“Oh! With Justin.” My voice and my nod are a bit too enthusiastic. “Right. I thought you meant that I get your and Sam’s relationship. But no, I have my own crazy kind of love with Justin, so I understand what you’re going through.” I scratch my ear. “We’re crazy in love. Likecrazycrazy.”
“Wait.” Vivian sits up. “Why isn’t Justin going to your family turkey thing with you?”
My shoulders drop. “He’s working.”
“Noooo!” Vivian slides out of her chair and runs to me, leaning in for a hug. “I’m sorry, Summer.” She straightens, using the corner of my desk as her chair. “I know how hard things have been with his schedule.”
My gaze turns misty. “I’m just so tired of going solo and then having to defend his intentions to my family.” I press the heels of my palms into my eyes, staving off the tears. “It’s stupid. I’m whining about the dumbest thing. I mean, there are people with real problems.”
“It’s not stupid.” Vivian pulls my arms down so she can look me in the eyes. Her frown is the perfect amount of genuine best-friend sympathy. “It’s hard. You love him, and you want your family to love him. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Why is it so hard for me when everything between you and Sam is easy? If it’s meant to be, it should be easy, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
“I think I’m just forcing it too much because I want to get married so bad.” I flop over, resting my head on my desk. “Maybe my family is right. Maybe Justin doesn’t really love me.”
“Hey!” Vivian takes me by the shoulders, forcing me to sit up. “Justin is great. Remember when he brought you roses at work?” That was seven months ago, but still sweet. “And that night you locked your keys in your car at Walmart on your way to Denver, and he drove two hours round trip just to bring you your spare?” Again, that was more at the beginning of our relationship but still an amazing gesture. “He’s a good guy. I know it’s hard right now, but you’re doing the right thing by supporting him in his business. Relationships aren’t always about fun. Sometimes you have to work and put real-life stuff over the romance. And when you do that, your foundation will be so much stronger than everyone else’s.”
I look up with hope in my eyes. “You think?”
“I know.” She squeezes my shoulder. “So just ignore your family. Stay focused on what you have with Justin.”
“I’ll try. I’m just so scared that if it doesn’t work out with him, I’ll be alone the rest of my life.”
“You’re not going to be alone.” She rolls her eyes as if she’s sick of hearing that same sentiment from me.
I don’t want to be the annoying friend, so I change the subject. “I met his twin brother.”
“Oh, how did that go?”
“We kissed.”
Vivian practically falls off the desk in shock. “You kissed?”
“It was an accident. It was dark, and I thought I was surprising Justin in his kitchen with a kiss, but it was really his twin brother.”
“Do they look that much alike?”
“Yeah, they’re identical.” I don’t mention the ways Caleb has been blessed with a little extra oomph.
“Was it so awkward when you realized it wasn’t Justin?”
“I fell in the dishwasher because I was so shocked.”
Her hand goes to her heart. “I would’ve died of embarrassment.”
“It’s definitely not how I pictured meeting his brother for the first time.”
Vivian grimaces. “Was Justin mad?”
“He thought it was funny.”
“Well, that’s good.”
Is it?
I was annoyed at first. Me kissing another man, especially his brother, should have driven him into a fit of jealousy. But I guess I should look at it like Vivian and be happy that we all can move on from the disaster. No hard feelings.
