Page 37 of Amelia and Her Prince Charming
“How’s your arm—”
“Are you allowed to put—”
We both paused, and I motioned for Amelia to continue. From over Amelia’s shoulder, I saw Rosie watching us closely.
“How is your arm feeling?” Amelia asked.
I looked down at it as if I needed to confirm it was still there. “It’s okay. If I don’t move it too much. What about your foot?”
“Same,” she said. “I’m not supposed to put weight on it for a couple of weeks, so I’ll get to rock the crutches.”
Silence.
Rosie sighed in what may have been impatience, but she was smiling, so maybe I was misinterpreting it. “Tonight is our bachelor and bachelorette parties. You’re both still planning on coming, right?”
“I am,” I said, though partying sounded like the last thing I wanted to do. But my best friend only got married once, and I wanted to be there for him. We were having a low-key party with the hockey team—take-out hamburgers and video games back at Dylan’s apartment.
“Yes,” Amelia said, sounding quieter than usual. It was a good thing we had to jump right back into real life. Not that wedding festivities were real life, but they were something to get us out of bed and interacting with our friends and family.
Amelia exhaled like she carried a heavy weight on her shoulders.
I knew I shouldn’t. That it was a bad idea for so many reasons. But I reached out my pinkie and linked it with hers, needing to touch her, to try to comfort her in some small way. I held completely still when she didn’t move at all for a second and then curled her pinkie around mine too.
Thebachelorpartywasexactly the kind of understated fun I needed to get my mind off all the heavy things swirling through it. Dylan and I sat at the kitchen table where we could see into the living room.
“There is no better hamburger in the world,” Dylan declared as he finished his second burger.
“You’re going to be sick tomorrow,” I warned him.
“Nah.” He patted his flat stomach. “This thing is a rock.”
The hockey team and Rosie’s three older brothers were all playing a video game on the four televisions that had been set up around the room like a NASA space center. The leather couches and bean bag chairs were filling up every spare inch of space. I’d learned the hockey team was as competitive with video games as they were on the ice. It was tricky to play with my one arm in the sling, so I’d been watching most of the night.
“Want to get some fresh air?” Dylan asked. His apartment had a balcony outside the second story back door, and we stepped outside and shut the sliding glass door against the sound of the men cheering. The balcony faced the woods, which were shadowed by the setting sun.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married tomorrow,” I said to him.
“It’s wild,” he replied. “But I’m so ready. I can’t imagine my life without Rosie.”
I smiled softly and sat in one of the wooden chairs. Dylan sat in the other. I’d known Rosie for several years before Dylan met her, and they were so perfect for each other, it was hard for me to believe I’d never tried to set them up. Dylan refused to come home for a decade, so it would have been impossible to set them up—good thing fate had other ideas.
“I wish Shiloh was here,” Dylan said. “It doesn’t feel the same without him.”
“Me too.” I would give anything to have my brother back. But the thought also niggled the guilt in me. Here I was, pining after my brother’s wife. What kind of person did that make me?
Something in my face must have alerted Dylan to my thoughts, because he leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs as he looked at me carefully. “Why didn’t you tell Shiloh that you liked Amelia? Back when we were in college, and he first asked her out? He would have stepped back.”
I could deny that I’d had a crush on Amelia, but why? Dylan knew. Maybe everyone knew. “They both looked so happy.”
“Yes, but they’d just met. Amelia looked happy to see you, too, whenever we all hung out together.”
I shifted uncomfortably on the chair. This conversation was a long time coming, but I didn’t know if I could explain myself when I didn’t fully understand my own actions. “You know how Shiloh was: the best guy ever. He made her laugh the first time they met, and I realized that I’d never made her laugh like that. I know it sounds dumb. But you remember what it was like, Dyl. Everyone loved Shiloh, and I was always his shadow. Shiloh Blaire’s brother. Rarely just Hudson.”
“If given the choice, you figured she’d choose him,” Dylan said.
I nodded. “I don’t regret it. Look how happy they were. None of us knew how little time Shiloh would have, and I’m so glad he got to have it with Amelia.” I stared down at my hands, meaning every word. I loved Amelia with my entire soul. I loved my brother in a different way, but just as much. It had been clear to me early on that they were meant to be. “Plus, Quinn. I would make the same decision every day for the rest of my life if it meant Quinn.”
Dylan stared out at the tops of the trees. “But you don’t have to make the same decision for the rest of your life, Hudson.”
