Dinner was fun. And celebrating our birthdays with Chloe, watching her interact with my brothers and hearing her call me Daddy throughout dinner made this the best birthday of my life.

  As Cat sits in the chair, she holds out her hand to me. I bring it to my mouth and lick my lips, then suck her finger into my mouth and drag her engagement ring off by my teeth for safe keeping.

  “Could you get any hotter?” she purrs.

  Then we both watch as the tattoo artist stains her skin with my name.

  61

  UNCONDITIONALLY BY KATY PERRY

  Cat

  Between preparing for the Christmas List for Jolie and dealing with the merger of the whiskey companies, November flies by. Cash and I still aren’t in a great place, but we’re on speaking terms again. It still hurts that my brothers didn’t reach out on my birthday. But I don’t let myself dwell. Because while one part of my life may be falling apart, the other parts are so full. We’ve officially moved into the house across the street from the park. My workdays are long as editor in chief, but every night, I come home to find Chloe and Jay hanging in the living room. Sometimes they’re watching television, and other times they’re listening to music. I’ve even found them cuddled up on the couch sleeping a few times. I snuck a picture, and when I shared it with Jay, I’m pretty sure he swiped a tear or two, even if he tried to play it off like he had something in his eye.

  The way Jay has fallen into fatherhood with such grace has been the silver lining of my life. There’s no doubt he was meant to be a father. And when the time comes for the doctor’s appointment Jay scheduled, we’ll hopefully find out if that’s a possibility.

  Or, like Jay said, I’ll prepare for the biggest fight of my life.

  Either way, we’ll do it together.

  To top it all off, I have an engagement party to plan. Jay got it into his head that we should make a big show of it and somehow convinced my grandmother to allow us to use the house in Bristol.

  I have an inkling that he’s using the celebration to bring my brothers and me back together. But his motives aren’t completely altruistic. Because my husband is a diva and probably wants to show us off as well.

  And secretly, I love that about him.

  I’m approving photos for the January issue when the door to my office swings open and Carter appears, looking disheveled. His hair is a mess, and his suit is rumpled. “You married him.”

  I jump up from my chair and usher him into the room. “Shh,” I hiss, shutting the door. “Keep your voice down.”

  Carter glares at me. “You married Hanson.”

  Searching the ceiling for patience, I count to ten. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen my brother, and he’s yet to apologize for the way he spoke to me last time. “It’s really none of your business. Is that all you came for?”

  “Fuck, Cat.” Carter slumps in his chair and drops his head in his hands. “Chloe’s your daughter, isn’t she?”

  My heart drops to the floor, and I sway. In all the years my brothers have known Chloe, they’ve never asked. Honestly, they’d have to be blind not to realize. She looks more and more like our mother every day.

  Jaw tight, I nod.

  “And Hanson’s her father.”

  “You can’t tell anyone,” I plead.

  “Why? Why all the secrets? And why did you marry him? Is he blackmailing you? Has he threatened to take Chloe away? Because we’ll fight him, Cat. We’ll protect you both.” Carter pulls at his hair.

  The look of desperation on his face has my walls crumbling around my feet. I settle in the seat next to him and pull on his knee, forcing him to face me. “No. I love Jay, and he loves me. And Chloe. We’re happy, Carter. Happier than I ever thought possible.”

  Carter’s face pinches like he’s in pain. “But how? He’s…fuck, Cat, you don’t know what he did back then.”

  I settle back in my chair. “I do. I know everything.”

  “So then you know he used you. That he got Mia pregnant and threatened to—.”

  Shaking my head, I let out a loud sigh. “He didn’t do those things. Carter, Mia had your baby. Her child is your mystery child.”

  My brother’s mouth drops open, and his eyes go wide. “I—fuck—seriously? You’ve known?”

  Biting my cheek, I rack my brain for a way to explain who Mia was to me. And why it’s taken me so long to come to terms with the knowledge that my brother had sex with her. Even if he didn’t know who she was to me.

