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“But you’ll get a whole bunch of opinions and then you’ll be confident that what you land on is the right mix. What if you and I like the bakery options, but the restaurants would have been even better? You’re going to try them all before you decide, right?”
I shook my head as my stomach sank. “No?”
“Is that a statement or a question?”
I glared at her. “Statement. I already chose Season’s Bounty for the food. I didn’t try anything else. I liked what she presented and went with it. Maybe there’s something better out there, sure, but where does it end? There’s always the possibility of something out there being better, but at some point, you have to choose.”
Megan’s eyebrows lifted. “So you think the two of us, who like a lot of the same things, are going to be able to make a decision that’ll appeal to everyone at the gala?”
“I think we’ll be able to make a decision that everyone at the gala will agree was reasonable.” It was a bit of a hedge, but how unlikely was it that we were going to be able to come up with something to appeal to everyone? I didn’t think we’d get there even if we visited every restaurant in the area with a group of fifty. “People have different tastes. Different dietary needs. At some point, we have to decide the majority will be happy and run with it.”
After a moment, Megan gave a slow nod. “All right. That’s reasonable. I still think inviting everyone along would be fun.”
I wanted to sigh. At the same time, I couldn’t explain why I wanted to spend time alone with her. For all that I didn’t believe the cat would stay in the bag forever with two couples in the know about my feelings, I didn’t need to be the one spilling the beans. With any luck, when someone did tell her? Megan would laugh it off as ridiculous.
“I guess if they don’t have plans, they’re welcome to come.”
Megan brightened and clapped her hands. “Yay! This is going to be great.”
“Yeah.” I hoped my smile was brighter than it felt. It wasn’t going to be great. It was already an epic fail, as far as I was concerned.
8
MEGAN
Iwas puttering through the bookshelves, dusting and straightening the books, when the bell over the door jingled. I looked over and grinned when I saw Whitney. “Hey, you. What brings you out on a Monday afternoon?”
“I needed out of the house.” Whitney made her way over to where I was working and leaned against a shelf. “Beckett had a rough morning. He’s down for his nap now and Scott basically kicked me out.”
I frowned. “That seems extreme. Maybe you need a nap, too?”
Whitney shook her head. “No. The fresh air was better. And the walk.”
I watched as Whitney’s eyes filled and reached for her hand. “What’s going on?”
“I miscarried again this morning.”
“Oh, Whitney.” I pulled her into a hug and squeezed. I couldn’t imagine what that would be like, but I knew it wasn’t happy. “You hadn’t said anything.”
“No. We were going to wait until twelve weeks. I was seven.” Whitney swallowed and looked away. “I went to the doctor on Friday to get checked. She warned me that my HCG numbers weren’t what she’d prefer. But I really thought this time…”
I waited to see if she’d say more. She didn’t. What was I supposed to say? What could I say? I didn’t know how any of this felt. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks.” She gave me a tight smile that belied her shiny eyes.
“What if you held down the fort and I ran down to get us ice cream? Or coffee. I can go either way.” I’d had half of my peanut butter and jelly around lunchtime. I still wasn’t super hungry, but food was always comforting, wasn’t it?
“Maybe an iced coffee? It’s warming back up out there. Scott thinks our slightly cooler temperatures were a fluke and we’re heading back to summer temps for a bit.”
“We probably are. Seems like we do this every year. Early September brings a little relief and then,wham!We’re back to the swelter until mid-October.” I studied Whitney. She was pale and drawn. Somehow, she seemed fragile, which was definitely not a word I tended to think of when it came to my friend.
“What if you, Scott, and Beckett went home for a bit?”
She glanced at me, puzzled. “We are home.”
I shook my head. “To your parents. Or to his. Or hey, why not spend a week or two with both? Get away and regroup with people who love you?”
Whitney blinked rapidly, clearly battling tears.
