“Yeah.”
She looked so relieved that it broke my heart a little. “Lu is really upset. She wants to go back to Wisconsin and play with him again.”
“I know, baby.”
“So do I,” she said sadly. “We liked it there and we left so fast.”
There wasn’t really an appropriate response to that. We’d left that fast because I’d had an emotional collapse and fled the state, and I knew they didn’t understand. God,Ididn’t even really understand.
Jennifer fiddled with her stuffed animal for a moment before looking up at me again. “Are you and Zach going to be the prince and princess again, or does the story still not have a happy ending like before?”
I looked down at her small, hopeful face and felt my heart splinter because I honestly didn’t know. There was a chance that I might’ve wrecked our relationship forever, but even if I hadn’t,Zach could realize he deserved someone less damaged and less afraid. Anything could happen.
Eventually, I pulled Jennifer against me, kissed the top of her head, and decided to just be honest. “I don’t know, my love. I really don’t, but no matter what happens, you, me, and Lu? We’re going to be okay. I promise.”
CHAPTER 39
ZACH
Dinner at Jesse and Jacqueline’s house just outside the city limits was still weird for me. They’d been married for a few months now, but as I sat at their dining table and listened to them argue like an old married couple, it really sank in for me that this wasitfor them.
They were deliriously happy, even while arguing about whether Hubert, their dog, was emotionally manipulative or simplymisunderstood. It was crazy, but even Jesse, who’d been the loosest of cannons once upon a time, had left behind his crazy parties and jet-setting lifestyle in favor of settling down with the woman he loved.
Jacque had knocked him straight off his feet the very first moment he’d seen her. He’d been like a dog with a bone—or a limp, apparently.
“He fake limps whenyou’reholding the food,” Jacqueline said, clearly exasperated. “It’s because you’re spoiling him so much.”
“That’s not manipulation,” Jesse argued. “It’s a survival instinct.”
“The vet said there was nothing wrong with him.”
“The vet is a judgmental asshole who’s never suffered the kind of trauma Hubert did. I thought you loved Hubie. I stole him back from the other side of the world for you. Why are you fighting me on this?”
“I’m not,” she argued. “All I’m saying is that you need to learn how to set boundaries with him.”
I snorted into my drink. “That seems to be a problem with the men in our family, setting boundaries with things that are smaller and cuter than us.”
Jesse’s phone started ringing on the table and he glanced at it. “It’s Alex. I should probably take it. Stand up for us, Zach. Tell my gorgeous wife, who I adore more than anything in the world, that Westwood men can’t be blamed for our predisposition to be overly caring.” He swiped his thumb across the screen and picked up the call. “What’s up, Alex? You should know that you’re interrupting a very important argument.”
Jacque rolled her eyes and turned to me. “You shouldn’t side with him. He’s turning the poor, perfect dog into a spoiled brat.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the expression taking shape on Jesse’s face as he listened to whatever Alex was saying stopped me dead in my tracks. Jacque must’ve noticed it too. Her brow furrowed right along with his, her spine straightening as she sat up a little more.
“Are you sure?” Jesse asked. “Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah, no, Zach is here. I’ll let him know.”
My stomach tightened, but then he laughed, relief evidently slamming into place and relaxing his entire being. “Oh, thank God. Okay. That’s awesome, man. How is she?”
Jacqueline’s eyes widened. “Did Charlotte have the baby?”
Jesse’s gaze flicked to hers and he nodded, grinning like a loon as he listened to Alex. “Another boy? That’s not really much of a surprise, is it?”
Although relief and joy were fighting for dominance deep within my own soul, I still groaned and shook my head. “The Westwood Y chromosome is becoming a real public menace.”
“So far, Charlotte and Emma are carrying the entire female bloodline on their backs,” Jesse said to us and to Alex. “I feel sorry for Emma. If no reinforcements are born soon, she’s going to have a hell of a time, keeping all the boy cousins in line.”
“She’s a tiny queen,” Jacque said solemnly. “She’ll be fine. She’ll rule over them with an iron fist. I’m willing to bet on it.”
I smiled as Jesse started relaying updates from Alex, but I also felt a fresh pang of regret over my situation with Adeline.How is she so worried about boys when that’s all we’ve got? Why does she even think it’d matter to me? To Louis, fine, it mattered, but this is me.
