Page 97 of Say it Ain’t So

Van let out a laugh that shook Joss right out of the fear she’d been feeling over Van’s response and pushed her right into confusion. He wiped a hand down his face, but it didn’t wipe away his smile. “Holy shit. You got me, man. I’m fucking speechless.”

“You’re not mad?” Her voice had a tremble that even our friend caught.

“Mad?” He reached for her arm, then seemed to think better of it, grabbing his glass of water instead. “No, Joss, I’m not mad. I mean, fuck. My mind is fucking blown. It’s just… Holy shit! I can’t believe⁠—”

Our waitress stopped by, interrupting his thoughts. He ordered a beer, and Joss and I ordered seconds. When she was gone, Van turned back to Joss.

“So, he’s the guy you met in Vegas?”

“You told him about that?” I asked before Joss rolled her eyes at me.

“Of course, I told him about that. That’s how we met. That’s where we got married.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Speaking of married.” Van didn’t stop himself this time—he grabbed Joss’s hand, holding it up so he could examine her ring. He put his hand up in front of his eyes. “Hold on. I can’t see, this thing just fucking blinded me.”

His laughter seemed to make Joss relax. A smile tipped the corners of her lips.

“It’s not that bad,” I told him, but he was already shaking his head.

“It’s not bad? Dude. Man. That thing is huge!”

“That’s what she said,” I muttered under my breath, causing Joss to groan and roll her eyes.

“Rylan!”

But Van and I were laughing too loud to notice. I was just happy Joss didn’t see the looks we were getting from the waitstaff behind her, or she likely would’ve shut us down.

Van had questions, of course, which we answered while we waited for our food. It was uncomfortable listening to Joss recount those early days, when the pain I felt had manifested in what she took as hatred. I never hated her—I told her as much—but knowing that now didn’t change how she felt back then. I didn’t want her to focus on the past. I wanted her to look at me and think of our love for each other and what our future would bring.

By the time we had our food, the subject had turned toward work and how news of our marriage would go over.

“The guys will be fine,” Van tried to assure Joss. “They love you, and they put up with Rylan.”

“Hey!”

Van grinned, then shoved a bite of steak into his mouth. “No, seriously. I mean, you’re an old married couple. They’re used to that. The only thing this really changes is” —he gestured to where our hands were clasped on the table— “the PDAs, which, while weird, isn’t unheard of. I mean, look at Jen and Vinny. They do the same damn shit.”

A flicker of something crossed Joss’s face, but it didn’t linger. “Speaking of Jen,” she said, pushing her food around her plate with her fork, “she didn’t come in today. I think she’s getting close.”

“Close to what?” Both Van and Joss rolled their eyes at me.

“Close to delivering her baby.” Joss’s tone made me feel dumb. “When I talked to her, she tried telling me everything was okay⁠—”

“When’d you talk to her?” Van asked before I could.

“This morning. Lee called me and told me about⁠—”

“Donnie Baker,” Van finished. “He called me, too. Told me to call Weston, Zane, and Cael.”

“I called Kolton and Warren. Then Jen, just in case she didn’t know.”

“Know what?” I asked, completely lost as the two volleyed back and forth.

Joss bit her lip and peeked at me out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t speak. It felt like neither of them were going to, until Van finally took pity and opened his damn mouth.

“Donnie was released on bond.”