Damn Wright (The Wrights 2)

Maizey drew back and tilted her head. “It doesn’t sound like you think it’s amazing.”

“Of course, I do. I just…”

“Wanted to stay close to home.”

“If I can’t be overseas, I’d rather be with my family.” Emma shrugged. “But it’ll be okay. It’s a quick flight.”

“So, he’s taking it, then?”

Emma thought of their trip to Baltimore for Liam’s interview. She didn’t like the city. It was run-down and dirty, with the second-highest murder rate in America. But she’d kept her opinion to herself because she hadn’t wanted to ruin Liam’s thrill of being asked to join the best medical center in the US.

“Probably.”

Maizey’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?”

Emma crossed her arms. “Nothing. Nothing, it’s just an adjustment. You know I’m a country girl at heart.”

Maizey looked like she wanted to dig, but dropped it for another subject. “Has he gotten on board with our trip to Honduras? I can’t believe it’s only six months away. Vanderbilt was fine giving me the time off. They’re always supportive of humanitarian efforts.”

“That’s great.”

“So? Is Liam on board?”

“I’m working on him.”

Maizey’s gaze darted to Emma’s hand and turned suspicious. “Where’s your ring?”

“Oh, in my purse.” Emma extended her fingers, then curled them into a fist. “I don’t like to wear it at work.”

Liam had given Emma a two-karat princess-cut solitaire, flanked by two half-karat trillion-cut diamonds, all set in a platinum band. She would never tell another soul, but she was secretly embarrassed to wear it. The ostentatiousness of the ring screamed wealth and privilege.

“Why do you even try that bullshit with me?” Maizey asked. “I see you outside work enough to know you don’t wear it unless you’re with Liam. And while we’re on the subject, why haven’t you set a date for the wedding? And why isn’t he on board with our trip?”

“There’s plenty of time to set a date when all the craziness of residency is over. As for Honduras, he’s not thrilled with the idea. He thinks there’s too much civil unrest there right now.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Maizey waved one hand. “He thinks Honduras is too dangerous but is all for moving you to Baltimore? The single city of Baltimore has a higher murder rate per capita than the country of Honduras. Or Guatemala. Or El Salvador.”

Emma laughed. “That’s not true.”

“Do the research. It’s very true.”

She sobered and nodded. “Okay, I’ll get the data together and talk to him about it.”

“Emma, does he understand what you want to do? That this may be your first trip overseas on a medical team, but that you have no intention of it being your last?”

Emma took a deep breath and looked at the floor as she let it out.

“If he doesn’t support you in making this part of your life,” Maizey said, “a real part of your life, then what are you doing? Why are you marrying him?”

Her protective streak flared—though for herself or Liam, she wasn’t sure. “Liam is a great man. A really good man who loves me. He may not be perfect, but no one is. And, like in any good marriage”—unlike her last marriage—“we’ll have to make concessions and sacrifices along the way.”

“What’s Liam sacrificing?” Maizey asked. “Because I see you sacrificing your family and your safety and your happiness by moving to Baltimore. And I see you sacrificing your dreams by appeasing Liam’s conservativism.”

Emma rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

“You’ve been my best friend my entire freaking life,” Maizey said. “It killed me to see what you went through over Dylan. I’m certainly not going to sit by and say nothing when I see troubled waters ahead with Liam. You’ve suffered enough. You deserve happiness. So, if you’re settling for Liam when you should be thriving in the prime of your life—”

“I’m not settling for anything.” Emma’s words came out a little too strong. She appreciated her friend’s well-meaning advocation for Emma’s happiness, but it all felt a little close to the bone tonight.