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“Stop. If you want emotions, talk to Nattie or Belles. If you want brutal honesty, I’m your girl.” She sits down at her sewing machine and props the phone up. “And in the vein of brutal honesty... are you seriously not going to talk to him before Murphy’s wedding?”
I lie back on my bed and hold the phone above my face. “Talk to who?”
“Don’t play dumb, Carys. I’m better at it than you. You still haven’t talked to Cooper, have you?” Chloe has already told me she doesn’t agree with my decisions. She understands them but thinks it’s the wrong move.
“Nope. They got home from their op last week. I haven’t seen him yet.” I don’t mention that he texted me, telling me he was home and safe. I didn’t answer, but I did add a little heart to his message. “I’m not ready, Chloe. If I talk to him now, I’ll give in. I know I will.”
“Maybe youshouldgive in.”
I groan. “I can’t.” There’s a knock on my door, then Em’s head pops in. “I gotta go, Chloe. I’ll see you in Hawaii in a week.”
“Yup. See you soon.” We end our Facetime, and I sit up as Emerson walks in. Her tiny baby bump is on display in her tight-black tank top and yoga pants, and her skin is glowing, actually glowing as the late day sun streams in through my windows.
“Jack’s ordering dinner. Are you in the mood for pizza?” She sits down next to me.
“I can always do pizza. Pineapple, please,” I lean my head on her shoulder and plead.
She scrunches her face up in disgust. “You’re gross.” She shoulders me away, then adds, “But of course, we’ll order your pizza.”
“Thank you.” I smile, knowing how much I’m going to miss her. “How did the apartment hunt go earlier? Did you and Linc find anything yet?”
“Ugh. He’s driving me crazy. They’re leaving in July for six months, so he wants me to stay here with Jack and Theo until they come home. He hates the idea of me being alone when the baby comes.” I wonder if she even realizes the way her hand possessively moves to her belly while she’s talking.
“He’s not wrong, Em. They could be helpful.” The look Emerson gives me leaves no doubt how stupid I sound. “Okay, so maybe not really helpful. But to at least have another set of hands. I mean, it couldn’t hurt.”
“I want my own place, CC. I don’t want to bring a new baby home from the hospital to a house I share with my brother’s band.”
“Has Lucas agreed to take my room?” She nods. “Well, that didn’t take long.” I only told them a few days ago I wasn’t coming back for the fall.
She stands and offers me her hands, then tugs me up. “I’m going to miss you, CC.”
I hug her tightly. “You could always come stay in Kroydon Hills. At least until Linc comes home.”
“Or you could just not leave.”
We’ve been over this already, and all it does is make us both sad.
“Come on. Let’s go make Jack order your gross pizza. I think I want a greasy sandwich. Like a cheesesteak.” She rubs her belly again. “What do you think, my little bean? Does that sound good?”
I lay my hand over hers. “One day, beanie, you’re going to visit Auntie Carys in Philadelphia, and I’ll show you what a cheese steak really is.”
“I’m losing you to a sandwich.”
We walk through my door and stop at the top of the steps. “You’re not losing me, Em. But I need to do this.”
“I know. Just don’t forget about us.” She walks downstairs.
I whisper, “Never.”
When I metAiden Murphy my junior year of high school, I never would have guessed that he’d marry the president’s daughter. Sabrina’s dad was a senator back then, and Murphy ended up campaigning for him when it came time. So this isn’t a new thing, but it’s still hard to get my head around it. When I get to the resort on the island of Kauai, Secret Service agents stop and check me over to make sure I’m not a threat and am on the approved list.
They’ve rented out the entire resort for two weeks. Most of our friends and family have been here for a week already, but I wasn’t able to do that, even if I wished I could have flown out when Carys did. If only to have a few hours with her, stuck next to me on a plane where she couldn’t run for the first time in two months.
Once I’m checked out by security and checked in at the front desk, I walk around the quiet resort to find my room. The white-sand beach is dotted with individual huts looking out over the clear blue ocean. A few huts stand on stilts over the water, and a large boutique hotel sits behind it all, practically empty except for employees and security.
Chloe is the first person I see as I get closer to the huts. She’s closing the door to one of them with a black-and-white bag in her hands.
“Coop.” She jogs over to me and throws her arms around my neck. “Thank God, you made it. Murphy’s been stressing out. Seriously. He’s more of a bridezilla than Sabrina could ever be.”
