Page 46 of I Wish I Would've Warned You

We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.

I drape a towel over the rack and return to the room, setting my purse on the bed just as my mom rolls in my suitcase.

“Okay, here.” She hands me a black card with Aidan’s name on it. “He said you can use this for whatever you want while you’re here.”

“I think everything’s already covered,” I say, not reaching for it.

“You might need it in case of an emergency. Or if your fellow writers get too pretentious.” She places it gently on the desk. “I’ll be a nervous wreck while you’re awake this week, but?—”

“Does Aidan know the real you?” I interrupt.

She freezes. “What?”

“Your new fiancé,” I say. “Does he actually know who you are?”

“He wouldn’t have asked to marry me if he didn’t.”

“People rush into marriages all the time.” I shrug. “You’ve said that yourself.”

“Yeah, about reality TV show couples.” She laughs, too lightly. “Not us.”

I lift an eyebrow, not bothering to hide it.

“I’m telling you the truth, Emily,” she says. “I knew the moment he walked into that diner and smiled at me and said,‘Mind if I stay and help you clean up so I can talk to you?’—I just knew there was something there.”

“So, the answer is no.” I keep my voice calm, but firm. “He doesn’t know you. Not really.”

“What exactly are you getting at?”

“That you’ve been chasing an exit strategy for years. Always looking for someone to fix everything. And now it seems like you’ve found it in someone rich and convenient—not someone you love.”

“Watch it,” she hisses. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you this week, but I don’t like it. I love him. He loves me. End of discussion. And if I didn’t loveyouso much, I’d slap that last sentence right out of your mouth so hard you’d never question me again. Clear?”

“Clear.”

She pulls me into a hug anyway, arms wrapping tight.

“I know why you’re saying this,” she whispers.

“You do?”

She nods, letting go slowly. “You’re looking out for me, and I appreciate that. But your new stepbrother…” She shakes her head. “I don’t think we should count on him being at the wedding. He doesn’t approve.”

“Has he said why?”

“Aidan still can’t reach him,” she sighs. “But I’m sure he’ll come around. His dad is all he has—just like you’re all I have.”

I nod and give her one last hug.

“Thanks for saving up and working hard for me to come here,” I say. “This is the nicest and most selfless thing you’ve ever done for me, and I appreciate it.”

“I love you, Emily.”

“I love you, too.”

17A

EMILY

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