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“No, not yet. I was hoping we could get the whole thing done without ever mentioning it. You know, as long as the custody was given to Mr. and Mrs. Josh Branson, it wouldn’t matter who the Mrs. was...”
“You didn’t think the ad litem would notice?” asked Anne.
“Well, Charlie and Olivia both have long, brown hair. I know Charlie’s is longer and a little curlier, but I thought maybe he’d question his memory a little.”
Steven voice was sarcastic. “I’m sure you won’t have any trouble explaining your relationship and upcoming marriage to the ad litem, just as you’ve explained it so satisfactorily to me.”
“Steven!” Anne scolded. “You gave your blessing already.”
“Only because Charlie was taking it the wrong way and getting her feelings hurt,” he argued. “I still firmly believe they’re rushing into marriage for the wrong reasons.”
“But we love each other,” Charlie declared. “Right, Josh?” Nothing she said ever seemed to satisfy Steven. He seemed to be embracing the role of protective father.
“Right.” He had less conviction in his voice.
“Actually, I don’t doubt that,” said Steven. “But marriage is a huge commitment. I really think you should stop and make this decision independent of the custody issues. Even though it means you might lose Chloe.”
“It’s not a might thing,” Charlie argued. “We’ll lose her for sure.”
“Are you admitting you wouldn’t be getting married in less than three weeks were it not for the fact you’d lose Chloe?”
“That’s not a fair question,” she complained.
“No, he’s right,” said Josh. “We’re getting married early because of Chloe. But both of us have the kind of personalities to follow through on commitments. So we have even more reason to make our marriage work than most other couples our age.”
“So your reasoning is your marriage has a better chance of surviving because you’re going to have kids depending on you. And I’m saying having children puts an extra strain on a marriage.” He turned to Anne and added, “Not Ellis and Micah, of course.”
“It’s a moot point,” Charlie told Steven. “We’re getting married, and we’re adopting Chloe and Jace. You already gave your blessing, and you can’t take it back. So we need to spend our energy figuring out how to handle this meeting.”
“Fine,” said Steven. “I may not agree with your decision, but as always, I’ll do anything I can to help you.”
“I’ve got an idea,” said Anne. “What if you just didn’t mention her name? You could play it by ear.”
“Would we introduce her as Olivia?” asked Josh.
“Could I just say my nickname is Charlie? That wouldn’t be a lie.”
“They might ask where you got the nickname from,” Anne said.
“I’ll just say I was a tomboy and wanted a boy’s name. That’s true, also.”
They waited for Steven’s input. “Nope. I won’t be a part of this deceit. If you want advice on how to tell him the truth, I’m your man.”
“Okay,” Anne said, “What would you recommend?”
“I would say, ‘Mr. Warner. There’s been a minor alteration in the plan since we last met. This is my current and final fiancée, Charlie Best.’”
A pregnant silence fell across the table. Charlie chewed her lip. Josh frowned. Her mom twisted her hair around her fingers.
Anne broke the ice. “Should we maybe practice calling you Olivia so you can get used to answering to it?”
“WHAT ARE YOU WORKING on?” Brad asked Grace, finding her busy with her laptop. “Facebook?”
“No, who has time for Facebook? I’m working on Phase Three of the Charlie/Josh plan.”
“Phase Three? I thought we were done. They’re engaged. They kissed. They fought. They made up.”
“Oh no—we’re a long way from finished. Emily got the truth out of Charlie. They still aren’t admitting they’re in love, at least not to each other.”
