I didn’t respond.
He cackled. “I’m marrying my best friend, and my closest friends are here. I’m about to become a father. I couldn’t be happier. But what I don’t understand is why you think you deserve to suffer.”
Frowning, I shifted my weight. “I still don’t get it.”
“Charlotte. I’m not an idiot. I love you clowns so much, but I’m sick of seeing you two dance around the reality. If it’s me that’s holding you back, then I’ve been a shit friend. I never gave you any indication you weren’t good enough for Charlotte. You’re the best man I know. You work harder than anyone. You get knocked down and rise up stronger. You raised a baby, by yourself, and she is one of the best things in our life. That takes courage very few people have. You’re one of the youngest assistant coaches at the university level, and you’ve helped transform their program in just three years. Do I need to list more reasons why you’re incredible?”
I shook my head, overcome with emotion. I couldn’tspeak. My palms were sweating, and the urge to vomit hit me hard. This was the last thing I had expected.
“I respect you, admire you, and am proud to be your friend. Even if you and Charlotte don’t work it out, nothing will change. Sure, I might not invite you both over at the same time, but this is an intervention. Figure your shit out and fix my sister’s heart. I know you hurt her.”
“Simone showed up,” I blurted out. “She might want to be a mom again, and I panicked. I pushed Charlotte away out of fear. I made decisions for her, that she would be better off without me and my baggage.”
“Simone? Dude. Why the hell did you not tell me?”
“Your wedding. We didn’t… Char and I… we were together since the resort. Officially. She didn’t want to tell you until after the wedding. She was adamant about not stealing an ounce of your or Penny’s thunder.” I swallowed. “Please don’t be mad at her. She did what she thought was best. Be pissed at me.”
“Did she know about Simone?”
“Yes.”
“She never told me.”
“Because she was trying to protect me.” I pinched my nose. “I love her, Christian. I do. I want her to be my wife. I want her to be Gwen’s stepmom, and I want more kids with her, if she wants them. I’m just not sure I’m who she needs.”
“All my sister needs is someone who accepts her for her. Someone who brings her joy and makes her laugh, and you’re annoyingly funny with her. She wants support and someone she can depend on. She needs someone to build her up. Mostof all, she wants to be loved.” Christian’s eyes sparkled. “You do that for her now. She’s a lifer though. Loyal as hell. She’s a Calhoun.”
“I wasn’t there when she didn’t get the job,” I said softly. “Her worst moment, and I couldn’t make it. That’s not forgivable.”
“Says who? Your daughter’s mother shows up after three years, potentially threatening the safety of your family? Yeah. That’s understandable. Sure, you could’ve communicated better, but learn from this. Trust her to love you back. That’s your issue. You’re too afraid to let her return your feelings.” He clapped my shoulder again, smiling. “Here comes the threatening part.”
“Okay.” I gulped, exhaling long and slow. “I knew this was coming.”
“Dude.” He laughed. “I meant… you have until the photos tomorrow to figure this out. I don’t want my forever pictures of my wedding to be ruined because my sister is sad. Fix it. You have a day.”
He winked before strutting off. Penny stared at us and tilted her head, the two of them communicating without words. They were in on this. The thought almost made me smile.
I ran a hand over my face, analyzing his words. Christian gave me his blessing and then some. He wasn’t holding us back. It was me. I stared at Charlotte, my heart swelling with how much I loved her. She had her arm around Gwen, the two of them coloring on a paper napkin. My baby girlrested her head on Charlotte and looked up with a huge grin.
Charlotte hugged her, and when she glanced up, her gaze found mine. It was like a lightning bolt ricocheting through my body. One side of her mouth quirked up in a shy smile, and her blush traveled down her neck.
I made her blush.
I smiled back, feeling lighter than I had in a good while. We’d be okay. I’d work hard for it, that was for damn sure. Like I told my guys all the time, you put in the work if you want something bad enough.
I was done using my own insecurities as excuses. I was going to fight. For her, for us, for Gwen.
I knew just what to do.
“Good evening, everyone,” I said into the microphone. Christian and Penny had requested speeches from Charlotte and me tonight instead of at the wedding. It was untraditional and on brand for them, but I was glad because this was my chance. About thirty people stared back at me in various forms of smiles.
But I focused on one face in particular. My woman.
“Love has a way of bringing out the best in us, some ways more conventional than others. For Penny and Christian, it’s a new level of holiday cheer that borders on unhinged.” The crowd chuckled like I meant them to.
“While we’re all dressed in green and red and we have Santa here, we can agree that the future Mr. and Mrs.Calhoun are extra. And it’s my favorite part about them. They match each other’s extra. Christian is competitive and rowdy, while Penny will stop at nothing to win and is resourceful. He might have a louder voice, but she’d find a megaphone. Christian loves hard and aggressively, words of affirmation are his love language. He makes me a better man to talk about my feelings. Penny’s love language is acts of service. She would do anything for anyone at any time. She taught me how to put others first, that giving yourself to someone else means trusting them and opening yourself up. For you to be a part of this couple’s lives is a blessing.” My eyes prickled, and I stared right at Charlotte.
“When I think about love, and family, and marriage, I think of supporting each other through hard times. I think about laughing at mundane things. I once watched these two laugh so hard they cried over an inside joke that made no sense. I think about the time Penny got a flat tire in a rainstorm, and Christian left a baseball game to help her. I think about the time Christian needed surgery, and Penny never missed an appointment. She also made him a bracelet to hold on to because she knew how much surgery freaked him out.”
