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“No,” Dad answered in a tight voice. “Because I’m not that fucking selfish.”
“This is ridiculous. I never should have even said anything.”
“No, you should have said something when it happened so I could have taken care of it then and there,” Mom countered. “But it’s over now. What’s done is done. We’re making poor Remington tense.”
I glanced at him and realized his eyes had glazed over. Without thinking, I touched his jaw. “I’m sorry. Do you feel up to staying? We can go home and do this another night.”
He covered my hand and pressed my palm to his lips. “I’m fine,” he said with a smile. “Just give me a second, okay?” I nodded and he stood, excusing himself to use the bathroom.
When I heard the door close behind him, I slumped back against the couch. “What happened?”
“We had a long talk with Jesse and Layla,” Mom said. “They know how we feel, and they shared their own feelings on the subject. But we won’t be having any more family gatherings with them in the future.”
“Meaning there was lots of yelling. Which I’m sure Aunt Emmie had to break up. And now the family is torn apart because I fucked up and told you what happened.” I blinked back the sting of tears.
Dad sat forward and met my gaze. “Listen, Vi. There are some things that I will overlook. But for me, this was just too much. I get where she was coming from—honestly, I do. But no matter what, she shouldn’t have made you feel like you didn’t have the right to move on. That you shouldn’t be with someone who has become such a huge part of your heart, when in her eyes, she always thought you and Luca would get back together.”
“She didn’t say that—” I tried to argue, but he interrupted me.
“Not to you, but it was what she told us. But when you said yes to Remington, she realized she was wrong and wanted to try to talk you out of it.” He reached out and caught my hand. “During the whole thing, she said she was disappointed in us for not having taught you the power of forgiveness, because if we had, you would have already been back with Luca. Your mom said a few things about Layla’s own parenting skills, and things got a little out of hand. So, yes, Emmie did have to break things up.”
I looked at Mom in surprise. She pressed her lips together and refused to meet my gaze. As if she were embarrassed about the whole thing. I was just surprised she’d gotten into what sounded like a physical fight with anyone, least of all Aunt Layla. My mom was too sweet, too gentle. I’d rarely even heard her raise her voice over the years, let alone come to blows with someone. Aunt Dallas, sure. Shaw was just like her mother, and I knew what kind of temper my godmother had. But I just couldn’t picture Mom in a fight.
I heard the guest bathroom door opening down the hall. “We’ll talk about this later,” I told them, not wanting to cause Remington more stress when he was already in pain. “But for now, could you please not fight with anyone else?”
“Like I said, it’s over and done with,” Mom assured me. “I don’t want to discuss it anymore. Your happiness is all I want to talk about.”
Remington came back into the living room, and I wondered if he’d had to take his pain medication. But he only gave me a quick kiss on the lips as he sat down beside me. “How about we give them their surprise now?” he suggested.
I bit my lip and nodded, giving in because I didn’t know if he would be able to make it through dinner without needing to go home.
It was then I realized maybe this was a big reason why he’d hired Jenner. In case we were ever out and he suddenly became incapacitated. Tears filled my eyes, but I closed them tight for a moment until the sting faded and then picked up the two gift bags. They were simple white bags
with purple tissue paper sticking out of the top. I handed the correct bag to each of them and then sat back down beside Remington.
Dad lifted his and shook it beside his ear. When nothing rattled, I grinned. “Open them at the same time,” I instructed.
Dad jerked the tissue paper out of his bag then reached in, pulling out the tiny black T-shirt. Mom did the same, pulling out the picture I’d found at a maternity shop Shaw had discovered online.
My dad frowned as he read what was printed on the shirt. “My grandpa rocks harder than yours!”
Beside him, Mom’s eyes were glued to the picture of a silhouette of a mother hugging her adult daughter with a yellow heart where the mother’s heart was and a tiny yellow dot on the daughter’s stomach. Under the image, it read, “You carried me in your heart even when my momma was in your tummy.”
Mom lifted her eyes and looked at Dad, who was looking back at her, their eyes sparkling with tears. “Shane,” she breathed. “She’s pregnant.”
“Yeah,” he choked out, and he glanced at me as tears filled his eyes. “Our little girl is having a baby.”
Mom suddenly screamed and jumped up. “You’re pregnant!” She grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet, and started dancing around with me, making Remington laugh. “I’m going to be a grandmother!”
All the bouncing around made me dizzy, and I clung to her as the room began to spin. “Oh no,” I whimpered and bent in half as lunch tried to make a comeback.
Suddenly, I was in Remington’s arms, and moments later, I was in the bathroom, leaning over the toilet. I heard Mom from the doorway, saying how sorry she was and how morning sickness had sucked so badly for her when she was pregnant with me.
Remington rubbed my back as I emptied my stomach, using his free hand to hold back my hair so I didn’t get anything in it.
“Who has morning sickness?” I heard Mason ask as he and Oscar joined Mom and Dad in the guest bathroom doorway. “Vi, you’re pregnant?” my brother yelled, and I groaned as I began to dry heave.
It was only my first taste of morning sickness, but I hoped it was the last.
