Page 37 of Vegas with my Brother’s Best Friends

Sarah drops down next to me, her smile radiant. “I’m so glad you’re here. And not just because you’re my maid of honor. Because there’s no other person I want with me on my wedding week more than you. Aside from Ryan, of course.”

I laugh. “Well, yeah. He kind of has to be here.”

Sarah loops her arm with mine. “I love both of you.”

I give her a warm look. “This is your happily ever after.”

They’re meant for each other. They had a spark the day that they met, and I can still see that spark to this day. It’s like they never left the honeymoon phase.

But they’ve also been through a lot.

Sarah’s dad passing away. Ryan losing his job and struggling to find a new one that paid the same amount or more. Their apartment getting flooded because of a neighbor’s mistake and losing nearly all their things.

But everything worked out in the end. It all brought them closer together.

“This is the man I want to be with for the rest of my life,” she says. “This is the man I want to raise a family with.”

Happiness flutters in my chest before getting stomped out by an overwhelming wave of sadness. When they decide to have a baby in the near future, they won’t be stressed because of secrets. Everything will work out exactly like planned.

While I’m over here struggling from the consequences of my own reckless actions.

The baby’s father is one of three men, and they’re all men who I shouldn’t have laid a finger on in the first place.

Ryan and Sarah will be celebrated for their pregnancy, and I’ll be looked down upon. Judged.

It makes my stomach twist with guilt, and I hate that I can’t be happy for Ryan and Sarah without feeling down about my own situation.

“That’s great,” I tell her, my voice coming out weak as I struggle not to get choked up.

“Of course, we’ll wait a little bit after the wedding and everything. There’s no need to rush,” Sarah says, smiling up at the ceiling. “Would you throw my baby shower? I know you’d do such an amazing job.”

I swallow hard, realizing that I won’t be able to ask her to do the same. It’ll be too awkward. Too complicated.

I’m all alone in this, and I have to bite my lip to keep myself from breaking down. I don’t cry for help. I answer other people’s cries for help.

This won’t be an exception.

I don’t care how terrified I am. This is my mess to clean up.

“Of course. I’d love to,” I say, plastering a smile onto my face as I turn my head toward her. “Everything is going to be amazing for you, Sarah.”

Awe pools in her eyes. “It will be for you too. I know things are weird because of Derek being here, but you guys had a pretty amicable breakup, right? Maybe you can be friends.”

Part of me wonders if I should’ve been upfront with Sarah and Ryan about how badly Derek hurt me, but that would be putting a rift in the friend group, and I don’t want to be responsible for that. I don’t want to be whispered about behind my back, and I don’t want Derek to spew lies just to make himself look better.

It’s easier to act like we didn’t work out, and he called it off gently.

“Yeah, maybe we can be.”

Never.

Chapter fourteen

Chapter 14: Marcus

I’m determined to make this week a good one.

There will be a beautiful wedding. An incredible resort. Plenty of things to do. Plenty of people to meet.