  There’s no delicate way to word the truth, so I jump in with both feet. “Mia…well, she was my Mia before she was yours.”

  Carter scowls. “She was never my Mia. We hooked up once.” He drops his chin and shakes his head. “And we have a kid,” he whispers. “Fuck. Do you know where my child is?”

  “I’m sure Jay can find out.” I shrug. “That’s not really the point.”

  Carter glares at me. “I’ve got a kid out there—”

  I hold up my hand. “I get it. You want to know your child. And learning about him or her years later has been painful. Jay and I went through the same thing. So I’m not discounting that. But can you let me get through this?”

  Carter huffs, but he sits back quietly, signaling for me to continue.

  “Mia was my best friend in high school—”

  “She was that Mia?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Fuck,” he mutters, running his hand through his hair again. “Cat, I never would have—”

  “I know. I just…it took me a minute to wrap my brain around what she did. Back then, she was a user. She was great at manipulating people. And I have no idea what went down between you two. But I’m sorry I didn’t tell you as soon as I found out. I was just—”

  “Pissed,” my brother answers for me.

  I let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, pissed.”

  “I was an asshole. I’m really sorry, Cat. I just—fuck, I fucked up.”

  “Yeah, you did,” I admit, my voice cracking as a tear slips down my face. I swipe at it, but my brother doesn’t miss the movement.

  “Shit, Cat, I’m so sorry. I—this isn’t me. I hate who I’ve become.”

  I shrug. “I haven’t been so fond of that person either.”

  Sitting up straight, he clutches my hand. “I’ll do better. Swear it.”

  All I can do is nod in response. For his sake, as well as mine, I hope he does.

  “That’s not actually why I came, though. I got distracted when I walked by Hanson’s office and heard him talking about his wife.”

  I huff a laugh. Jay does love talking about me. And that word. He’s obsessed. All day long, he murmurs that one syllable. His emails are filled with the term. He whispers it to me when we’re in a crowd and shouts it when we’re alone. I swear if he could legally change my name to wife, he would.

  I temper my smile. “Okay, then why did you come?”

  “Grace is pregnant.”

  The information knocks me back a bit, and I suck in a sharp breath. I didn’t expect him to talk about her, period. Honestly, since the night at the club when we tried to get her and Cash back together—which ended abysmally; he was an ass, and she stormed out, then refused to speak to me—I’ve tried not to think too hard about how her life was destroyed to save mine.

  I’ve been selfish and so self-absorbed that I pushed her pain to the back of my mind. And now history is repeating itself. Except this time, it’s not my child who is suffering from the lies, it’s Cash’s.

  I rub at my forehead, willing the headache that’s building to abate. “Does he know?”

  Carter nods. “He overheard her talking to Hayden.”

  Grace and Hayden have become close friends recently, and he’s one of her newest matchmaking clients. “Ugh,” I groan. “I’m guessing he didn’t take it well.”

  Carter chuckles. “Yeah, he’s losing his mind.”

  “Maybe this will get him to talk to her. And then maybe he’ll stop being a gigantic ass.”

  “I really am sorry, Cat. We’ve all been awful. It’s just—Pa had us all so certain that Jay betrayed you.”

  I hold up my hand. “Jay isn’t blameless in all of this. I know that and he knows that. But he loves Chloe and me. Really loves us. And everything he’s done has been because of that.”

  Leaving it at that, I look away from my brother. Right now, at least, he doesn’t need to know that the only reason Mia slept with him was to get information for Jay.

  But even then, he was trying to save me.

  “None of this is easy. But rather than holding a grudge over things that took place so long ago, I want to move on and enjoy life with the only person I’ve ever loved. One action doesn’t make a person. It’s how we act throughout our lives that matters. And for the most part, Jay is good.”

