Alie inhales sharply. “Oh my God.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“I know.”
She presses a hand to her chest. “Okay. Wow. That is … wow.”
I laugh weakly. “That’s about where I’m at with it too.”
She stares at me for another second.
“And,” she says slowly, “you’re acting weird because?”
I blink at her. “Because he asked me to marry him.”
“Yeah, but that’s not the only reason,” she says.
She’s not wrong.
“I mean, I’m a little shaken by it,” I admit. “He’s my best friend, Alie. I love him.”
Her expression softens. “I know you do.”
“And I want to help him,” I continue. “Because he can’t lose those kids.”
“I understand that.”
“He lost his sister. They just lost their parents. If the Harts get them, I think it would wreck him. Like a whole other loss, if that makes sense. This is all he has left of his family.”
“Okay, look. You can’t think like that,” she says quickly.
“Well, they could possibly get them,” I say.
“But I’m telling you, that’s not gonna happen.” Her jaw clenches. “We’ll fight.”
“We?” I ask.
She gives me a look. “Obviously.”
I love my little sister. She knows exactly what to say to me when I need her. I’m usually the blunt sister with all the answers, but this has me all over the place emotionally.
“I just don’t know what to do,” I shake my head.
Alie stares at me like her wheels are spinning. Then she gasps. “Oh my God, Pres!”
“What?”
“Your trust.”
I freeze. “What?”
“If you get married, you get access to your trust,” she says.
“I … yes.”
“And your foundation,” she presses. “The one you want to develop.”
