She was stupid. Stupid for trying to see things Kristin�s way and reach out to Nick. Nick was too easily influenced by his mother and allowing Jane to get too close to her daughter was a mistake. She wasn�t going to let Jane screw up her child.
She felt arms wrap around her and smiled when she smelled her brother�s cologne,
�Hi.� He stood beside her, his arm around her shoulders as they walked side by side down the hallway,
�She has her surgery tomorrow.� He stopped them in their tracks and turned her so she was facing him,
�Tomorrow starts the rest of her life.� She nodded. She loved her brother so much. All her life she couldn�t remember when he wasn�t there for her. Protecting her. Helping her in some way or another. When they were younger and the white girls gave her a hard time he was there. When the black girls gave her a hard time because of the way she talked, the way she looked and the friends she had he was there. When she was in high school and her first boyfriend grabbed her and slammed her against a wall he was there to beat him up, make her break up with him and teach her that she should never allow a guy to treat her bad. The only times in her life that he wasn�t her support system were when she was in college with her tarnished reputation and when she was going though everything with Nick.
Yeah I know.� She nodded,
�I know.� She repeated it to herself to convince herself that they were right. That her baby was going to be okay. They walked into the waiting room and saw that they were outnumbered. Kevin, AJ and Nick were in the room. Her parents, Elliott and James had left hours ago. Chris went back to Atlanta and didn�t even bother to say goodbye to her.
Maybe it was better if a little time went by. It would give Chris some time to get over her jealousy of Kristin. She could only assume that was Chris� problem.
�Hi Quinn.� She wanted to tell Kevin to shove it but decided against it. Not because she thought it would be the mature thing to do. She just didn�t have the energy to do it.
�Where�s Kristin?� She was the only one out of their support group she could tolerate at that point.
�She went with Brian to the airport to pick up Leighanne.� She couldn�t disguise the fact that she wasn�t thrilled about Leighanne�s arrival,
�Oh great, another one. This little entourage is just growing and growing� She could see Nick�s face out of the corner of her eye and she didn�t care if he didn�t like what she said. Before anything else could be said she walked out of the room followed closely by her brother.
�Who is Leighanne?� She forgot her brother didn�t know anything about the Backstreet Boys and really truly couldn�t give a damn. She wished the same could be said for her. She wished she had not met the group. But even more she wished she never even liked them as a group. They had brought her nothing but a lot of drama. And so much of it was not even worth the aggravation and heartache.
�Brian�s wife.� He nodded,
�I�m going to stay at your place with you. Come on, I�ll drive. Leave your car here.� His voice was so authoritative. He thought she was going to be stubborn but she was thrilled at his demand. She didn�t want to drive, she was tired and she really didn�t want to be alone even if she didn�t want to have a heart to heart either. But she knew that�s exactly what her brother wanted.
***
She sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket holding a glass of warm milk. Nate sat in the chair with a Heineken staring off into space absorbing her story of how she met and became friends with a celebrity. She stopped just short of her romantic activities with Nick.
�So how did you two end up�� She didn�t need him to finish the sentence. She knew the question was coming anyway.
�He invited me to go to Mexico and-� He interrupted her,
�That�s who you went with when you said you went to Mexico with some friends.� She nodded,
�Yes. We stayed in the same room and-� She was sure she didn�t need to go any further.
�Anyway after that we didn�t see each other for like almost a year. I saw him again in a club here in Miami. That�s when I got pregnant. We had an argument,� she shrugged,
�And never saw each other again until the �surprise� dinner.� She had already told him about the not so fateful dinner where Nick first found out MacKenzie existed.
�You were never in a relationship. You just had sex with him and ended up pregnant.� She knew he wasn�t asking and she knew he wasn�t judging. He had enough commitment-free sex partners in his life time to not think badly of the situation but she knew he didn�t want that lifestyle for his little sister.
�Are you mad?� He immediately answered her,
�No, of course not. I�m just glad you got it together now. You have a beautiful daughter and you�re getting married to a good guy.� All she needed was for MacKenzie to get better and life would be right.
�When are you guys going to get married?� She didn�t know. They were supposed to set a date but never got around to it. Now it was if she really didn�t care anymore. All she was concentrating on was her baby. Marriage would just have to wait.
�We don�t know yet. It�s not important.� He raised an eyebrow and stared at her not saying a word.
�What?�
�I�m not saying your priorities aren�t right because they are. Your daughter comes first. But don�t neglect James. Don�t put anything off. He�s just as important in your life. You can love Mac and James both. You don�t have to necessarily forget one to concentrate on the other.� She knew he was right and she knew how she should feel yet she still had trouble feeling that way.
�So tell me about this girl you�ve been dating.� He nodded as if to say he was letting her end the discussion on her life. She could only take so much advice and self-analyzing. The more she thought about the state of her life the more down she felt. Her life wasn�t where it was supposed to be. It was having a family or be wild and free but she couldn�t do both.
�Her name is Terri and she�s cool. Nothing too serious but if I had to give the others up to stay with her I would.�
�Does she know that?�
Chapter 72a