  Carter squeezes my hand. “It’s going to take me a minute to get there. Forgiveness, that is. But if you can find out where my child is, that would be a great start.”

  I nod. “On it.”

  “Thanks.” Carter stands, but he doesn’t move for the door. “And maybe you could talk to Grace. Get her to tell Cash.”

  I sigh, dropping my shoulders in exhaustion. “She wants nothing to do with me.”

  “He deserves to know the truth, Cat.”

  “Okay. I’ll try. Thanks for coming by.”

  Carter strides to the door but turns back at the threshold. “Kit Cat?”

  My heart warms at the term, and I smile. No one calls me that but Cash. And Cash doesn’t know it, but it’s the nickname my mother used for me. Carter remembers, though. And hearing it from his lips means more than he could ever know. “I know Cash has always been your guy, but I’m here if you need me. Always.”

  I launch myself from my seat and rush into my brother’s arms. “She wouldn’t be disappointed in you, Carter,” I whisper, looping my arms around him. “She didn’t judge. She loved. Let’s do a better job of emulating that.”

  To my surprise, my brother shakes in my arms, and when a sob rips from his chest, I cradle him tighter.

  The truth is, we’re all just trying our best.

  62

  US BY JAMES BAY

  Jay

  “Now just slip it under. Yeah, just like that. And twist—”

  “Oh, like this?” I ask.

  “Yeah, that’s good. And then over—”

  “What in God’s name are the two of you doing?” Cat asks, appearing out of nowhere.

  I drop the hair and meet Dexter’s eyes.

  “We were just—” Dexter starts.

  I smack him in the chest to shut him up. “You promised!”

  With a hand to his chest, he barks out a laugh. “Chloe asked Jay to do her hair this morning. Now he’s freaking out because he only knows how to do a normal braid. I’m showing him a few new techniques.”

  “Fuck,” I grumble, swiping the mannequin’s head off the edge of my desk.

  Cat leans against the door wearing a small smile. But this smile is a sad one. I can feel it from over here.

  Dexter stiffens as he spots the strain on Cat’s face as well. “I’ll just, uh, I’m sure Sophie needs me for something.” Dexter snatches the disembodied head off the floor. “Find me later. We can practice some more.”

  He squeezes Cat’s shoulder as he walks by, and she smiles softly at him. Even sad, she looks incredible in a black sweater dress that hugs every one of her curves.

  Aching for her, I pat my lap, urging her to come to me. “What’s wrong, Kitten?”

  Like the dutiful wife she is, she obeys. She shuts my office door, then drops herself into my lap with a sigh. “Hi, husband,” she murmurs against my lips. It feels like she needs the kiss. The connection. The reminder that she’s not alone in this world. That we face everything together.

  Pulling away, I cup her face and drag my thumb against her bottom lip. “Why the frown?”

  “I went to see Grace.”

  “How did that go?”

  She blows out a breath. “Not well.” A sad laugh leaves her lips, and she looks away from me. “She told me our mothers used to be friends. That we used to be friends.”

  Pressing her lips together, she looks back at me, searching my face for an answer. Like she wonders whether this is information I’m already privy to. It’s not. The coincidence is almost insane.

  “Really?” I ask, squeezing her hip.

  She relaxes against me, then. She believes my genuine confusion. “I was awful to her, Jay. Awful. And now I find out we used to play together when we were kids. What are the chances?”

  “Not fucking high.” I laugh and pull her closer, cradling her body and running my hand through her hair. “Baby, you can’t change the past, but you’re trying to make it right. You’ve tried to make it right.”

  “Is that enough?” she murmurs, her eyes so full of pain.

  I hate that I can’t fix this. She’s reconnected with Carter, and he’s even reached out to me to apologize for how he spoke to her the last time I saw him. But she and Cash are still not in a great place, and that weighs heavily on her. Especially now that we know that he and Grace are going to have a baby and that they’re still not speaking. It’s a fucked-up situation, and no one is more at fault than me. It kills me that my wife is taking any of the blame.

