Page 41 of Give My Everything
“Lennon, Paige, my parents, and Ivy. That’s it.”
“And now you,” Wyatt adds, his eyes narrowing, something unkind slithering through his expression. “We’re not keeping it a secret out of shame. We’re doing it to protect Ivy while she’s young. The world isn’t very kind to young girls these days.”
I nod, completely agreeing with him.
“I would…neverdo something to hurt Ivy. Ever.”
We may never have been close, but I grew up with Ivy running around, a little toddler with so much hair and lots of laughter. I’d never want to do anything that would negatively impact her life.
“It’s actually a good thing Remmy knows now,” Ben says, his voice strong.
Wyatt and Hannah turn their attention to him as he reaches over and places his arm around my shoulders.
“Especially since she’s going to be a part of the family, too.”
I grit my teeth, trying to hide my irritation. This is the second time tonight he’s done exactly what I made him promise not to do—make a decision without me.
And this one Ivery muchdisagree with.
“Ben,” I say, my voice a whisper, though I’m not sure what I could say now. It’s not like he can take a statement like that back.
“I’m sorry…what?”
Wyatt’s question is marked with something that sounds like indignation.
“Remmy and I aren’t announcing it just yet, but…we’re engaged.”
My eyes flit between the two sitting across from us, watching as that information ripples through their bodies. First their eyes, then their mouths, then their shoulders and postures. Hannah just looks shocked, but Wyatt? There’s no hiding the unhappiness, the sheer look of discontent etched in every feature.
“Congratulations,” Hannah says, putting a smile on her face that—I’ll give her credit—looks mostly genuine. “When you said things were serious, I didn’t realize you meantthisserious. I’m so happy for you, Ben.”
He smiles at Hannah.
“Especially since you’ve always made it seem like you never thought you’d settle down. Remember that chat we had? It couldn’t have been more than a few weeks ago, right, Wyatt?” she continues, elbowing him gently in the side. “He said he didn’t believe inthe one.”
She laughs, like she’s so glad he’s finally come around.
“He did say that.” This from Wyatt. His voice is cold and distant, his gaze locked on his brother.
“Alright, I’ve got a Waldorf salad.”
A large plate is set in front of me, and suddenly, the idea of a salad with tuna and eggs and olives has my stomach turning over.
“Excuse me,” I say in a rush as I push back from the table.
I move quickly through the restaurant, thankfully making it through the restroom doors and into a stall before I vomit up the tiny remnants from the avocado toast I had for breakfast.
Luckily, the morning sickness seems to be edging away, only happening every few days and only coming on for a short period, but it still seems to pop up here and there.
It’s funny what you think is acceptable when you’ve experienced worse.
I flush the toilet and grab some toilet paper, dabbing my mouth and blowing my nose, then turn to wash my hands. That’s when I see Hannah leaning up against the sinks, concern in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
I nod. “I’ve just had this weird stomach flu,” I reply, maintaining the same story I’ve been using at home. Stepping up to the sink, I look at myself in the mirror, making sure I don’t look like I was just throwing up. “It’s at the very end, but it keeps hitting me at weird times.”
She doesn’t respond, so I don’t look at her, not wanting to see whatever is on her mind, because I’m sure it will be easy to tell just by glancing at her.
