Lost in Time (Forever and Always #20) (6 page)

Scarlet stood up then came over to Monnique’s
side of the table to hug her.

Cassandra tried to get up, but her stomach
made it difficult. She sighed in annoyance then Mike helped her
up.

The girls huddled around her and looked at
the ring.

“It’s beautiful,” Scarlet said.

“That sucker is huge,” Janice said. “Man, I
went for the wrong one.”

“I can hear you,” Ryan snapped from his
seat.

Janice smiled then ignored him.

I moved to the guys, who were happy but
calm.

“Congrats, man.” Mike gave me a high
five.

“Thanks.”

Flynn winked at me. “I guess I was wrong
about before.”

I never told anyone his assumption. That was
between us. “I’m glad you finally believe me.”

“Only a man desperately in love could go
through that roller coaster,” Flynn said.

“You’re one to talk,” Sean said. “You guys
had your share of drama.”

“Don’t remind me,” Flynn said sadly. “At
least I got a lot of make up sex and pancakes out of it.”

“Pancakes?” Mike cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s a long story,” Flynn said with a
shrug.

Ryan was the only one who didn’t look exactly
thrilled.

“What’s your problem?” Sean asked.

“I don’t have a problem,” Ryan snapped.

We all looked at him incredulously, not
believing him.

Ryan finally connected his gaze with mine.
“I’m just surprised you didn’t tell me…”

I didn’t think he would care. “Well, it was
spontaneous. I didn’t even know I was going to ask her. It just
came out.”

“How?” Sean asked.

“At Mike’s wedding.”

“What?” Mike looked at me like I was crazy.
“You proposed to her on my wedding day?”

“Yeah. We were on the beach…doing you know
what…and it just happened.” I shrugged, not ashamed. “We didn’t
tell anyone because we didn’t want to ruin your wedding or your
honeymoon. So now we’re making it official.”

Ryan relaxed at the revelation. “Oh. That’s
cool then.”

“You’re such a girl,” Sean jabbed.

“Me?” Ryan asked with a laugh. “You’re the
one that’s always crying.”

“I don’t cry,” Sean snapped.

“Come on,” Mike said. “You’re the crier of
the group.”

“Am not,” Sean argued.

“Anyway,” I cut in before the fight could
escalate. “That’s the story.”

“Do you have any details yet?” Flynn asked.
“Where and when?”

“No, but we’re doing it at city hall,” I
said.

“What?” they all said at the same time.

“Am I not paying you enough?” Sean asked.

I laughed. “We don’t want to have a big
wedding. We just want to get married as soon as possible. We lost a
lot of time.”

“Oh.” Ryan nodded then winked. “Shotgun
wedding. Got it.”

“Monnique’s pregnant?” Mike blurted.

“No,” I said immediately. “Well, not that I
know of. We just want to have our closest friends and family
present. Something simple. But we’ll have a nice honeymoon.”

“Well, I’m happy for you guys,” Flynn said.
“This happily ever after has been a long time coming.”

Hazel came over to me then hugged me tightly.
“I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks.”

She held onto me, her face against my chest.
If Flynn was jealous, he hid it. “So, when you two were getting it
on at the beach, you were proposing?”

“Yep,” I said. “It’s perverted and romantic
at the same time.”

She laughed. “It’s just romantic—only.”

“Thanks.”

Mike held up his glass. “To Cortland and
Monnique.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Flynn clanked his glass
against Mike’s then down the amber liquid.

Hazel clapped her hands. “I’m so glad that
everyone found their special someone.”

Ryan sighed. “Looks like I’ll be the last one
to get married even though I was the second one to propose.”

“See, you’re getting upset like a girl,” Sean
jabbed.

Ryan’s eyes burned in annoyance. “No. We just
didn’t have to rush a wedding because my baby isn’t pregnant, we’ve
never broken up and gotten back together so we don’t feel rushed,
and we’re planning a real wedding and taking our time. You guys are
all just impatient.”

“Actually, you won’t be the last one.” Mike
nodded to Hazel. “Don’t forget these two.”

“We’ll see about that…” Flynn gave Ryan a
wink.

Hazel blushed.

