Page 81 of The One I Need
“I know Betsy and I are very much Team Izzy,” Wes says. “And Magnolia would like it on record that she will, in fact, be a flower girl when you two renew your vows. She might have said that stuff because Simon said to, but that didn’t change the sentiment.”
I laugh and look over to Simon. “I can’t believe you tried to screw with her and use your goddaughter as the bait.”
“I have no regrets, and I’d do it again,” he says as he sips his coffee. “If a woman can handle Magnolia, she can handle any of us.”
“That’s true,” I say. “So you approve?”
“Very much. In fact, if for some reason it doesn’t work out, please let me know.”
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
My snarl only makes Simon smile like the evil mastermind he is. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
I turn to Shane, who besides his noise making when I walked in, hasn’t said a lot. Even for him.
“Shane? Care to weigh in?”
“She’s great,” Shane says.
“I feel like there’s a but coming on…”
Wes tips his coffee mug toward him. “It wouldn’t be a Shane conversation if our friend didn’t play the devil’s advocate.”
“I like her. I do. Amelia likes her, too.”
“You talked to Amelia about her?”
Shane seems thrown off track for a second before he quickly recovers. What the fuck was that about?”
“Amelia and I chatted a little last night after you guys left.”
“No, you didn’t,” Simon says. “Amelia left before everyone else did.”
“I mean this morning. It doesn’t matter. What I wanted to say is yes, she’s great. She gets along with everyone, and she even fucked with Simon, which you always know scores points in my book. But I only needed to see you with her once to know that you, my friend, are in love with this woman like you’ve never been before. I know you thought you were in love with those other women, but it only took one look at you last night to know that you are gone beyond belief. And I’m happy you’ve found that.”
Here comes the but…
“But how sure are you that she’s going to come around? Because if she doesn’t, you’re going to be wrecked. And I’ll be there to help pick up the pieces; we all will. But I want you to really understand that if this doesn’t work out, if the clock runs out and she wants you to finalize the divorce, you’re not going to be okay. Are you prepared for that possibility?”
I can always count on Shane Cunningham for a dose of realness.
“I am.”
“Really?” Wes asks. “Because that even freaked me out.”
“Yes, really.” I sit up a little straighter. “You guys have been with me during a lot of shitty relationships.”
“The yoga teacher who you proposed to on the meditation retreat.”
“The bartender you tried to propose to while reenacting a scene fromCoyote Ugly.”
“Wasn’t one in a cult?”
“Yes,” I say to all of them as they snicker about my stellar dating history. “But what I’ve come to realize is that from the beginning, Izzy was different. I never sleep with women on the first night, yet I did that. I always tell you guys about every detail, I didn’t do that.”
“I’d like to say thank you for that one,” Wes says.
“Anytime,” I continue. “I didn’t tell you guys about her at all. I wondered for weeks why I was doing that. Why I didn’t just come clean. But I figured it out. It’s because she’s different.We’redifferent. We’ve done nothing in the right order or traditionally. Hell, I’m married, and I just said that it was a good thing that my wife didn’t kiss me. So yes, I know that I’m taking a huge leap of faith by letting her figure this out. But there are times when it’s just the two of us, and I can tell she loves me too. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
