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“Wasn’t gonna,” I laugh. She’s been playing this constant game of trying to deny her pregnancy cravings, only to give in later then get mad at me for not stopping her.
“So, you apologized to Amelia yet?”
Trent looks at Brooklyn. “No, but I’m going to, in my own time.”
She sighs. “Please don’t wait till the wedding. We’re going to tell everyone about the baby, so I want it to be a very stress-free, happy occasion. No fights.”
“I know, I promise I won’t . . . unless she starts it first.”
“Trent!”
“I’m kidding.” He enunciates the words with his hands raised in surrender. “She just gets on my fuckin’ nerves.”
“Sounds like somebody has a crush,” I tease, and he makes a mocking face back at me.
“This isn’t high school, Tyler. Adults don’t have crushes. I genuinely can’t stand the woman, because even if she is right and she bought back her family’s name, she’s just so entitled and uppity.”
I look over at Brook, who’s smiling at me. “Yeah, definitely a crush.”
“You have no reason to be mad at her now, so you’re just making up stuff. It’s okay, though. I did the same thing with Brook.”
“Hey!”
“Why do you think I made fun of your little tourist getup that first day we met?”
She smiles. “Yeah, you were pretty obvious.”
“And you were pretty fucking hot.”
“Hey, Tyler, can I talk to you for a minute?”
I glance over at Brook, who grabs the basket of muffins. “I’ll take these inside so you two can talk.”
I wait until she’s indoors. “Don’t even start, Trent. I already know what you’re going to say.”
He looks a little surprised. His shoulders drop. “It was my fault, though, Tyler. We both know it, and pretending it wasn’t doesn’t fix anything. Just let me speak. ‘I’m sorry’ is all I want to say. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you and I’m sorry I put your life in danger.”
I fold my hands in my lap and think for a minute. “Trent, you remember when we were just boys and we’d play down by that pond behind our house? I remember Dad telling us to stay off the ice because it was too early in the season. We did; we knew the danger. But then Ritchie Millner showed up with Phil and Charlie and started taunting us. I remember how red your little face got when they started talking shit about our parents, and you flew across that pond faster than a fox with his tail on fire.”
I laugh, remembering the scene, and it makes Trent start laughing too.
“You fell through the ice that day and I had to run out there and save your ass. Nobody blamed you for that. Nobody blamed you after I also got soaked. You stood up for your family and it was justified. You were ready to put it all on the line to defend us. That’s who you are, Trent. You’re a protector. I don’t expect you to change now.”
“Thanks.” He gives me a single nod and comes to sit in the chair beside me.
“These are the moments that matter. These are the memories I want to share with my child someday, and I have that opportunity because of you. Now, will you shut up about it and be my best man?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Now, your first task as my best man is to come inside and be my human shield when I tell Brook I’m going back to work next week. I can’t stand to sit around another second, and she’s going to throw a fit.”