“I wish Janice and I would just get married
at city hall.” He rubbed his chin. “Maybe I can knock her up…”

“Dude, pregnant chicks are hot,” Mike
said.

“Ditto,” Sean said in agreement.

Mike nodded to Sean. “How’d the operation
system go?”

Sean suddenly paled. “We’ll talk about work
stuff later.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I said.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Sean drank
his glass.

“Well, it’s safe to say we didn’t get it,”
Mike said with a sigh.

Sean glared at him. “I said let’s not talk
about it.”

There was more going on in this conversation
than just the operating system but I didn’t question. “I’ll get the
next round.”

“No,” Mike said. “It’s your engagement party.
Sean will pay for it.”

“What?” Sean said. “You volunteer to have me
pay?”

He shrugged. “I have a son on the way.”

“You found out the sex of the baby?” Ryan
asked.

‘No,” Mike said sadly. “Cassandra doesn’t
want to know. But it’s a boy.”

“You know this how?” I asked.

“I just do,” Mike said.

Ryan laughed. “Boy, are you going to feel
dumb when that isn’t true.”

“For the sake of Cassandra and the baby, I
hope it isn’t girl. Believe me, they’re both going to hate me,”
Mike said.

“They are still going to hate you even if
it’s a boy.” He drank another glass then set it on the counter.

How many was that?
I hadn’t seen him
drink like this in years.

The girls finally broke apart after gawking
at the ring I bought her and sat down. Food and drinks were passed
around as we enjoyed each other’s company. I couldn’t deny the
happiness on Monnique’s face. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if this day
would ever come. Too much had happened between us. But I was glad I
was wrong.

Ryan was quiet. He seemed happy for me, but
he was fighting his own demons at the same time. The fact Janice
didn’t question him made me realize something wasn’t right.

I leaned closer to him. “Everything alright,
man?” I kept my voice low.

“I’m fine,” he barked.

I eyed all the empty glasses in front of him.
“I doubt that. I haven’t seen you drink this much since before
Janice was in the picture.”

He sighed. “I can’t tell you, alright?”

“What? I’m your best friend.”

“Even so, I can’t tell you about this
one.”

“Why?” I asked.

He eyed everyone at the table, who were
absorbed in their conversation. “Because it’s about my sister and I
know how loyal you are to her. I don’t want her to know.”

“I am loyal to Scarlet, but I’m also loyal to
you. You can tell me and I won’t say a word. When have I ever
betrayed your secrets?”

He shook his head slightly. “Not now.”

I dropped it then sipped my beer.

An hour later, Cassandra looked exhausted.
She leaned her head on Mike’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“I hate to ruin the party, but my wife needs
to get home,” Mike said.

“You didn’t ruin it,” I said.

“Please,” he said with a laugh. “Without me,
there is no party.” He brushed his fingers through her hair then
helped her get up.

I rolled my eyes.

Cassandra rested her hand on her stomach.
“I’m sorry, you guys.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t exactly look
comfortable.”

Mike placed his jacket over her shoulders
then guided her outside.

Sean turned to his wife. “I need to get mine
home too. I don’t want her out too late.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not right next
to you,” Scarlet said.

Sean rolled his eyes then patted my shoulder.
“Congratulations. Really.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Sean helped Scarlet up then took her by the
hand, pulling her outside.

Flynn rubbed the back of Hazel’s neck. “You
ready to go, baby?”

“I guess. I’m in the mood for pancakes.”

He smiled then pulled her to a stand. “We’ll
see you guys later.” They walked out and left us alone.

I turned to Ryan, desperate to know what was
on his mind. “Now tell me.”

He eyed Janice and Monnique, who seemed to be
deep in conversation and not listening to us. “You know that I’m
not close with my family and my mom isn’t exactly my favorite
person. There’s more to the story, but there are details I’d rather
not say. It’s safe to say I hate the woman.”

That wasn’t news to me. I knew Ryan and
Scarlet didn’t have the best childhood. I wasn’t exactly sure what
happened but it seemed pretty bad.

“Anyway, she came to me and demanded
money—twice. The first time was over the phone, and the second time
she came to my shop.”
Now it was all making sense. “Did you give it to her?”

