“What better way to find out than to live together?” Jonah asked. “I still say you cannot stay small because life might change. Life is supposed to be about…making more life. A husband, a family. That’s what you need.”
The two women stared at him.
“I know, I know.” He flicked a hand. “I sound all Dad-like.”
“Youhavebeen reading his Bible,” Meredith said softly.
“I have,” Jonah agreed, unashamed of the fact. “I actually read a little to Atlas and, no surprise, it put him right to sleep.” They laughed but his face grew serious. “I like what it has to say about families, love, marriage, and generations. I don’t like being a single father, but that was the hand I was dealt. I do like being a father, and I think that’s…” He breathed out. “I’m not saying you’re not whole without a man, Lacey. I’m saying Roman’s a great guy and having a solid relationship and a family life is not a bad thing.”
“Roman’s great,” Meredith agreed. “But he’s still a guy and you can’t put all your eggs in the basket of hope, only for it to be…stomped on so hard all the eggs are…” She swallowed, unable to finish. “Sorry.”
“Hey.” Lacey reached across the table and put a hand on Meredith’s. “Don’t apologize. I should be sorry for making you two address difficult issues just because I have a personal problem.”
They took a breather, all of them sipping, tasting, and regrouping.
Meredith broke first. “I’m not saying love doesn’t matter. Obviously, it does. I just think you’re young, Lacey, and Tessa has guided you toward something you’re very good at.
You’re not just answering phones in your father’s office anymore. You’re managing clients. Planning events. You’ve become indispensable.”
“That’s exactly the word Tessa used,” she replied.
“It’s a good word,” Meredith said. “I strive for it.”
Jonah’s eyes flashed with disagreement. “So she should stay because she’s good at something? That’s the reason? She could manage clients and plan events in Jacksonville while she’s growing a solid relationship into something that could last forever.”
Lacey sipped her cocktail slowly, looking from one to the other like she was witnessing two weather systems collide.
Meredith exhaled. “You’re romanticizing uncertainty.”
Jonah smiled faintly. “You’re overvaluing control.”
And Lacey laughed under her breath. “It’s the club all over again,” she joked. “You two taking opposite sides on a theoretical problem. Only the problem ismethis time.”
“Because we care, littlest member of the Cousin Club,” Meredith said sweetly.
Jonah gave a playful frown. “Only ’cause Dad said wehadto let you in.”
Lacey chuckled. “I’m glad you did,” she said. “And I feel your love. I really do.”
“You don’t have to decide your whole future, Lace,” Meredith reminded her. “Just the next few months.”
“And remember,” Jonah added. “Sometimes the bravest thing is choosing the thing that scares you.”
Meredith threw him a look. “Do youhaveto sound like a fortune cookie?”
Lacey laughed, suddenly hit with how much she loved these two…and also how much she wished Roman were here to enjoy them.
But then she thought about how fun it would be to have Tessa here, joking with them and being like the hilarious aunt-with-way-too-much-life.
The fact was, she loved RomanandTessa and she didn’t want to hurt either of them.
And she knew—deep down—that she would.
“The worst part,” she admitted quietly. “Someone I love is going to be disappointed in me. Maybe both of them.”
Meredith’s expression softened. “I know that’s hard for you, Lace.”
The server came to clear plates, breaking the intensity. The conversation drifted to lighter things—inside jokes from childhood summers, Meredith’s terrible middle-school bangs, Jonah’s first disastrous attempt at sourdough.
