Chapter 18
Sunday
Brooklyn
I couldn’t stop smiling. We’d agreed not to tell anyone the news yet. But I was so freaking hopeful. I was worried I might feel…numb. Trying to somehow push away the pain from the past. But Matt seemed so sure everything was going to be okay. And I think because of his excitement, all I could feel was excitement too.
Matt walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. He put his hands on my stomach and kissed the side of my neck. “Justin will be here any minute,” he said.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell Justin why we needed to see him. He’s going to freak out.”
“It seemed like a better thing to do in person.”
I turned around so I could look up at him. “We don’t even have a date.”
Matt shrugged. “Sometime in November.”
“November starts in two days. What if Justin is already fully booked?” I pressed my lips together. “What am I saying? He’s the best. Of course he’s already fully booked.”
“Justin is the best,” Matt said. “Which means he’ll figure it out.”
“I really don’t want to do it without him.”
Matt smiled. “And we won’t.”
I believed him again. His positive attitude was hard not to accept as truth. After all, Matthew Caldwell had always gotten everything he’d wanted. Including me. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him.
There was a knock on the door.
“Let me get it.” I hurried over to the door and opened it.
Justin was wearing a red velvet vest and matching top hat and bowtie. His bare chest was covered in glitter. He looked like a very sparkly ringleader. He slammed his walking stick on the ground. “Why are you not in costume?” He looked over my shoulder at Matt. “Why are neither of you in costume? Although I do love the outfit, Matt. ‘Tis my favorite season.”
Matt looked down at his gray sweatpants.
“Are we supposed to be dressed up?” I asked.
“It’s Halloween weekend! I thought you were inviting me to a big bash.”
Oh.I can see why he probably assumed that. And now I felt awful that we hadn’t invited him to the Caldwell Halloween party on Friday. This was why Matt should have told him why we were calling.
“Sorry,” I said. “No party. At least…not until you help us.”
Justin’s eyes grew round. “I can’t help you throw a Halloween party at 8 o’clock on Mischief Night. Have you lost your minds?” He walked past us and into the kitchen. “I didn’t eat any carbs today because I was saving the calories for tequila. You better at least have tequila.”
“I can definitely make you a drink,” Matt said.
“No. We’re doing shots! You both owe me shots.” He sat down at the kitchen island.
Matt grabbed two shot glasses and poured them both a shot.
“You too, babe,” Justin said and handed his glass to me.
Shit.“I’m good.” I tried to hand the glass back, but he refused.
“No, you need to be on our level.”
“Do you want a chaser or anything?” Matt asked, trying to distract Justin.
“You don’t need a chaser with that label. We just need a third glass.”
Matt cleared his throat and looked at me.
“I…” my voice trailed off. “I’m not very thirsty.”
“Girl, it’s Halloween Eve! I did not put glitter on every inch of my body if we’re not getting wasted together tonight.”
Every inch? Why? I shook the thought away. “I’m sorry, Justin. I just…I…” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Shut the front door!” he yelled.
“I didn’t say anything…”
Justin squealed. “You’re pregnant?!”
Okay, yeah. I guess I’d made that kind of obvious. Matt and I hadn’t told anyone yet. But Justin’s reaction made me smile. I looked up at Matt.
He smiled at me.
I nodded. I wanted Justin to know.
“We are,” Matt said.
“I’m going to be an uncle!” Justin said. “Brooklyn, you’re glowing. I’m glowing. We’re all glowing! And don’t you dare drink that!” He snatched the glass out of my hand and pulled me into a hug.
I definitely wasn’t going to drink that.
Justin squealed again and tapped his glass against Matt’s. “To the new daddy in town.” He winked at him.
Matt laughed and they both downed their shots.
“Oh my God, I know why you invited me over tonight,” Justin said. “You want me to plan your baby shower, is that it? You’re not very far along because you’re not showing. So…” he tapped his index finger against his lower lip. “…We need like an April shower or something? Yaasssss! I love spring showers. And a summer baby! Is that right? A summer baby?”
I couldn’t stop smiling. Matt rounded the counter and put his arm around my shoulders. “We were just playing with a due date calculator online. We think it’ll be a June baby.”
“This is perfect. I can already see it. I’ve got you. Let’s do a Saturday brunch! Gah a Caldwell baby. This is front page news.”
Is it really?
