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I finally did what I was told.

Wren opened her mouth and I had a feeling she was going to lecture me, but Piper held up a hand.

“Jade. Why don’t you tell us what’s happening?”

“We know what’s—” Wren started to hiss.

“We don’t know how she’s seeing it,” Piper reminded.

“She’s right,” Grace added. “Jade, tell us everything.”

“Oh, boy. Where do I even begin?”

“You’re stalling.” Wren said it with a flat voice.

“I am. Okay, from the top.” I took a deep breath and started from the beginning. I told them how angry I was, how I knew he was going to leave, and how his daughter came to my apartment.

They all listened intently.

Grace spoke first. “So, why were you defending him a minute ago?”

“What?” Mollie asked.

“She was defending him?” Wren asked.

Even Piper looked at me with wide eyes.

“Dammit, Grace,” I muttered.

“You were!” she said.

“I know, I know! I . . . shouldn’t want to talk to him at all.”

“But you do,” she urged.

“Yes! And I know it’s stupid.”

“From what we’ve heard about him, he’s an ass,” Wren said. “He left and didn’t look back.”

“He was also her friend since they were kids,” Grace added.

“It’s almost like he’s that now,” Mollie said. “When you were at my place, he was freaked out about his kid, but he talked to you so easily, even though he barely said hi to me.”

“He’s quiet.”

“Not with you, he’s not.”

I blushed. Even now, knowing how he was with me affected me.

“Do you know if he’s with the kids’ mom?” Piper asked.

And that brought me right out of it. “No idea. I kind of want to throw up when I think about it, though. Even if it’s not fair. I tried to move on. It’s fair that he did too.”

“But starting a family with someone . . . He was serious.”

I sighed. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“Jade.” Mollie spoke softly and grabbed my hand. “There’s a lot of history here, but we need to look at the facts.”