“And you’re happy now?”
I scoff. “Happy? I found my fucking reason to live.”
“What if we land this interview with Engineering Digest? They like to do personal pieces—dive into the lives of the greatest minds in design and engineering.”
“Why don’t you jump to what you’re really worried about?”
Nathan raises an eyebrow.
“You don’t give a fuck about those pricks. We turn business away all the time.”
His jaw sets. He rolls his neck to each side, then slowly shakes his head. “Natalie will hate us. She used to get pissed when her friends tried to get my attention. Zoe was one of the few who didn’t.”
I let his comment sink in, curious if he has more to say. The hum of the refrigerator is the only sound.
“Are you willing to sacrifice what we have with Zoe to make Natalie happy?” I’ll have to give him credit for being selfless of epic proportions if he is.
His lips are pursed, his nostrils flare, and he slowly nods. “I love Zoe. I love everything about our girl. Every time I think of my future, she’s in it. Hell, if Natalie wasn’t in the picture, I’d marry Zoe.”
Relief sweeps through me that we’re on the same page. I try calling Zoe again, and it goes straight to voicemail.
Nathan confesses, “I’m sorry. I’ve been a chicken shit. I hoped I got her pregnant so she couldn’t back out.”
“I’d say it’s a shit move but I hoped the same. And she didn’t ask us to wear condoms, so I figure we might have all been hoping fate would take its course.”
“Want to call our sister?”
“Let’s leave that up to Zoe.”
“Then we better go find her.”
We get in the car and Jayce is rushing to our house. I roll my window down. “Now’s not a good time.”
He holds out a phone. “I found this. She must have set it down on my deck. I’m guessing you haven’t been able to reach her.”
Taking the phone from him, I’m ecstatic to have a piece of her in my possession, but at the same time, I worry that if she got into trouble, she couldn’t reach us. Urgency flashes through me.
“Thanks, we’re on our way to find her. And it’s possible a marriage proposal will be on the table.”
Jayce laughs. “Umm… She was pretty freaked out. Why don’t you find out what’s bothering her first.”
I point at him. “You’re a fucking genius. Thanks, man.”
“Good luck.”
“Let’s not mention the marriage thing to anyone else until we’ve told her.” Nathan offers the voice of reason.
“Got it. I’ll rein it in.”
Nathan rubs his temples while I drive. The winding road that will take us over the mountain and into town gives us time to plan.
He says, “She doesn’t really talk about friends, and other than the grocery store, has only mentioned going to the bar.”
I slam the heel of my hand on the steering wheel. “That’s why she’s pissed.
“Why?”
“We didn’t let her do anything.”