-track two weeks ago.” Callie points an accusing finger at me. “You gotmarried.”

“I did.”

“You lied to us,” Lex says.

“I didn’ttellyou.”

“You lie of omissioned us,” Grey says. “The same thing you did to Amelia, by the way.”

I tug at the collar of my shirt, resisting the urge to rub a hand over my sternum. It won’t ease the ache. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“We would have been there,” Grey adds tearfully.

“Wewantedto be there.” Lex sniffs. “I mean, not at this exact wedding, since we didn’t know it was happening. But generally speaking, we wanted to be there on your wedding day.”

“Why didn’t you ask us?” Callie clenches her jaw. Even so, I don’t miss the slight wobble.

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