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“Mom, do you really think so? I mean, Charlie’s been holding him at arm’s length for two years.”
“Yes, but I think she might not have held him off if she hadn’t been living in Colorado. And you know how Charlie is. She has a soft spot for babies. And if you’re right and she still has a thing for Josh...”
“But if it had happened with Charlie, I don’t think Josh would only want to get married for a year. I think he’d want to get married forever.”
“You’re probably right.” A wistful look settled on Anne’s face.
“Mom, you’re not wishing it was Charlie in this predicament instead of Olivia?”
“No, I guess not. But you know I always look for romance whenever I can find it, and this situation isn’t very romantic.”
“You’ve got that right,” Emily agreed. “I really feel sorry for Olivia.”
“I’m with you. Olivia’s under a lot of pressure right now.”
“I’m so glad we talked about this.” She lowered her voice as someone joined them in the break room.
“Me, too.”
“OLIVIA?”
“Yes, Dr. Branson?” Olivia knew her annoyance was obvious. She’d done her best to avoid Josh during her shift in the emergency room.
She saw him wince at her formal address. “Come on, Olivia. There’s no one around us right now.”
“But we’re still at the hospital, and anyone could overhear us,” she said with pronounced irritation.
“I just wanted to check on you. You were great yesterday at the hearing.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes, but you showed up. That’s what I needed.”
Olivia refused to be buttered-up by his gratitude. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “So it’s all arranged? You’re getting the kids on Sunday?”
“Yes, and I won’t be at Sunday night dinner. I’ll make some excuse. But you don’t have to miss it.”
“But you’ll expect me to come over after work during the week, right?”
“Yes, you need to spend time with t
he kids.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Josh, you remember I haven’t agreed to the marriage, right?”
“Yes, but for now, you’re all I have.”
“Kids aren’t really my thing, you know.”
“I know. But you don’t have to take care of them. You just need to play with them a little bit. You could do that, couldn’t you?”
“Sure, Josh, but—”
“And you get to go on the ski trip. It’s all arranged with Steven. He knows the whole story.”
“But everyone else doesn’t know the story. When are you going to tell them?”
He blew out a heavy breath. “I’ll tell Grace and Brad on Wednesday, when they come back in town. But I was kind of hoping to wait on everyone else.”