  “You’ve done everything you can. The ball is in Cash’s court now.”

  “I told her she has to tell him.”

  “Of course she does,” I say. The words are harsher than I intend, but I’m still bitter about the time I missed out on with Chloe.

  “But what if that isn’t enough?” Cat asks, oblivious to my turmoil. “I just want them to be as happy as we are. It feels wrong.”

  “I know, sweetheart.” I brush her hair behind her ear. “You have the most beautiful heart. But in the end, it’s up to them to choose happiness and move past the anger.”

  When I pushed aside the hurt and clung to what I had, it made all the difference. And I hope one day they can find that peace too.

  “If they’d just talk—”

  “Always easier to say from the outside.” I give her a sad smile. “If I had talked to you years ago…”

  She sighs, leaning into me. “You were protecting me.”

  “Yeah, but we lost so much time.”

  This time, she’s the one to brush my hair from my eyes. “We’re together now, though, and things are amazing.”

  “Yeah?” I ask, hope lighting a fire inside me.

  “More than amazing,” she says as she sinks to her knees in front of me.

  “What are you doing, Kitten?”

  “Showing you just how amazing we are,” she says, working the button and zipper of my pants, then pulling my stiffening cock into her hands.

  “Holy fuck,” I grunt as she wastes no time deep-throating me.

  Her mouth is hot, her grip is tight, and her tongue works over the vein that makes me growl. Then she peers up at me and smiles around my dick.

  I drop my head back and laugh. “Don’t do that, Kitten.”

  Her smile only grows. Her eyes flash with challenge, and in return, I wrap my hand around her throat. She gags as I hold her still and fuck her mouth.

  The door to my office opens without a knock, and Sophie appears. “Have you seen Cat?”

  Cat doesn’t stop, even after I grip her neck tight, trying to keep her still. Instead, she sucks harder.

  And despite my best efforts, a grunt slips from my throat in response.

  “Oh my god. She’s totally under your desk blowing you, isn’t she?” Sophie asks. Her eyes are huge with shock, but her smile is wide.

  “Could you please leave and shut the fucking door on your way out?” I growl.

  Sophie cackles and grabs the doorknob. As she’s pulling it shut, she cheers, “Good job, Cat. Don’t forget to swallow!”

  From: JHanson@Jolie.com

  To: CJames@jolie.com

  December 8, 2022

  Subject: I love you

  Wife,

  Only one more day until I get to dance with you at our party.

  P.S. You did an incredible job on these invitations.

  You are cordially invited to the engagement party to celebrate the marriage of Jonathan Hanson and Catherine James.

  Date: December 9, 2022

  Time: Six p.m.

  Completely. Irrevocably. Head over fucking heels in love with you,

  Your husband

  From: CJames@Jolie.com

  To: JHanson@jolie.com

  December 8, 2022

  Subject: Re: I love you

  Husband,

  You’re just trying to butter me up since you left your laundry on the floor in front of the washer after your hockey game this morning. It stinks. Do better.

  Love,

  Your exhausted wife

  From: CJames@Jolie.com

  To: JHanson@jolie.com

  December 8, 2022

  Subject: Re: Re: I love you

  Husband,

  I’m sorry. Your message was really sweet. I’m looking forward to tomorrow too.

  Don’t forget, Chloe and I are leaving early for our hair appointments. Make sure you arrange a driver for yourself.

  Still head over heels in love with you despite your disgusting laundry,

  Your wife

  63

  NOT ABOUT ANGELS BY BIRDY

  Cat

  In my robe and sweats, I sit in the garden my mother designed and read the words on her headstone for the thousandth time in my life. I wanted to celebrate our engagement here, because I knew it would make me feel closer to her. Like we’re including her in some way.

  “Hey, Mom,” I whisper, the cold December air leaving me almost breathless. “I got married.”