Page 38 of For Your Consideration

I didn’t want to cry so it was time to move on. “And you, Emma? You don’t live here?”

“No, but I’ve had a shit few weeks and Quinn told me to call if I ever needed anything. She told me to get on a flight.” She seemed a little cold, her voice clipped.

Quinn looked over at Emma with sympathy on her face, even though Emma looked uncomfortable. “You know you can stay with us for as long as you need.”

We spent the next hour talking about anything that came to mind, with Emma mostly listening, not offering up much. I’d picked up Sophie when she’d gotten fussy and settled with my back against the wall. This was good for her, sleeping with noise. We’d spent a lot of time alone but once in a while I’d hold her with the TV on so she could learn to sleep anywhere.

And now, even with the talking and laughing, my sweet baby was fast asleep in my arms and I was happier than I had been in a while. I felt like I had friends again, which was something I hadn’t realized how badly I was missing. When you got used to being alone, it was easy to forget that it wasn’t easier.

We talked about our worst childhood haircuts, our worst dates, and the best clothing stores in the city. The conversation flowed easily, the time flying by.

“Why did you move from Vancouver to Calgary?” Quinn asked after a while. I tried to hide my cringe. “I don’t mean to pry—you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to. I’m just kind of a nosy person. I’d been wondering since you mentioned driving here alone with Sophie.”

I knew it would come back to me eventually and I did want to tell her. That’s what friends did, right?

“It’s a long, complicated story.” Sophie’s little breath warmed me as I looked at her eyelashes resting against her chubby cheeks.

“Can you give me the short version?” Quinn was watching me closely.

I bit my lip, giving myself a moment to decide how much I wanted to share. I didn’t talk about it, not really. I might have even blocked some of it out. I’d been running on stress and adrenaline during that period, on top of being postpartum. It was a terrible time.

“I’d found out I was pregnant and that pretty much ended my relationship even though we’d been together for four years. I got isolated and had never felt more alone but the doctors told me I couldn’t go anywhere because I was sick and it would put Sophie at risk. So the second I could, I left. I’d never been to Calgary but I liked the idea of a bigger city that still had open space.” I could feel both women watching me.

“My ex before Theo was kind of like that. Made me feel small, made me doubt myself.” Quinn shook her head. “It’s terrible.”

It was nice knowing she could relate. “It was. So why are you hiding out here?” I turned the conversation over to Quinn. “I know that you usually spend your Saturdays with the men. You’ve gotten out of talking about it long enough.”

Quinn sighed and rolled her eyes as I smiled and brushed a finger down Sophie’s sleeping face. I was happy she was letting me change the subject; she must have been able to tell I wasn’t going to give her anything else. Not today, anyway.

“My fiancé is being an idiot.”

I laughed. Emma glanced over at her, and Quinn shook her head.

“I’m serious.”

“What did he do?” I noticed Emma’s attention was locked on Quinn. My guess was she didn’t want to ask about her half-brother but maybe she was desperate for information. Quinn had once mentioned in passing they had a tense relationship, mostly because they didn’t know each other.

“The man is being unreasonable!” She threw her hands up in the air. “We got into a fight.”

“About…” I urged her to continue.

“A prenup,” she said as she pulled her hair into a bun on her head.

“You don’t want one?” Emma asked carefully. I was glad she did because I was a little out of my depth when it came to the kind of money the men of Knight Enterprises had.

“No! I’m the one that wants one, he’s the one who doesn’t. So, I’ve been badgering him about it, telling him to get one. He’s refused over and over again, saying that we don’t need to talk about it because we will always be together and there is nothing I can ever do to make him want to divorce me.”

“But you want to protect him?” Emma guessed.

“I want to protect both of us. And I don’t want people to assume I’m with him for the money. He’s worked so hard for everything he has. I don’t want to take that away from him if something happens.” She took a deep breath and sank back into the couch with a sigh.

“Do you really think you would do that?” I asked skeptically.

“No, of course not, but who knows how I would react to losing him. But then I went to talk to Will because, hey, he’s a lawyer and can convince Theo that it’s smart, but nooo. Theo already got to him and he said he wouldn’t help me.”

I could tell from the determination on her face that there was more. “So, what did you do?”

“So…I went and found another lawyer. She’s going to deliver the prenup on Tuesday morning at his office.”