“Who’s on the guest list? I should call your mom,” he said to Matt. “The two of us need to talk.”
“Actually, no one else knows yet,” Matt said.
“No one else knows?” Justin’s eyes grew round. “You’re telling me first?” He looked like he was about to cry. “I love you guys.” He grabbed the bottle of tequila. “I feel very overwhelmed right now.” He took a swig right from the bottle. “But I’m amazing at keeping secrets. I won’t tell a soul. We’ll start the planning in secret. Until you’re both ready to shout it from the rooftops.”
I’m glad he was so happy to know first. But we hadn’t exactly planned to tell him tonight. And I loved Justin, but I had no idea if he was actually good at keeping a secret or not. I was nervous to tell people because… I shook the thought away. That wasn’t going to happen again. Maybe telling people early was a good thing. Maybe it would just multiply Matt’s positive vibes tenfold.
“I can’t believe my girl is having another baby!” Justin said. “And speaking of girls…we can’t really figure out the flower arrangements until we know if it’s a boy or girl. But we can choose a theme. Do you know what you want the nursery to look like yet? We can play off that.”
“We haven’t had time to think about it,” Matt said. “And actually, we have something else we need your help with.”
“The announcement! Of course!”
Justin was about to freak out. “No, not an announcement about the baby,” I said. I didn’t even know what that was. “Matt and I need your help planning our wedding.”
“I’m literally going to die! When? When?!”
“November,” Matt said.
“The fall! Matt, you divine beast, you have exquisite taste. The fall is still so hot for weddings.” He pulled out his phone. “Let me check my calendar for next November. We’ll figure something out.”
I pressed my lips together. Not next November.
“Are you at all open for a Friday wedding?” He kept staring at his phone.
“Yes,” I said. “But we didn’t mean next November.”
“Phew,” he said. “Because I didn’t have a single opening. I almost had a heart attack. So the following November? Fantastic. We definitely need two years to plan it. This is going to be the wedding of the century. And I have Saturdays open. Does one of these work?” He put his phone in front of my face.
“We actually don’t want to wait two years,” Matt said. “We’re thinking this November.”
“This November?” Justin sounded eerily calm.
“Mhm,” Matt said.
“This November?” he said again in a hushed voice.
I nodded.
“This November?!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
He was going to wake Jacob.
“You can’t get married this November! November starts in two days, you maniacs! I’m a wedding magician, not an all-powerful genie!” He downed more tequila directly from the bottle. “This is like the sexy little Hunter brother wedding all over again.”
What?I turned to Matt.
“Another shotgun wedding,” Matt clarified.
Right.I think Daphne had mentioned something about that.
“And technically the older Hunter brother too. My heart with that man!” Justin sighed at the thought of James.
So apparently Bee and Mason were the only ones not pregnant when they got hitched.
“But no,” Justin said. “Not happening. I can’t do this November. Look at my calendar!” He turned it back to next month and showed me.
Each day was filled with several different things. All in different colors. He was very organized. And very busy.
“We really need you,” Matt said.
“We really want you,” I added.
It looked like Justin’s head was about to explode. “No.”
“Justin,” I said.
“Brooklyn!” he screamed.
“Please.” I grabbed his hand. “I made a promise to you 16 years ago. And I feel like you made me a promise too.”
He exhaled slowly. “You’re lucky you disappeared for so long because I have a huge team now,” he said. And then he slapped his hand over his mouth. “I didn’t mean that. I mean, I do have a huge team now that can help me. But I wish you hadn’t disappeared for so long, Brooklyn.”
I smiled. “I knew what you meant.”
“Of course I’ll plan your shotgun wedding,” he said. “You’re my favorite human.” He started blinking fast like he was going to cry.
“Thank you.”
He waved his hand through the air. “Don’t make me cry. I’ll ruin my glitter.”
I laughed. “So what do we need to do first?”
He groaned. “I thought I was going to be partying tonight, not planning the quickest wedding turnaround in the history of my business. God, just pick a date.” He tossed Matt his phone. “You know I’ll always put you first. Whatever actress or singer you’re stealing me away from can deal with my assistant. You’re my A-team.”
Matt and I stared at Justin’s crazy calendar.
When I thought of November, I thought of playing football in the backyard with Miller and Jacob, our feet crunching in the grass. I closed my eyes. And I also thought about Matt. I thought about Thanksgiving. And the Friday after that I lost everything.
