“Well, just tell her no. Your mom needs to get her under control, Neil.” She sounded dismissive and mean, but she was already on edge. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
“Tell you what. You tell Nana Ruby no. You’ll get your chance tomorrow night. She’s coming early and has declared Thursday to be Family Fun Day.”
There was the sound of running water in the background, and she was almost certain she heard a woman’s voice. “Is someone with you?” Suspicion had crept into her voice, catching her by surprise. She was obviously deflecting her own guilt.
He paused. “It’s the television, Blair. One of those morning talk shows with women hosts. What are you accusing me of?” His voice was tight with anger.
“Nothing. Sorry.” She was really losing it. Neil had the libido of a sloth. He was the last person she’d suspect of cheating. It was one of his most appealing traits.
“Mom’s going to text you the address of the restaurant. She says to be there by six.”
She stifled a groan. The last thing she needed was a night of fun with his mother. “I’ll try my best.”
“There is no try. Only do.” His tone was stern, but she heard the hint of teasing.
Blair rolled her eyes, but she felt a stab of nostalgia. He’d been so horrified to learn she’d never seen Star Wars that he’d insisted on a six-movie marathon to make up for lost time. That was back at the beginning of their relationship, when they used to have fun. She couldn’t remember when that had changed. “Whatever, Yoda. See you later.”
As she hung up, she mulled over the fact that they hardly ever said I love you. Megan and her husband said it to each other often enough to make everyone sick . . . but still sort of happy for them. And then there was that other issue. She and Neil had sex once a week, which was more often than they professed their love. But it had been that way for a while, and she hadn’t had a problem with it yesterday morning. Why did it suddenly bother her today? That damn Garrett. He was ruining everything all over again.
Her chest felt tight, and she sucked in several deep breaths. Cold feet. That’s all this was. It was normal to feel nervous right before such a life-changing experience. She would have called Megan to talk about it, but the last thing she wanted to hear about right now was Megan’s super-happy, crazy-in-love domestic life. It would only make things worse.
Libby. Blair could call her other best friend, Libby.
She pressed the speed dial number and instantly had second thoughts. Megan, Libby, and Blair had been best friends since kindergarten. Even back in grade school Libby was notorious for sleeping late, so there was a chance she would wake her up, but her friend answered after the second ring.
“Hey, Blair!”
“Why do you sound so awake? And chipper?”
“I just dropped Noah off at Megan’s dad’s office . . . well I guess it’s his office now too.”
Blair blinked. “Why were you taking him to the office?”
“He and Josh are only in town from Seattle for a couple of meetings and the wedding, so they’re sharing a rental car to save expenses. Noah and I went out to breakfast this morning, so I dropped him off.”
Megan’s father’s engineering firm had recently merged with Josh and Noah’s firm in Seattle. Somewhere in the middle of Josh and Megan’s whirlwind courtship, Noah and Libby had become friends. Close friends from the sound of things, which wouldn’t have been so strange if Noah weren’t a serial womanizer and Libby didn’t hop from man to man. “Did you finally break up with Mitch?”
Libby was quiet for a moment, but she definitely sounded less happy when she asked, “Why would you think I broke up with Mitch?”
“Libs, you know this is like a record for you, right? How long have you been together? Six months?”
“I’m not getting any younger, Blair. I turn thirty in a few months.”
If it had been anyone else, Blair would have figured she was bemoaning her biological clock. But she knew her friend too well for that. “Libby, tell me you’re not talking about that damned wedding pact slash curse again.”
Libby let out a groan. “You think whatever you like, Blair Hansen, but there’s no denying that you’re turning thirty in a few months too, and you’re getting married in five days.”
Blair released a loud sigh. “Libby, please don’t tell me that you plan on marrying Mitch because of the pact. We made that pact when we were nine. Hell, you’re the only one who still takes it seriously. Megan and I forgot all about it. And I don’t want to hear another word about the nonsense that fortune teller told us twenty years ago. Yes, she was right about Megan, but any idiot can win the lottery once. Seriously, not another word.”
“And yet you will both be married by your birthdays.” She sounded shorter than usual.
“That’s purely coincidence, Libs.” She softened her tone. “Look, I love you, and I know a lot of the time we don’t see eye-to-eye, but I would really hate for you to get married for the wrong reason.”
“Because you’re getting married for the right reason.”
It wasn’t a question, nor was there any malice in her tone. So why did it hurt so much? Maybe because she had called to get reassurance from her friend and there was no way she’d confess her concerns now. “I don’t want to fight with you, Libby. Especially not this week. I need you.”