Noa and I just raised a brow.
Brody and Lauren were best friends and spent almost all their free time together. Anyone could see that there was more than friendship going on between the two of them, but forsome reason,theycouldn’t see it. Or if they could, they were steadfastly ignoring their connection.
“Okay, wait.” I pulled Lauren’s attention back to the topic at hand. “What do you mean, you’re not going to worry about it? I thought you were on a mission to find a partner. Isn’t that what all this dating has been about?”
Lauren was a beautiful, successful woman who owned and operated the local health store in the plaza. About six months ago, she declared that she was ready to meet someone and settle down. She’d really thrown herself into dating, and as her friends, we’d been nothing but supportive.
Even when some of her matches weren’t even remotely good enough for her.
“I’m over it.” Lauren waved her hand. “I’m not getting any younger,” she continued. “I can’t afford to waste time anymore. Not if I want kids.”
“Kids?” I thought Kat was going to choke at the sharp pivot the conversation had taken. “So, you’re just going to have kids?”
It was my turn to choke when Lauren nodded and said simply, “Yup. Why not? I can get a donor and do it on my own. I don’t need a man to have a family.”
Noa, Kat, and I all exchanged glances. None of us had seen this coming from Lauren, but then again, it probably wasn’t all that surprising. After all, Lauren was a strong, independent woman. But still…
“Wow,” was all I could manage. “That’s…well, that’s unexpected, Lauren.”
She laughed. “I know. I’m still getting used to the idea myself, but honestly, I just thought…choosing to have children with someone is the biggest decision you will ever make. Bigger even than getting married. Because even if your marriage doesn’t work out, you will still have kids with that person, right?”
We all nodded.
“So, if you don’t choose right, you’re stuck with him forever. And not only that, the pressure to choose a man good enough to be the father of your children is intense. I mean, I’m sure all of you can imagine your guys as amazing fathers, right?” She looked at Kat and smiled. “I mean, Andyisan amazing father. And you probably knew that long before you got pregnant.”
Kat didn’t hesitate. “I always knew Andy would be an amazing father. I had no hesitations, even though our little one wasn’t planned.”
Noa nodded, a small smile creeping up over her face. “I know Asher can come off as all business first,” she said. “But the softer side of him with his nieces and nephews is incredible. I can’t wait until he’s a father himself. He’ll be amazing.”
All three of my friends turned to look at me, waiting for my answer.
“We’re not in a hurry to have kids.” It was a partial truth. “Trevor thinks it’s important to have a solid financial base before we bring children into the world. We decided to focus on our careers first, and when we have some savings put aside, we can?—”
“There’s never enough money to have kids,” Kat interrupted with a laugh. “But seriously, if you wait for the perfect time…”
“There’ll never be a perfect time,” Noa finished for her.
“I get that.” I nodded. “But right now, the focus is very much on this development and the investment we’ve both made. I’m sure once that gets off the ground, we’ll be able to think a little bit more about the future.”
My friends exchanged a glance I pretended not to see, and I turned my attention back to my reflection in the mirror.
The longer I looked, the harder it got to recognize myself at all.
Chapter Three
Preston
The community hall was packed when I finally slipped through the doors.
Half the town must have come out to the town meeting. I had no idea what I’d expected, but it wasn’t so many people.
I scanned the crowd and found Ethan and Grayson halfway toward the front on the right with a few empty chairs next to them. I muttered greetings and apologies to people as I squeezed past them to get through to my brothers.
“I thought I told you to be here at six thirty,” Ethan said the moment he saw me.
“Hello to you, too, brother.” I picked up the paper agenda that had been placed on an empty seat and sank into it. “I didn’t see the point in coming so early but…”
“Now you get it?” Grayson chuckled. “These meetings are pretty popular. If you want to get a seat, you need to come early.”