“I have an idea,” Matt said. “And there isn’t even a famous couple we’ll be stealing you away from. At least, I don’t recognize those names.”
I peered at the date Matt was pointing at. Friday the 25th. The day after Thanksgiving. I stared up at him.
“The worst day of my life,” he said. “I think we need a new memory for that day.”
I smiled. “I love that idea.” The 25th also reminded me of Christmas. And we’d originally planned a Christmas wedding.
“Yeah?” Matt asked.
“Yassssss!” Justin screamed. “Fuck the Livingstons! I hate that bridezilla bitch anyway.”
Wow. Okay.
“I was hoping you’d choose the Livingstons wedding day! This is amazing! She wanted to dress in all black for Black Friday and her dress was hideous. I never thought I’d hate someone who loved shopping so much.”
I laughed. “So we can make it work?”
“All hands on deck, honey. But yes, we can make it work.”
“And I can help,” Nigel said.
Justin screamed at the top of his lungs when Nigel walked up to us.
“Who are you and where did you come from?” Justin said as he caught himself from falling off his stool.
I would have wondered where he’d come from too. But Nigel was always very quiet when he came through his door.
“I’m Nigel,” Nigel said.
Justin just kept staring at him.
“And I’m their houseboy.”
“Oh.” Justin turned toward Matt. “You have a houseboy? Interesting.”
“He is not our houseboy,” Matt said firmly.
“I am,” Nigel said. “They just don’t know it. And I am at your service, Mr. Belle. It sounds like you’re going to need me.”
“I have a whole team,” Justin said. “But I will let you know if we need anything.”
“Well, where is the venue?” Nigel asked.
Justin opened his mouth and closed it again.
“I think it’s probably where they wanted their first wedding to be,” Nigel said. “And I booked it ten minutes ago. What’s next?”
“You…you already booked it? How?”
“I told you. I’m a houseboy.” Nigel stood up a little straighter. “You got a problem with that?”
Justin shook his head and turned to me. “Is that still where you want to get married? Right there on that bridge?”
I looked up at Matt. “I can’t think of a better place.”
“Me either,” Matt said with a smile.
“Well, I have a million things to do,” Justin said. “As soon as I get all this glitter off.”
“I can help with that,” Nigel said.
“With the glitter? Or the wedding planning?”
Nigel shrugged. “Technically all of that is in my wheelhouse. A quick bath will help with the glitter. But the wedding planning is more pressing, Mr. Belle. I have a million and one things to do.”
Justin glared at him for a moment.
And Nigel glared back.
It reminded me of when Nigel and Jacob were feuding. “Justin, if you do need extra help, Nigel is really good at stuff like this too.”
Justin sighed. “If you insist. Well, come on then, Nigel. Because I have a million and two things to do.”
“I have a million and three things now,” Nigel said as they both walked toward the front door. “Wait! I almost forgot!” He turned around, ran back over to me, and gave me a huge hug. “Congratulations on the baby, mademoiselle.”
I should have known he’d be listening. This baby was definitely not staying a secret.
“Master Tanner was right. I told him that he was wrong, because I hadn’t heard anything yet. But of course he was right. He’s always right about these things.”
Tanner had kept weirdly staring at my stomach yesterday at the game. I had no idea how he’d known I was pregnant. But he’d certainly seemed to.
“And just so you know, I think you’re the best mom. For loving everyone exactly how they are.” He squeezed me tight.
Oh, Nigel.I hugged him a little tighter.
“But I must get going! Best man duties! And don’t worry, I have the camera feed of all the angles of your house on my phone, so I’ll keep my new grandson or granddaughter safe. And Mr. Jacob of course. Au revoir!” He ran out the door after Justin.
There was a lot to unpack there.
“Best man duties?” Matt groaned. “Why on earth does he think he’s going to be my best man? First Rob, then Tanner, and now Nigel?”
We’d talked a lot about our wedding parties 16 years ago. At the time, Matt wasn’t speaking to James or Rob. He’d really only wanted Mason beside him. But I kept adding more and more people to my wedding party, trying to make him add James and Rob. So he’d kept adding random guys from his football team.
He was no longer feuding with the Hunters though. And Nigel and Tanner had become a huge part of our lives. “Well, who is your best man going to be?”