“Fuck no. But now I feel like she’s going to
jump out from behind every corner. I just wish she would die
already.”

That was a cold thing to say, but Ryan never
said mean things like that. I’m sure she deserved it. “Maybe you
should tell Scarlet. She might hit her up next. After all, she’s
rich.”

He shook his head. “Sean already gave her a
bunch of money. She probably understands bothering them again would
get her nowhere. Besides, I don’t want to stress her out right now,
not when she’s pregnant. Until it’s absolutely necessary, I’m not
going to tell her.” He gave me a firm look. “And neither are
you.”

“You have my word.”

“Good.” He sighed. “I just don’t want this to
affect Janice.”

“Janice could take on a cougar and a
bear—with one hand.”

He laughed. “You got that right. But I still
don’t want to drag her into this. It’s embarrassing, you know.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Janice loves
you for you.”

“Nah. I think she loves me for other
reasons.” He winked.

“What does your mom need the money for
anyway?”

He turned serious. “She claims it’s for
medical bills.”

“Do you believe her?”

“No. I can’t believe a word that comes out of
her mouth.”

“Then I wonder what the real reason is,” I
said.

He shrugged. “Cigarettes, drugs—I don’t
know.”

It was hard to believe that Scarlet and Ryan
came from such a horrible place. It was amazing they turned out so
well. “I’m here if you ever need to talk.”

“I know.” He clapped my shoulder. “Thanks,
man. But Janice does a pretty good job.”

“I always had the impression you didn’t talk
much,” I teased.

He chuckled. “We do sometimes.”

Janice and Monnique were still talking
excitedly.

Ryan clanked his glass against mine.
“Congratulations, man. You guys beat all odds.”

“It took us a while to get here, but I’m glad
we finally did.”

He winked at me. “All good things are worth
fighting for.”

“When are you and Janice going to go through
hell?”

He laughed. “Never. She and I were
practically married the moment we met. We fight, but not like the
rest of you do. She’s my forever. There isn’t a doubt in my mind
about that.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

Chapter 5

Hazel

Cade had been living with us for a while, and
he still hadn’t told us what hard times he’d fallen on. He and I
still didn’t get along but we didn’t fight either. That was
probably because we didn’t speak to each other.

“When is your brother going to tell us what
his problem is?” I asked while we were in bed.

“I don’t know.” Flynn had his computer on his
lap and he was going through a script. “I brought it up again but
he wouldn’t answer me.”

“I guess he’s going to live with us forever,”
I said sadly.

He eyed me. “I’ll kick him out if you want to
get rid of him.”

“No,” I said immediately. “I’m just curious
to know what’s going on.”

“That makes two of us.”

“I mean, it’s been months. What could have
possibly happened? Did he lose his job?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “But he seems
adamant about keeping it as a secret.”

I fluffed my pillows then lay down. “Maybe if
I teach him how to clean he can be our nanny.”

Flynn laughed. “He doesn’t know the
difference between a broom and a plunger.”

“And you do?” I jabbed.

“Hey, my apartment was pretty clean before
you came along.”

“It smelled like man.”

“Well, I’m a man. So is that a bad
thing?”

“Yes.” I smiled at him then cuddled into his
side, my face moving into his neck.

Flynn’s voice turned serious. “Baby, I need
to talk to you about something.”

I sat up, recognizing his tone. “Yeah?”

“I need to go to LA for a few days to work on
the show.”

His script was going to be on HBO. He was
still working with that slut Carly and I didn’t like it one bit,
but I kept my reservations to myself. I trusted him and I intended
to prove it. “Oh. How long will you be gone for?”

“Almost a week.”

A whole week? God, that sounded
shitty.
“Okay.”

He caught my sadness. “I’d invite you to come
along but I know you have to work. Since you never quit…”

I felt bad for leaving the job Sean gave me.
He was really generous and I didn’t want to burn him for helping
me. Flynn wasn’t happy about it but he stopped pestering me after a
while. And having money was nice. “I’m sure the time will go by
fast.”

“I don’t want to leave you. Honestly.”

I saw the sincerity in his eyes. “I know,
Flynn. Where are you staying?”

“At a hotel down the street.”