Page 105 of The Wedding Crush
My cheeks burn with humiliation.
“Last question…” Monica stands, her entire demeanor softening as she asks, “Does he know, or are you planning to keep the baby a secret from him, too?”
A collective, emotion-ridden gasp rumbles from my friends.
Chills spiral down my spine.
I blink back unshed tears as I chew the inside of my cheek.
“Wow…” Chiara blinks a good dozen times, and I assume she’s processing. But then she says, “That explains so much.”
The five of us snap to her.
“Wait, like what?” Seneca asks.
Chiara’s raises her eyebrows and shakes her head. “After dress shopping last month, I called him out for canceling on Avery…”
“He didn’t have plans?” Morgan asks.
My eyes connect with Chiara’s as she shakes her head.
“The man built—and immediately deleted—an online dating profile that night, apparently hoping to glean what insight about dating he hadn’t yet gained from the ridiculous self-help podcasts he’d been listening to.” She laughs, and it feels contagious.
Johnny Timmons’s scam of a podcast pops to the top of my mind, and I almost burst out laughing.
Based on sheer will, I manage to bite my tongue while she continues.
“My brother ended up watchingDoor-to-Door Dates, claiming he wasn’t ready to date, but that he wanted to be organized and prepared when the time came. Not long after that I run into him at the store humming that Jagged Edge song, ‘Let’s Get Married’ as he plucked a plush daisy pillow from a shelf.”
A giggle spills through my tears. “Oopsie Daisy.”
“Yeah, pretty sure we saw her on your couch last Turn-Up Tuesday.” Morgan’s lips twitch.
“The killer part is, the other day, we were all visiting Mom, and he was in the kitchen making coffee.” Seneca pauses. But then she squares her body to mine as she says, “He thought he was alone, but I distinctly heard him say, ‘I can’t wait for this wedding to be over.’ I just remember him being so adamant about Dante and Morgan prolonging their engagement. I guess we all know why the switch-up.”
At this point, it’s a feat to tamp down my emotions. I don’t bother holding back my crying.
No one acknowledges that time’s up.
They must know I need to get this out before I can’t.
“He doesn’t know yet.” I swallow to get the rest out. “I was going to tell him during our last ChatVideo before Morgan and Dante joined. When he didn’t even want to tell anyone we’re together…and after he said the thing about us being a rebound because his ex moved on, I couldn’t yet.”
“Aww, Avery.” Morgan climbs the pedestal to pull me into her arms.
“He tells me that he loves me all the time. I’m completely in love with him, too. It’s just…in that moment, though, it felt like he wasn’t sure about us,” I explain. “I don’t want the baby to be a factor when he decides.”
I’m almost squeezed death by five pairs of arms banded around me in a group hug.
Then, like they’ve conspired with Destiny’s Child, one by one, my Sister Circle ambles over to the karaoke machine, cues up a song, and collectively hovers over the mic.
As those first tinkling notes of “Girl” spring into the air, I’m ugly-crying.
Monica and Valerie fight it out to sing Beyoncé’s part, crooning about how we’ve come too far for me to feel alone.
Obviously, the song is about some idiotic man who dared cheat on Monica’s doppelganger, Kelly Rowland, but the friendship sentiment is strong.
By the time they get to the second chorus, telling me not to be ashamed of crying and needing someone to vent to, I’m singing, too.
