Meg is shaking her head. “Nope. They met at the conference and never spoke again. By the time she knew about me and was ready to reach out, he’d died in the car accident.”

“Wow,” I repeat.

“Yeah. I’m the product of a youth group kid one-night stand. Bet that’s not something you hear every day.”

I scrunch my mouth to one side, playing with the sugar packets in front of me. “I don’t know. I bet it happens about as often as any other one-night stand. But probably with a whole lot more guilt. It’s my experience that church folk aren’t any purer than the rest of the world; they just hide it better.”

“I don’t know. If you met my mom, you might change your mind.”

“And if you met my dad, you might change yours,” I toss back before rushing on. “But that’s whatever. The point is, your uncle is one of my favorite people on Earth.”

“James is special,” she agrees. “I didn’t know you had favorite people.”

“I don’t. Not many, anyway. Duke is okay. Noel, when she’s not making fun of my helmet hair. Dani when she’s not trying to convince me to take extra hours. You—” I start, and immediately swallow wrong, choking on nothing.

Meg’s eyes take on a glittery quality. “Really? Me?”

“You’re all right.” I work at sounding casual, but I doubt I’m any good at it. “Brave enough to jump off a cliff, and you make damn good muffins.”

“Worth keeping around, for sure,” she quips.

“Certainly intriguing.”

“I’m also good at pretending to be a girlfriend in a pinch.”

“Hey! You owed me after you stole my spot.”

“Sure. Little old me threatened you right out of your public space.”

I change direction at her sass. “How was meeting James anyway? How’s all of that been going?”

She wipes nonexistent crumbs with a clean cloth. “Awesome. Surreal. Life-changing.”

“I bet.”

“In all honesty, I’m not sure yet. I really like Andrew’s family, and when I’m here, I can pretend that’s all there is, and I really like that.”

“Ignorance is bliss?”

She exhales forcefully. “Probably. But it’s only been a few days.”

“Fair enough.” Not like I’m one to talk, and I’ve had half a decade. I glance at the clock on the wall behind Meg’s head. “I should get going. I have class in thirty minutes.”

“Real quick.” Her navy eyes watch me. “In your opinion, is this a good idea?”

I take a second to answer, feeling oddly flattered that Meg is asking my opinion. Like I’m a trusted friend. I know this is new for both of us, but I want her to know I can be honest.