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Trembling from head to toe, she shook her head.
“Thank God. I don’t love you, either. I do—” he dropped a kiss to her forehead “—love you, but not like a wife.”
She looked as shell-shocked as he felt. “Oh, Garret. How did we let this happen? How did we let it come this far?”
“I guess at the time, no one else made us stop to take notice. Now they have.”
She smoothed a trembling hand over her hair. “We’ve been together so long. Like everyone else, I thought we were it. I couldn’t stand to hurt you, and Daddy never let up about us getting married. I didn’t want to ruin things at the hospital or your relationship with him after all this time. It sounds so fatalistic now, but—”
He hugged her close. “I know. Joss, I was going to do the same thing.”
Her arms surrounded him, held tight. “What are we going to do? What happens next?”
“I’ll go along with whatever you tell people. Whatever you want to tell Harry.”
She exhaled roughly. “Daddy is going to be furious with us both. Oh, this is a nightmare. And right before theopening.Oh, no.”
Garret moved back far enough to lift her chin with his hand. “Blame me. Tell him I’m a jerk who strung you along, tell him anything you want. Just know Darcy and I haven’t slept together. This isn’t about her. It’s about us not living the lives we want.”
Her lashes fell over her eyes. “I kissed someone else. Once.”
He grinned, knowing without a doubt who that person was and unable to believe the mess they’d both have been in if he’d done as ordered and proposed. He bussed the top of her head and squeezed her tight once more. “You’re the best, Joss, but I have to go. I have to get Gram and go to the hospital. Darcy can’t have the baby alone.”
“No. No, of course not.”
Garret released her, then hesitated. “I don’t know if Darcy will forgive me for making such a mess of things, but this is a lesson for both of us, you know. Maybe you could make this the night you stand up to your father and go after Toby.”
Her eyes widened, her mouth parting in a sharp gasp. “You knew?”
He shook his head. “A good guess, now confirmed.”
“I’m sorry, Garret. We both felt horrible that it happened. We didn’t want to hurt you.”
He accepted that with a nod. “Don’t hurt each other trying to figure things out. And don’t wait like we did, Joss. Three years is way too long to keep your true feelings to yourself. If you care for him, tell him.”
Amazingly, Joss smiled. “Maybe. We’ll see. Go to Darcy and tell her…tell her good luck. Give her my best. Maybe we could be friends later. When the weirdness goes away.”
Garret grinned, winked at her, then raced for the door. “Gram!”
DARCY COULDN’T BELIEVE her eyes when Rosetta and Marilyn Tulane entered her delivery room. Hot on their heels was a nurse.
“Ladies, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to wait in the waiting room.”
Rosetta zeroed in on Darcy’s bed and headed toward her without pause, leaving Marilyn to speak with the nurse. She took Darcy’s hand and bent over the rail, giving her a motherly kiss and a glare. “Don’t you ever think a party is more important than you.”
“I didn’t want to ruin your fun,” she whispered, touched by the woman’s words.
“Well, now the party is over and we’re here.”
She glanced at Garret’s mother. “Um…”
Marilyn Tulane smiled at her. “Do you mind? Between Rosetta and me, we’ve both been through this many times. We’d like to help you if we can.”
But Garret’smother?
“Darcy, what do you say?” one of the nurses asked. “Do they stay or go?”
Marilyn came to join Rosetta by the bed. Her expression softened when she got a good look at Darcy’s tear-streaked face. “Or would you like someone else? Garret wants to come in—”
