Page 45 of Legally Ours

My eyes bugged out of my head. "What?"

Kieran shrugged, like it wasn't that big of a deal, even though we both knew it meant everything to Brandon's and my relationship.

"You know as well as I do that no Massachusetts judge would ever admit that recording into evidence," Kieran said as she examined her nails. "But the court of public opinion is a very different thing." She smirked. "She wanted to play dirty. She forgot who she was dealing with."

Suddenly I couldn't feel my legs.

"Jesus," I breathed, "Kieran, you're not going to...you're not going to release that thing, are you?"

I could just see the headlines of Page Six: "Bye Bye, Brandon's Baby!" or something equally trite yet pithy. I'd be the abortion girl for the rest of my life. And in a city that was half Catholic, Brandon's political career would be as good as gone.

But Kieran shook her head. "No, no, no. Brandon has it now anyway, and you know he'd never do anything like that to you."

Did I? I thought so. Or, at least I used to think so.

"It's just leverage in case Miranda ever tries anything again. But I don't think she will. Last I heard, she went back to New York."

For the first time in several weeks, a weight lifted from my shoulders as one of the many complications that had thwarted Brandon and me over the past few months disappeared. A chain, unbound. That chapter of Brandon's life was finally over. The question was, would I be in it as he moved on?

"Anyway," Kieran interrupted my thoughts. "Like I said, I would have done the same thing. Single, wrapped up in whatever drama you were obviously dealing with, with an uncertain relationship to boot?" She nodded with each list item. "You made your choice, and that was your right. If he's making you feel bad about it—"

"He's not," I interrupted. "He's not doing anything."

Kieran looked at me like she didn't believe me. "If you say so. But that would be a first."

My hands gripped the edge of the desk. Suddenly I wanted to get back to the apartment as fast as I could. I didn't want to hide anymore. I wanted to face things with Brandon––whatever they were going to be––head on. The real question was how. How could I fix things? How could I help us heal?

Kieran sat forward, tapping her mouth for a second, as if trying to figure something out. Then she looked up.

"I don't know if I should tell you this, but honestly, I don't give a shit what he thinks." She looked up. "You know Brandon's birthday is next week, right?"

I blinked in surprise. "What?"

I was sure I had seen his birthday somewhere––a Wikipedia page or something like that, long ago. But Brandon had never mentioned it to me, and I had clearly forgotten the date.

"He doesn't usually make a big thing of it. I have him over for dinner. Sometimes his parents come, sometimes not. Miranda used to throw him these ridiculous parties out at her parents' place at the Cape, but he always hated them."

I nodded with complete understanding. For Brandon, those kinds of parties were about business, not pleasure. They were so far from the person he was on the inside.

"I haven't planned anything this year," Kieran said as she stood up. She dusted off her immaculate black pants and gave me a grin as she turned to leave. "But you know where to find me if you decide to do something."

I pursed my lips, thinking. "Okay. Although I don't know if he would want me to do much for him either..."

Kieran scoffed. "Don't let him tell you what to do. And Skylar?"

I looked up.

"He loves you. And you love him."

There was nothing mushy about the statements. Kieran was as matter-of-fact as they came.

I smiled. "Kieran, you're so sentimental."

She rolled her sharp eyes and knocked on the doorframe. "Don't get used to it."

"Hey," I said just before she left. "Can I ask you something else?"

Sometime in the past few weeks, I'd stopped feeling so shy around Kieran. She knew most of my secrets, if secondhand, and she had turned out to be one of my biggest advocates with Brandon. She was definitely on my team. But there was something missing from her investment in my relationship with her best friend.

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