"Lighter. Terrified. Relieved." She leans against me. "Like I just made the smartest decision of my life but I'm still waiting for someone to tell me I'm wrong."
"You're not wrong. You're building something sustainable. That's smart, not weak."
"Tell that to my imposter syndrome."
"Your imposter syndrome is an idiot."
She laughs, then picks up her phone again. "One more call."
Ryan answers with his typical efficiency. "Emma. Everything okay?"
"I'm fine. Can you and Candace come over for breakfast tomorrow? Nine AM?"
"Breakfast?" Suspicion colors his tone. "What's going on?"
"Can't I invite my brother over for breakfast?"
"You've never invited me to breakfast in your life. You barely acknowledge my existence before noon."
"Fair point. But I'm asking now. Please?"
"Fine. But Emma?—"
"Nine AM. Don't be late." She hangs up and drops the phone like it burned her. "Okay. Everyone's coming tomorrow. We're telling them."
"You sure you're ready?"
"No. But I'm doing it anyway." She looks at me. "We're doing it anyway."
Her phone buzzes with an email notification. She glances at it and smiles. "Mr. Preston. 'Congratulations and welcome to the team. So happy you're joining us.' With three exclamation points. I think he's actually excited."
"You're an excellent attorney. He should be excited."
"I'm an excellent pregnant attorney who's about to work reasonable hours and have actual support staff. It's revolutionary."
"It's smart."
"Stop being so supportive. It's unnerving."
"Never."
We sit there for a while, Emma curled against me, processing everything that just happened. She made three major life decisions in approximately fifteen minutes. That's very Emma—once she commits, she commits completely.
"Miles?"
"Yeah?"
"What if they freak out tomorrow?"
"They probably will. Your brothers aren't exactly subtle."
"What if they're mad I didn't tell them sooner?"
"Then we deal with it. Together."
"What if?—"
I kiss her. Effectively shutting down the spiral before it starts.
