“It’s fine.” Emily takes some of the frosting on her cupcake with her finger. “I’m still on vacation anyway.”
She eats the frosting.
“Besides, you probably couldn’t afford me.”
I chuckle. “You know, I told Jenna the same thing when she asked me to be Shanna’s babysitter.”
Emily’s eyes grow wide. “She did?”
“Only jokingly.”
“Wow.”
She puts more of that frosting inside her mouth, which gives me an idea I save for later.
“She thinks you’re that good with Shanna, huh?”
I shrug. “I don’t even know why. I’ve never held a baby in my arms before. Half the time, I think I’m doing it wrong.”
“I know why,” Emily says. “Because she can tell you care about Shanna. And so can I. I mean, you wouldn’t throw this lavish party if you didn’t care.”
“You don’t think I just did it to impress Jenna, do you?”
Emily waves her hand. “Nah. She’s impressed enough.”
I glance at Jenna, who’s standing on the other side of the room in a blue dress, watching over Shanna. I grin.
“You think?”
Emily doesn’t answer as she takes a bite out of her cupcake.
I rub my nape. “You’re right. I do care about Shanna, which is weird because she’s not my daughter.”
Emily shakes her head. “I still don’t know how you got the idea that she was.”
I frown. “Well, you – ”
“Nope.” She raises her hand. “Not my fault. Anyway, I don’t think there’s anything weird about loving the people the person you love loves.” Her eyebrows furrow. “Wait. That sounded a little confusing.”
“I got it,” I tell her. “You’re saying I love Jenna, so it’s no wonder I love Shanna.”
“Yup. It’s only natural.” Again, she pauses with creased eyebrows. “Wait. You don’t love me, too, do you?”
“Not the way I love Jenna,” I answer, treading carefully.
She slaps my arm. “Silly. Of course not. That’s not what I meant. Just to be clear, even if you broke up with Jenna, I would never date you, even though you’re hot and all.”
I nod. “I know. You’re a good friend. Someone trustworthy. And lovable.”
She gives me a wide grin. “Oh. You do love me.”
“I actually told Jenna that if she moved in with me, she could bring you along.”
Emily’s eyebrows go up. “You asked her to move in with you?”
“Yes.”
“And you told her she could bring me along?”
“You, Shanna and her father. She can bring the whole town if she wants to.”
“And what did she say?” Emily asks excitedly.
My shoulders rise and fall as I let out a breath. “She said no.”
Emily frowns. She seems even more disappointed than I was.
“Well, she said she’d think about it.”
Emily lets out a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s not the same as no, is it?”
It feels that way to me, though.
“What do you think is holding Jenna back?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “Well, it is a big change. Maybe she just wants to get used to the idea.”
Okay. But that shouldn’t take long, right?
“Or maybe fear is getting ahead of her again,” Emily says.
“Fear of what?”
“You know, when people move in together, things change. Sometimes, they change. They learn new things about each other that they never knew, things they don’t like, and then they start to act differently towards each other or even resent each other. They start to fight. Or they just get so tired of each other that they can’t stand each other anymore.”
I admit I didn’t think of that, though I have heard of it happening.
“That’s not going to happen with Jenna and me,” I say.
“Are you sure?” Emily asks me. “If you are, you have to convince Jenna. You have to make some kind of promise, let her know you’re committed to making it work.”
A commitment, huh? I turn my gaze towards Jenna, who is trying to feed Shanna a cookie. I can give her that.
Just then, Jenna looks up. Our gazes meet and she smiles. I smile back.
I guess I’ll add a serious conversation to our after-party plans. After the other fun stuff I have planned, that is.
~
“That party was a blast,” Jenna says as she sits on the couch.
That party, which extended into the evening, is now over. The guests have left, the kids with their balloons and goody bags and the adults with leftover confections. Shanna, who must have been exhausted from her first birthday party, is already sound asleep upstairs. Arthur, Jenna’s dad, has gone up, too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s dozed off as well. He looked tired. And sad. Plus he and I sneaked a few beers in the kitchen. I guess he misses his wife.
At least Jenna seems happy. True, she also seemed on the brink of tears earlier when we were at the cemetery, but she cheered up during the party.
I sit beside her. “I’m glad you had fun.”
“Yeah.” She nods. “I did. I mean, there were moments when I felt sad, and when Shanna was about to blow the candle on her birthday cake, I felt like crying.”