Page 93 of Rebel Heart
Shrugging, I held up my left hand, displaying my wedding band, and said, “I’m not.”
“Whoa. Whoa. Wait a minute,” Jamie ordered as hestood from where he’d been sitting on the floor in front of the chair on the opposite side of the room. “Are you telling us you got married?”
“I am.”
“To the Westwood girl?” Talon questioned me, grinning from ear to ear.
“Yes. We did it just a few days before the holiday. It was the last day of June.”
“What the fuck?” Jamie shouted, his eyes bugging out of his head. “Dude, how did that happen?”
This was precisely what I’d expected would happen. Jamie, no doubt, would be the most animated of the group. One glance at Vic, and the disappointment was clear as day.
“Jules was here the day I got home from the tour,” I shared. “I told her how I felt and what I wanted to have happen between us.”
“How did you go from that to married in a matter of weeks?” Vic grumbled.
“She’s pregnant.”
Jamie collapsed on the couch as he let out a shout of disbelief mixed with celebration. Talon just started laughing, and Vic was not impressed.
“Beau Easton is going to be a dad,” Jamie said, his voice pitching higher. “This is the best day of my life.”
Still laughing, Talon agreed, “Mine, too.” I rolled my eyes. “Can we assume you’re happy about this?”
I took in all three of my friends, the guys who had become like family to me, and I admitted, “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Vic slapped his hand over his chest. “I’m wounded.”
“Shut up and just be happy for me.”
He opened his mouth to object, thought better of it, and sighed. “Congratulations, Beau. I’m happy for you.”
I grinned at him. “Thanks.”
Jamie shot up off the couch, came over to me, and messed up my hair. “I can’t believe this happened, but it’s the best news. Congratulations.”
After pushing him away, I ran my fingers through my hair to get it back to some semblance of normal. Talon walked over and slapped me on the back. “I couldn’t be happier for you, man. I’m really glad you found her.”
“Yeah, me too.” I inhaled deeply and sighed. “I just wish her family could have had a similar reaction.”
“They didn’t?”
I shook my head. “It’s been awful…”
I went on to tell my friends about what happened when her family learned the truth.
When I finished, Talon said, “That’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Jules is devastated, and I’m just doing everything I can to cheer her up. I realize they don’t like how we went about things, so I understand, but for people who are so hurt because they love her, I can’t understand why they aren’t looking to make amends with her. I don’t know what to do.”
The mood had shifted in the room. It had gone from being upbeat and teasing and fun to this. Just as I’d always sat with them as part of the group whenever anything bad happened in one of their lives, the guyswere doing the same for me now. I appreciated having them around.
Vic said, “Have you considered going to them on your own?”
“What?”
He shrugged. “I can understand not wanting to subject her to more heartache, but if you love this girl, shouldn’t you do what you can to fix it?”
